Bristol racing track losing rough-and-tumble image

BRISTOL, Tenn.

Jimmie Johnson's California cool exterior peeled away that night in 2002 and, for a moment, exposed a white-hot temper few had seen.

Bristol Motor Speedway does that to drivers. At least it used to.

Wrecked by Robby Gordon, Johnson climbed from his car and waited. When Gordon drove by, Johnson - in front of all to see - gestured at his foe.

"I really enjoyed flipping Robby off that night," Johnson said of his first Bristol night race experience.

Confrontations, controversy and crashes built many of the track's 160,000 seats that reach skyward and make it a modern-day version of the Roman Colosseum. All the seats again will be filled for tonight's Sprint Cup race, a sign that this track still fascinates fans even in difficult economic times. And even if it did take a little longer to sell those tickets this time.

The excitement at Bristol isn't as alluring to some anymore. Positioned close to the Chase cutoff, drivers are more cautious here than they used to be. A resurfaced track provides more lanes to race. Even the uniqueness of racing at night has gone away as the number of night points races has doubled since 2004.

"That was my favorite track," said Greensboro's Lois Ramey, using the past tense to describe a place where she has witnessed 15 races. "I do not know why they changed it. It changed the race dramatically. Not for the good. It's not nearly as exciting."

Complaints have become more common about this half-mile track since the surface was redone before the 2007 night race. Variable banking was added, transitions in and out of the corners were improved and the track was widened by 3 feet. It allowed for two- and sometimes three-wide racing, a rare sight in the past.

No longer did a driver have to knock someone out of the way to pass on what was once a one-groove track.

"It has brought honor and respect back into the game where it was difficult to live by those principles the last few years before it was redone," Mark Martin says.

While the sight of cars side-by-side is something many fans like, not everyone wants to see that at Bristol.

"I like the beating and the banging," said J.T. Foley of Penhook, Va. "It seems like (on) this two-groove track, a driver is little more able to run away and hide."

That creates less drama for fans.

They long for the days when Dale Jarrett wrecked Ryan Newman in retaliation for an incident earlier in the race. Or when Dale Earnhardt spun Terry Labonte out of the lead on the last lap and Labonte - the driver known as the "Iceman" for his unshakeable emotion - said of Earnhardt: "He better tighten his belts up."

Or even the time Jeff Gordon bumped Rusty Wallace out of the lead with three laps left to win, prompting Wallace to radio to his crew: "(Gordon) has got another one

coming."

That was the same race Ward Burton threw his heal guards at Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s car after an incident. It was the same race Elliott Sadler slapped the side of an ambulance with his hand after a crash and also the night Johnson saluted Robby Gordon.

The races aren't as chaotic. Since the track is no longer "dog-eat-dog," as Johnson described it, drivers are more courteous, although tempers flare at times.

Last year, Carl Edwards did a bump-and-run move past Kyle Busch toward the end and went on to win. Busch responded by bumping Edwards after the finish. Edwards spun Busch.

Had it not been for that, though, fans might have left muttering about the tame race. Since the track was redone, cautions have declined by about 40 percent. That has given fans an average of 30 more laps of green-flag racing, but for some, that's not the point.

Complaints also have come since the Chase began. Only two races remain before the Chase field is set. With so much at stake for drivers trying to hold on to a Chase spot or gain a berth, risk-taking is way down. Caution flags are down about 30 percent since the Chase was created.

Brian Vickers all but warned Busch through the media Friday that Busch had better be mindful if they're racing together after last week's post-race dustup. Busch hit Vickers' car and confronted him as Vickers sat in his car after the Nationwide race. The two battled for the win only to lose to Brad Keselowski. Vickers noted Friday that Busch "is out of strikes."

To some fans, so is Bristol Motor Speedway.