From the first short track of the season to using current owner points to set the top-30 qualifiers to the physical differences in cars on the track, this weekend’s Sharpie Mini 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway brings a plethora of change to the NASCAR Busch Series.

Finally getting back to its roots, the series will appear on a short track for the first time in 2007 after having raced on a superspeedway, a speedway, two intermediate tracks and a road course.

Saturday’s race will be the sixth of the NASCAR Busch Series season, marking the first event of the year where the top 30 in 2007 owner points are automatically set for qualifying. The first five races of the year used the top-30 owner points from 2006. Owners will have had to attempt every event to date in order to hold a spot in the top 30 heading to Bristol, which means the likes of J.J. Yeley (#1 Miccosukee Resorts Chevy – 35th in owner points), Brad Keselowski (#23 Oklahoma Centennial Chevy – 41st in owner points), Greg Biffle (#37 Cub Cadet Ford – 33rd in owner points), Eric McClure (#0 Hefty Chevy – 39th in owner points) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (#8 Menards Chevy – one attempt) will have to qualify on time.

Additionally, the debut of the Car of Tomorrow in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race on Sunday adds another different competition component to NASCAR’s top two national series. The adjustable wing and adjustable splitter on the COT – scheduled to race in 16 events this year, 10 of which are companion races with the NASCAR Busch Series – are the major changes to the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup car versus the NASCAR Busch Series car.

But what hasn’t changed is the transfer of safety initiatives in either series from the Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C., including: roof flaps, more robust seats, extra netting inside the cars, head and neck restraints, automatic fire extinguishers, stronger and safer fuel cells and relocation of ballast weight among many others.

3rd-Straight ABC Broadcast Set

The Sharpie Mini 300 at Bristol is one of six select NASCAR Busch Series races this season that will air on ABC – the third in succession – with the other 29 to be televised by ESPN2. Coverage begins with the pre-race NASCAR Countdown show at 2:30 p.m. ET, with race coverage starting at 3 p.m.

Rusty Wallace, a nine-time winner at Bristol during his NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series career, will serve as analyst working alongside two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Andy Petree in the booth. Dr. Jerry Punch will be the lead announcer. …

ESPN's pit reporter team will have a new face at Bristol as Shannon Spake, who has been reporting for ESPN's SportsCenter, NASCAR Countdown and NASCAR Now this season, joins the telecast team working with Dave Burns, Jamie Little and Mike Massaro as regular pit reporter Allen Bestwick has the weekend off. Brent Musburger will host the telecast and studio analysts Tim Brewer and Brad Daugherty will join Musburger in the ESPN Pit Studio. …

ESPN2 will have live coverage of practice and qualifying at Bristol. Live coverage of Friday's one-hour final practice session will air from 2:30-3:30 p.m. ET. Qualifying will be televised live from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.

NASCAR Busch Series Leaders After 5 Of 35 Races:
Driver points – Edwards (810)
Owner points – Roush Fenway (#60) - (810)
Victories – J. Burton (2), Harvick, Kenseth, Montoya (1)
Money won – Edwards ($253,225)
Races led – Ky Busch, M  Wallace (4) 
Miles led – Ky Busch (290.50)
Laps led – Ky Busch (297) 
Busch Poles – Almirola, Blaney, Harvick, Pruett (1), Ky Busch
Top-five finishes – Edwards (4)  
Consecutive Weeks in Top 10 –  Blaney, Edwards, Harvick (5)
Top-10 finishes – Edwards (5) 
Raybestos Rookie – Montoya (+5 over Ambrose)
Closing in on Top 10 - Reutimann (-11); Kenseth (-16); Wood (-22)

Dodge Moves Into Second In Manufacturer Standings

The Bill France Performance Cup standings are getting close after the fifth race of the season.
Dodge made the big move this week taking the second spot by two points, dropping Ford to third.
Chevy continues to lead and now has a 38-race streak in first place dating back to last season.
Toyota is still seeking its first-ever series win and is currently in fourth, six points out of third place.

