Joshua and Cheryl have been offering up their own personal sets of HeartRacers~HeartBreakers for each race. The moments that stirred them for whatever reason will fall in the HeartRacers category, and anything that makes them wince, cry, or throw stuff will be HeartBreakers. All cawsnjaws readers are invited to add on their own to share with everyone.

It was, to the night, the anniversary of the first race at Bristol. Nearly three decades later, getting to see a race at this track is highly prized by NASCAR fans. (There are unsubstantiated rumors of people selling their children or organs from their bodies to get season tickets.)

Further, if there are four words that can excite a NASCAR fan more than ‘Gentlemen Start Your Engines’, it would definitely be ‘night race at Bristol’. With all of the recent driver run-ins, The Sharpie 500 promised to be a fiercesom night of dueling racing warriors. The weather forecast was predicting there could be storms in the sky as well. After all was said and done, though, not a drop of rain fell, and it was a surprisingly laid back race (at least for one at this particular track).

HeartRacers:

  • It’s Bristol, baby, and Benny is back in the booth. A rousing ‘Salute to America’ was followed by a stirring rendition of the National Anthem by children of drivers and teams (someone forgot to flip a switch, somewhere, though, so that the audience could actually hear them), and once again the engines roared to life in Thunder Valley. Woo Hoo!
  • Michael McSwain’s return as crew chief for the No. 21 Little Debbie’s team can be likened to them being sprinkled with magic confectioners’ sugar. Once again we get to mention Ken Schrader and his team in the HeartRacers section for finishing in the top 15.
  • Kevin Harvick fans shot to their feet on lap 203 as the failure of a right-front tire sent the No. 29 GM Goodwrench Chevy spinning. All was not lost, however, as Harvick powered his car forward anyway, and wound up with an 11th-place finish, and remained at the same place in the standings (third).
  • Jeff Burton began his domination of the race on lap 12. He and his No. 31 Cingular Chevy powered through many more laps, earning him the five bonus points for leading the most laps. This HeartRacer almost became a HeartBreaker, though, as after lap 318 Burton lost his momentum and began to struggle. However, Burton avoided trouble and kept the car in the top ten, and moved up two spots in the standings to seventh.
  • Despite a little on-track rubbin’ with David Stremme, driver of the No. 40 Coors Light Dodge, and a very minor exchange of words after the race with Jeff Gordon, pilot of the No. 24 Dupont Chevy, Scott Riggs can smile about taking his No. 10 Valvoline Dodge to his first short track top five.
  • Once again we are thinking that fans of Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 5 Kellogg’s Chevy, were chomping on antacids throughout the race, as his night was good, bad, good, bad, etc. They can ultimately celebrate, though, as their favorite driver managed to end up by night’s end with a second-place finish in the race, and in the top 10 of the Chase.
  • Fans of the Budweiser No. 8 car of Dale Earnhardt Jr. had to have left BMS with racing hearts. The familiar red Chevy had a lousy starting spot (40th), but Earnhardt Jr. didn’t let that stop him from using pit strategy and just good ol’ racing talent to get him to the front. For the last half of the race he was a factor, and ultimately finished third. A happy and grateful Earnhardt Jr. thanked his team more than once for good pit stops and a good car.
  • Matt Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 Dewalt Ford, came into the race flushed with victory from his Busch win last night. He started the race in fourth position, and he and his fans had every reason to be confident of a good outcome. He didn’t let them down, as starting on lap 54 he grabbed the lead, and stayed a dominant force throughout the race. Best of all, he clinched the number two spot in the Chase, securing him as a final contender.
  • Jimmie Johnson started the race in 18th place, avoided all of the dangers, and finished it in 10th. That secures his spot in the Chase, and puts him in the top of the standings. Johnson fans had every reason to leave BMS a very happy crowd.

HeartBreakers:

  • While Kurt Busch led the pack around the track for lap one, it was ultimately going to be a disastrous night for the No. 2 Miller Lite team. On lap 226, Reed Sorenson in the No. 41 Target Dodge would have a tire go down and be unable to get to pit road, causing an accident that would damage Busch’s car. A pit road penalty on lap 326 was soon followed by his falling a lap down; then on lap 368 Busch’s car began jumping out of gear. This all spelled a shortened race for him, and the end of his Chase run.
  • Fans of Petty Racing Enterprises had to be thrilled during the beginning of the race, with Bobby Labonte in his No. 43 Hamburger Helper Dodge and Kyle Petty in his No. 45 Marathon American Dodge running in the top ten. Alas it was not to last, as Petty received a pit road penalty on lap 65, and spun on lap 88; and Bobby Labonte faded to midpack, and was not a force after that. Labonte finished 23rd; and Petty finished in 34th.
  • We send out sad HeartBreaker’s sighs to Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevy, for actually losing a wheel on the track on lap 234, and finishing 38th; and to Dave Gilliland, in his No. 38 M&M’s Ford, for a wreck on lap 115, and a 40th-place finish.
  • Despite starting 15th, a pit road penalty and front end damage relegated Mark Martin and his No. 6 AAA Ford to a 28th-place finish and a six-spot fall in the standings to tenth. Ouch.
  • We are betting that Greg Biffle, pilot of the No. 16 National Guard Ford, won’t be inviting Robby Gordon, driver of the No. 7 Jim Beam Chevy, over for Sunday brunch. In a post-race interview, Biffle expressed his displeasure over on-track run-ins with Gordon, and mentioned that it was as unpleasant as a past race at Indianapolis, when he felt Gordon had not driven in a sporting way then.
  • Tony Stewart fans had every reason to believe their favorite driver would do well on the banks of Bristol, but it was not to be. After starting a respectable fifth, Stewart faded back, and was not a force in this race. He finished 22nd and fell back three spots in the standings to eighth-place.
  • Elliott Sadler fans must have left BMS with their heads hung low. Two on-track incidents left the No. 19 Dodge Dealers Dodge looking a little like the loser in a demolition derby, and Sadler wound up with a 39th-place finish.