Qualifying competition takes center stage at Bristol

Dale Jarrett may not put his car in position to win a Cup, but he can leave a nice parting gift for his successor, David Reutimann. Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR

It's only the fifth race of the Sprint Cup season, but this weekend's Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway could be the most critical out of the 36 on the schedule for those teams close to the line of demarcation for the top-35 in points.

A major realignment among those with safe starting spots and those thrust into the daunting position of having to qualify into the field each week seems likely. Owner points from '07, guaranteeing top-35 cars starting positions, have been used through five races. This season's points begin in two weeks at Martinsville.

As a result, the race for the checkered flag isn't the only competition to keep an eye at Bristol as a host of drivers will be scrambling to avoid the qualifying cut line.

Brian Vickers has already climbed out of the below-35 hole from last season. The Red Bull Toyota driver is ninth and 211 points in front of 36th-place Sam Hornish Jr. Vickers and the No. 83 team will be the most relieved team in the garage at Bristol. The pressure of qualifying is off and they can concentrate on the race in practice.

Another group breathing easy for now is Michael Waltrip Racing, whose three entries were all out of the top-35 starting the season but are all in now. But their positions are precarious, two off laps in qualifying from going home and waiting to see where they end up.

David Reutimann has been the best of MWR's Toyotas, 27th place and 78 points ahead of Hornish. Reutimann knows what it's like to qualify on time every week; he had to do it all last season and missed 10 races.

The 38-year-old from Zephyrhills, Fla., has a four-for-four record, making the show this season with three decent finishes -- 18th at Daytona, 23rd at California and 20th at Atlanta along with 37th at Las Vegas -- have moved him to the verge of cracking the top-35. Here's the catch: Reutimann didn't make either Bristol race last season.

Reutimann, in his second season in Cup, is a more experienced driver with an improved team and car, but the .533-mile track at Bristol is nothing like what has come before this season. He says he's looking forward to the challenge.

"There's nothing like racing at Bristol, in front of all those diehard fans," Reutimann said. "It has the feel of a football stadium and the atmosphere is incredible. I really like the track, even though we have missed the cut there with the Cup car. We finished third last year [in August] in the Nationwide Series race. It's a place where I really want to excel with the Cup team because we didn't have the opportunity to do it last year."

1 of 2