In The Loop: Newman Could Surprise At Bristol

Usually, it’s the Matt Kenseths (#17 Dish Network Ford) and Kevin Harvicks (#33 Bounty Super Duty Shot Towels Chevy) whose names you’d expect to see dotted throughout the Loop Data stats whenever the NASCAR Busch Series visits a short track like Bristol Motor Speedway.

Make no mistake, those names are still there, but a name you wouldn’t quite expect to see is also there: Ryan Newman (#12 Kodak Dodge).

Newman, known more for his wide-open style of racing, does have a win at Bristol (2005). In two races there, he has the highest average Driver Rating (132.7), almost 15 points higher than second-place Harvick (117.9), and the highest Average Running Position of any driver at 5.264. Newman’s Speed in Traffic – which is always prevalent at Bristol – is second best.

But, not surprisingly, Harvick and Kenseth have also fared very well at Bristol. Along with the second-best Driver Rating, Harvick’s Average Running Position of 9.062 is fifth-best and he has the highest number of Quality Passes – passes of cars in the top 15 while under green flag conditions – with 64. Harvick won a race at Bristol in 2005. Harvick’s Speed in Traffic is sixth-best.

Kenseth, who won the last race held at Bristol, has a Driver Rating of 109.5, which is sixth-best. His Average Running Position is a seventh-best 9.952. Kenseth’s Speed in Traffic is eighth-quickest.
Another driver worth watching is Kyle Busch (#5 Sta-Green/Lowe’s Chevroet), who has run extremely well over the past two races but had fallen on hard luck in each of them. Busch has some very solid numbers at Bristol. He has the eighth best Driver Rating at Bristol at 105.3 and the second-most Quality Passes of any driver running the race (49).

NBS ETC.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is entered in his second NASCAR Busch Series event this season. The two-time series champion and current team owner will be racing against his driver Shane Huffman (#88 U.S. Navy Chevy). Earnhardt is known for his dominance on superspeedways, but he also excels at Bristol, where he won from the pole in 2004. … A global gathering in Bristol? With Juan Pablo Montoya (#42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge - Colombia), Marcos Ambrose (#59 Kingsford Ford - Australia), and Alex Garcia (#98 Dixien/Omni Source Corp. Chevy - Venezuela), the NASCAR Busch Series will be an international affair in the mountains of Tennessee this weekend. … Coeburn, Va., favorite son Danny O’Quinn Jr. (#56 McNelly Motorsports Chevy), who drove for Roush Fenway Racing last season and won the Raybestos Rookie of the Year Award, looks to make his series return for the first time since last November at Homestead-Miami Speedway. … Bobby Hamilton Jr. (#35 McDonald’s Ford) is from Nashville, Tenn., and will run in his home state for the first time in series competition since 2004. … Eric McClure (#0 Hefty Brand Chevy) is an Abingdon, Va., native, about a 20-minute drive from Bristol Motor Speedway.

The Race: Sharpie Mini 300
The Place: Bristol Motor Speedway
The Date:  March 24, 20071
The Time: 3:00 p.m. (ET)
TV: ABC, 2:30 p.m. (ET)
Track Layout: .533-mile oval
Race Purse: $1,464,894
2006 Winner: Kyle Busch
2006 Pole: None (weather)

2007 Point Standings
No.  Driver        Pts
 1     Edwards     810
 2     Harvick       666
 3     Blaney        641
 4     Ky Busch    587
 5     Hamlin        582
 6     Stewart       576
 7     Ambrose     563
 8     M Wallace  547
 9     J Burton      531
10    Montoya      529

Raybestos Rookie of the Year
Driver                       Points
Juan Pablo Montoya     58
Marcos Ambrose          53
David Ragan                 43
Kyle Krisiloff                 39
Brad Keselowski           29
Sam Hornish Jr.            25
Brad Coleman               11
Justin Diercks               10
Robert Richardson Jr.      9
Alex Garcia                    7

Schedule: Fri., March 23 – Rookie Practice, 12:10-12:50 p.m., Practice, 1:00- 2:00 p.m., Final Practice, 2:20-3:30 p.m.; Sat., March 24 – Qualifying, 11:10 a.m.