Speed Read: Jeff Byrd 500

RACE WRAP 

Once you get the hang of Bristol Motor Speedway – whether the “old” configuration or the current layout – you really get the hang of Bristol Motor Speedway.
Darrell Waltrip rattled off seven straight wins at the .533-mile track in his day with the likes of Cale Yarborough, Jeff Gordon, Rusty Wallace and Kurt Busch all finding “Thunder Valley’s” sweet spot over the years.
But right now Bristol couldn’t be any sweeter for Kyle Busch.
His win in Sunday’s Jeff Byrd 500 was his fifth straight at Bristol dating back to his truck series-Nationwide Series-Sprint Cup Series three-peat last August.

Throw in Saturday’s Nationwide win and his fifth career Bristol Cup triumph on Sunday and Busch completed his own personal “Drive for Five” at the track.
He did it Sunday in a patient sort of way, picking his spot to get to the front and making the most of it when the opportunity presented itself.
In the process Busch became the season’s fourth different winner, continuing the trend of spreading the wealth around early in the 2011 season. Five time champion Jimmie Johnson is still looking for his first trip to victory lane which no doubt keeps some fans happy who have tired of the five year dominance from the No. 48 team.
But was Sunday’s race enough to keep NASCAR on its early season course of momentum?
It wasn’t a Bristol barnburner by and measure and in fact at times slipped into a bit of a tedious rhythm when the field got strung out during long green flag runs.
With the NCAA basketball tournament in full swing this weekend’s television landscape was anything but barren so NASCAR was battling for many a sport’s fan on Sunday who was tied up in “March Madness.”
But Busch doesn’t care about any of that. The Joe Gibbs Racing team put the early year fears about engine issues in the rear view mirror and Busch gave the organization its first Sprint Cup win of the season.

That’s all that mattered as he swept Bristol for another weekend.
RISERS 
Carl Edwards
Continued his very stellar start to the 2011 season with another second place finish and week after week proves why he’s the favorite to unseat Johnson in the title race. Had a shot to run down Busch in the closing laps and even run into the 18 in the process but didn’t do either.
Paul Menard
There’s nothing fluke about what Menard is doing this season at Richard Childress Racing. Led early on Sunday and after getting shuffled back had a very fast car in the closing stages and knocked down another Top 10. The next few weeks with intermediate stops at Fontana and Texas will be crucial to the No. 27 team’s staying power.
Kurt Busch
The only driver to score Top 10 finishes in all four races this season, Busch remains on top of the Sprint Cup Series point standings because of that consistency. Still not happy with the way things went on Sunday and was in the middle of many heated exchanges with crew chief Steve Addington but the bottom line is the No. 22 Penske Racing Dodge was again in the front pack at the finish.

FALLERS
Denny Hamlin
Has shown none of the swagger or performance that kept him in the title battle until last year’s final race. Was caught in an early race incident on Sunday and played catch up all day long eventually limping home to a 33rd place finish. Hamlin’s 2011 fortunes have to change in a hurry.
David Reutimann
Not much to cheer about for the Michael Waltrip Racing driver that many predicted would be a Chase contender this season. Also a victim of Sunday’s early shenanigans and nothing but a 30th place finish for a long day at Bristol.
Juan Pablo Montoya
All the confidence after a third place run two weeks ago in Las Vegas disappeared with an especially trying day at Bristol. Montoya was a factor early but needs to find a way to stop the up and down roller coaster of finishes to return to the Chase form of 2009.
RADIO WAVES

(Choice comments and communications from drivers and crew chiefs)
“Its' a blast for us, wonderful.'' – Carl Edwards on Kyle Busch’s weekend sweep.
"Before the race even started it was junk.” – Kasey Kahne on his brake package.
"The worst part about this whole deal right now is I gotta piss so bad." – Brian Vickers
"Can't we just all be friends?" – Kyle Busch on the track public address system after being booed in pre-race introductions.

RACE RATING 
On a scale of one to five "Pistone Pistons" I’ll give Sunday’s Jeff Byrd 500 a three. While it certainly won’t go down in the annals of Bristol Motor Speedway’s long and storied history, I’m still a fan of the side-by-side racing the new track configuration produces. However there wasn’t enough of it to make Sunday’s race a classic. A stirring duel between Busch, Edwards and Johnson in the closing laps didn’t amount to the kind of slam bang finish fans had hoped for but let’s face it – Busch has got the place figured out.
DOWN THE ROAD
The Sprint Cup Series heads west again this time to Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. For the first time the track hosts the series in late March, which bodes well weather-wise. It will be interesting to see if last fall's first 400-mile race, which was by far the best Cup race in track history, carries over to next week's fifth race of the 2011 season.