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Bristol Race Recap 20 Years 1988/2008
3/18/08: SOZ Studios, MI - By Gregg Shultz (RaceFanVote.com)
The Old…
In 1988, the spring Bristol race was run April 10th and was dubbed the "Valleydale Meats 500" with 38,000 fans in attendance. There were 32 cars that competed in the event which was number 6 of the 29-race season. Rick Wilson was the pole sitter and finished 25th 209 laps down. There were three cars on the lead lap at the finish; Bill Elliott, Mark Martin & Geoffrey Bodine. The finish was almost too close to call between Elliott & Martin. For his win Elliott was awarded $45,750 and went away 4th in points.
There were 12 cautions for 70 laps, 5 cars out of the race for a crash, 5 for mechanical failures and 1 "quit". Dave Marcis wrecked Harry Gant while leading the race, which brought out the 11th caution. After a call by NASCAR disputing that Gant had gotten his lap back by beating Elliott back to the line and levying a 1-lap penalty against him for not giving the lap back he parked his car on lap 421 after leading the most laps to that point (121).
The top ten finishers (Sponsor-Owners) were:
Bill Elliott (Coors-Melling)
Mark Martin (Stroh's Light-Roush)
Geoffrey Bodine (Levi Garrett-Hendrick)
Rusty Wallace (Kodiak-Beadle)
Bobby Allison (Miller High Life-Stavola)
Richard Petty (STP-Petty)
Kyle Petty (Citgo- Wood Bros)
Sterling Marlin (Piedmont Airlines-Hagan)
Dave Marcis (Lifebuoy-Marcis)
Ken Schrader (Folgers-Hendrick)
The Track…
Prior to the repaving and addition of the progressive banking, Bristol was well known (and loved) for the single file racing with the bottom line being the only place you could run. To keep from getting passed (cleanly) you simply hugged the bottom line even if you were a second a lap slower than the guy behind you, thus the invention of the `bump & run'. Originally discovered by the first driver who grew impatient when he couldn't pass the car in front of him, it became famous at Bristol. As a driver in that position you would put the "chrome horn" to the driver holding you up, get him out of shape and when he chased his car up the track to get control of it you passed him on the bottom. The excitement factor came in when the driver who did the shoving drove into the next corner and hoped like hell that he really was faster than the car he just passed [that way]. If not the driver and the fans could expect some fireworks when the favor was returned.
Today it's still good racing, just different.
The New…
Fast-forward to Sunday March 16th, 2008, the first of two races at the half-mile, high-banked bullring known as Bristol. The grandstands were packed, 160,000 in attendance, new pavement, new cars, very few 1-car teams and only a handful of the same sponsors and team owners remain overall in the series from back in the afore mentioned '88 event.
There were wrecks, but also a lot of good racing. With the final yellow flag and overtime in effect anyone on the lead lap had a chance to win. There were a few that you might have expected to win, and one that you might not have that did win. Jeff Burton capitalized on a tangle between Harvick and Stewart to move him up to second and then a stumble by Denny Hamlin on the ensuing restart allowed Burton to drive to the front and take the win. Gone was the bump and run and it was replaced with dive-bombing the turn under your opponent and hoping that you didn't wreck the both of you. There were no complaints about the tires being too hard and no rash of tire failures.
14 cars finished on the lead lap, there were 18 lead changes with 8 different lap leaders. The margin of victory was a little over a half-second.
The team owners with cars in the top ten were:
Richard Childress Racing 1-2-3(3)
Roush (2)
Hendrick, Gibbs, Gillett-Evernham, DEI & Yates all with a car in the top ten.
There were 10 cautions, 7 for accidents or spins and yet the only car (no. 83 Vickers) that was out from a crash didn't actually bring out a caution. The race took a little over 3 hours to run which nearly mirrored the '88 version as well as the average speed. Juan Pablo Montoya was the only car one lap down at the conclusion with 6 cars following 2 laps down and the rest of the field mired back in various lap down positions.
The Comparison…
Trying to debate which type of racing is/was better is sort of like comparing a cast iron skillet to a modern Teflon-coated one. Some people like one and not the other because it's what they prefer or are used to, plain and simple. Some fans like `new and improved' and will cite all of the positives to the new way. For those who feel strongly one-way or the other a few facts and stats probably will not sway them. For others on the `fence' regarding the topic, encouragement can be given to look at the whole story before forming an opinion.
No matter which side you're on the saying holds true that `it is what it is' and if you were one of the unfortunate ones who watched the race on Sunday hoping for a glimmer of the past then you didn't necessarily get what you wished for. No Sir, there wasn't any single file racing briefly interrupted by the `bump & run', `slingshots' or `crossovers', but there was a lot of passing, hard racing, bent up sheet metal, flared tempers and a close finish. It was sort of a `hybrid' of the old Bristol and the new.
What's Your Point?
The purpose of this story was not to try to convince anyone that they should like one way (of racing at Bristol) or the other, but to just look at `now and then' with an open mind.
I personally thought the racing was good this past Sunday, but then I also liked the racing the way it was before so I'm no help in being divided in my own opinion. Suffice it to say that I can see where the conflict develops from fans on both sides of the issue.
The one fact from the `old' previously left out was that in the '88 race there were only eight different drivers who led at least one lap. Of the rest, they were just logging laps and most of the other drivers weren't even on the same lap with the next closest competitor in front of them for position. Good racing?
What The Fans Think…
I grew up watching NASCAR and like a lot of the old school fans I have good memories of the past era's races as well. I just can help but think that if a race went off in this day and age the way that the 1988 "Valleydale Meats 500" did, the phone lines would be burning up into the call-in shows with complaints that NASCAR needed to do something about two or three drivers `stinking up the show'.
The fans will call in to the shows and there will be some who didn't like Sunday's race, but I will predict that overall it will get good reviews. At the end of the day the race delivered exactly what the fans have been saying they wanted, closer racing, more drivers with a chance to win and a surprise ending. Bristol delivered all of that and more, so what else could you ask for?
Writer's note: We plan on making this a weekly feature to compare this week's race from one from the past in order to see the differences between now and then. Obviously not all will be as controversial as Bristol, but there will be some interesting stats posted for all fans to read, new & old. We will be digging to get quotes from past & current race winners to see how they feel, old school versus new era. Feel free to send us your comments and what side you're on. We may like to include this feature as a topic on one of our radio shows with the fan's comments featured on both sides.
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