My darkhorse is Elliott Sadler, who won at Bristol in March of 2001. In 17 starts at this venue, he has three top-fives and four top-10s to go with a pole and his win.

Keys to success at Bristol
Bristol is a track where a driver cannot try and force the issue. If he does, most often the result will be a wreck

Qualifying up front and staying up front during the race is the best way to avoid wrecking, but with so many cars fighting for position on so small a track, it’s easy to get caught up in someone else’s crash.

So luck is a bigger factor at Bristol than at many of the other tracks on the Nextel Cup circuit. You have to be lucky if you are going to keep from getting caught up in a wreck.

The racing is intense and there will be plenty of bumping and banging. This oval is a very physically demanding track that beats down a driver's body while beating up the car he's driving.

In addition to luck, plenty of patience is needed to do well at this short track because of the half-mile layout and the difficulty passing.

About the only place to pass is on the bottom of the track, but there is practically no straightaway to pass on. A driver must exercise patience, but too much patience will get him lapped.

The right combination of shocks and springs is crucial as are top-notch, error-free pit stops. There are so many wrecks at Bristol that I'd say about 90 percent of the pit stops are under caution flags.

On green-flag pit stops a key is to remember that based on where a driver is on the track -- front stretch or back stretch -- he will have to enter the pits either off Turn 2 or Turn 4. It's a costly mistake to enter from the wrong turn as Jeff Gordon has twice done at Bristol.

The winner at Bristol will be the driver who had the right amount of patience, aggressiveness and luck.

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