Bristol Pontiac car notes

[The following are facts and figures regarding the cars Pontiac teams will be running this weekend during the NASCAR Winston Cup event at Bristol.]

10
Aaron's Pontiac driver Johnny Benson has two top fives this year: one last week at Michigan (5th) and one here at Bristol (2nd - best career finish). He'll look for his first career win Saturday night with the same chassis he drove here in the spring. The last time he drove this car was at Dover in June.

14
This chassis last raced at Bristol in March with driver Dick Trickle. One week later Rick Mast took over behind the wheel of the Conseco Grand Prix at Texas, and now comes to Bristol with A.J. Foyt Racing looking to improve on the 27th place effort the team posted here this spring.

18
Points leader Bobby Labonte last drove this chassis at Dover in June, where he netted one of his nine top three finishes this season. He also ran it here at Bristol in the spring race and finished sixth, behind two other Pontiac drivers (Benson-2nd, Burton-3rd).

20
Tony Stewart dominated Dover the last time he ran this chassis, leading 242 of 400 laps. That day was a great answer to his first 2000 start with this car here at Bristol when he lost an engine and finished 42nd. In six starts over the past two seasons with this chassis, Stewart has one win, four top fives and has led 746 of a possible 2,700 laps.

22
Caterpillar Pontiac driver Ward Burton finished third here in the spring, but will be behind the wheel of a different car this time. This chassis appeared at Dover in its only 2000 start, posting an eighth place finish.

27
Mike Bliss was last in this chassis at Dover, where he crashed 279 laps in and finished 35th. The team also ran this car at Las Vegas and Charlotte. This will mark Bliss' first start at Bristol this year, as he didn't join Eel River until two weeks after the spring race at Bristol.

36
Ken Schrader hasn't raced this chassis yet in 2000, but it's not new. It was part of the M&M's Pontiac stable last year and will look for its first 2000 start this weekend at Bristol. Schrader ended the spring race at Bristol in the 26th position.

43
John Andretti did all of his work at Bristol and Dover in 1999 with this chassis and it hasn't been run since. Those four races netted a top five at Bristol in the spring of '99 and a 13th at Dover in June of '99, but also two DNFs in the return trips to those two tracks.

44
Kyle Petty is planning on making his final Winston Cup start of 2000 in the Hot Wheels Pontiac Saturday night before he hands over the reigns to Steve Grissom. He'll hope for a strong performance in the car he last ran at Dover in June.

93
Dave Blaney's first trip to Bristol was a rude, but not uncommon introduction to the perils of short track racing, as he was caught up in an accident and finished 35th in this chassis. Its only other appearance this year was to be at Dover, but the car crashed during qualifying.