Some news tidbits from the world of NASCAR:

Joe Nemechek and the guys on his Cup and Nationwide series teams are competing among themselves and against their fans in an NCAA Tournament Bracket Challenge.

The challenge, which can be found on NEMCO Motorsports’ Web site — www.nemcomotorsports.com/brackets.htm — allows fans to enter their bracket picks and track their progress against the NEMCO teams throughout the tournament.

“We’ve been interacting with our fans on Facebook and Twitter, and we thought this would be a fun way to further the interaction with a little friendly competition,” Nemechek said. “We are basically competing for bragging rights.”

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This weekend will mark Denny Hamlin’s ninth Cup Series start at Bristol. His average finish is 11.6, including a runner-up finish in spring 2009.

Hamlin has finishes no worse than sixth in the past four races at BMS, a track where he has come close to winning — and he looks to change this week. “Coming so close before has really only made us want to win one of these Bristol races more than ever,” Hamlin said. “There is no doubt that winning at Bristol would be special and I know I speak for the entire team when I say leaving Bristol with a trophy is something everyone in racing wants to accomplish in their career.

“We’ve felt like we’ve had the car on a couple of occasions but had some bad luck in terms of parts going bad at the worst possible times. Twice we ran almost 500 laps around Bristol to get in position to win only to have things go wrong at the very end. … I always like our chances coming here — not having a great start to the season doesn’t affect that or our overall outlook at all.”

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In eight Cup Series starts at Bristol, Clint Bowyer has two top-five finishes and four top-10s. Bowyer also boasts a 15.2 average finish.

“As a race fan, if someone asked me where to go to watch a race, I’m sending them to Bristol first,” Bowyer said. “Then they go around and see the other tracks. You haven’t seen a race track until you’ve seen Bristol. It’s an awesome spectacle of what we do as race car drivers and as a sport.

“I’m a fan of the way the racing surface is right now. I like the two-wide racing and I think you’ll still be able to do it there [after the extension of the SAFER barriers in Turns 2 and 4]. I like being able to run side-by-side and being able to race your way around somebody. Bristol has always been one of my favorite race tracks and the fans always get their monies worth no matter how wide or narrow it is.”

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During the season’s four races, Jeff Burton has made 629 passes under green-flag conditions, the most of all drivers. He also is one of nine drivers who have completed all laps contested thus far and has led 47 laps of competition.

Now he returns to Bristol, where he has one win (spring 2008) with eight top-five finishes and 13 top-10s in 32 starts. “It’s such a hard and physically demanding race track,” Burton said of the .533-mile bullring. “It’s so unique from any other race on the circuit we go to that it makes it special.

“It’s not about money or a cool trophy. It’s about being able to say, ‘Hey, I won at Bristol.’ Everybody knows what racing at Bristol is like and it’s a challenge to race the race track and 42 other drivers. To say you won at Bristol is rewarding.”

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As part of Food City Family Race night, Cup Series points leader Kevin Harvick and his wife DeLana will participate in a game of Family Feud.

The 2005 Food City 500 winner, along with fellow RCR teammate Jeff Burton, will face off against Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman and his wife Krissie, at 7:20 p.m. Friday. The event is free to the public and will take place at the Food City Stage in Bristol Motor Speedway’s hospitality village, located outside Turn 4.

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Sunday will mark Elliott Sadler’s 24th Cup Series start at Bristol Motor Speedway, site of his first career series victory in 2001.

“I’m definitely looking forward to Bristol this weekend,” Sadler said. “The track is one of the best we go to and the racing there is always exciting. This track is special to me since it’s the spot where I grabbed my first career win back in 2001. I was driving a Ford at the time with the Wood Brothers. I’d love nothing more than to get a second win there.

“With this being a half-mile track, we’ll focus on completely different things this weekend than what we did the first four races of the season. We put a lot of focus on qualifying at Atlanta and that paid off. Once the green flag fell though we really struggled. Now that we’ve had a week off, I’m ready to get back at it. I can’t think of a better place than Bristol to really have a strong showing.”

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Paul Menard, who is ninth in points and has finished inside the top 18 in all four races this year, has made five Cup Series starts at Bristol. He’s looking forward to the season’s first short-track race.

“This is a totally different track than what we’ve been on so far this season,” said Menard, whose best finish in five races at BMS was a 16th-place finish in fall 2008. “I’m anxious to see how our short-track program has improved. I think that was the weak point last season with Yates Racing and I think this Richard Petty Motorsports team has made some pretty big gains. I’m eager to see how that translates on the race track.

“Bristol and Martinsville are survival races. It’s so easy to get caught up in somebody else’s mistake and it happens all the time. On top of that, tempers flare up pretty easily at places like Bristol and you could wind up in the middle of something you didn’t start before you know it.”

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This weekend’s race will be A.J. Allmendinger’s sixth Cup Series start at Bristol, where his best finish is 16th in spring 2009.

“Bristol is really a unique track and like a lot of drivers and people in the sport it’s one of my favorite tracks that we go to,” said Allmendinger, who posted a season-best sixth-place finish at Atlanta. “It’s a crazy atmosphere. You have this half-mile track with the stands rising tall all the way around it. Its almost like an ancient coliseum or something. The crowd is always electric too.

“I’m sure we will be able to build off the last race’s momentum. Bristol is where I qualified my way in to my first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in 2007. To be in such a different place now from where I was then, where I don’t have to worry about whether I’m going to make the race
or not, is a huge benefit.”

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With five Cup Series wins at Bristol, Kurt Busch always returns to the lightning-fast .533-mile oval with a great degree of poise. You can bump up the confidence level this time around. The addition of crew chief Steve Addington Busch brimming with enthusiasm heading into this weekend’s race.

“It’s really easy to come in with a little more swagger when you have the winning crew chief of both races there last season calling the shots for you,” said Busch, who will be making his 19th start at Bristol. “We’ve had quite a bit of success there ourselves over the years, winning five times. But, we haven’t won at Bristol since 2006 and we’re hoping Steve can be a vital team player in helping us find our way back to Victory Lane.”

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Greg Biffle enters Bristol third in the point standings following an eighth-place finish in Atlanta. Biffle is only 59 points behind leader Kevin Harvick and and holds a 110-point advantage on Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 13th.

“Bristol has to be one of the most exciting tracks we go to especially for the fans,” said Biffle, who has five top-five finishes and eight top-10s in 14 starts at the track. “We’ve run well there in the past and I think that if we can qualify up front, we should be able to keep it up there. We’ve had a top-five car every week this season and I don’t see any reason why it would be any different this weekend.

“A win a Bristol would be incredible but if we can get out of there with a solid top-five, I’ll be happy.”

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Mike Bliss will make his fourth Cup Series start at Bristol this weekend with an eye on keeping his No. 36 Chevrolet in the top 35 in owner points. The Tommy Baldwin Racing entry is tied with Yates Racing’s No. 37 for 35th; the 2010 top 35 in owner points are guaranteed a starting position beginning next week at Martinsville.

Bliss’ best finish at BMS was a seventh-place run in August 2005. “I like Bristol a lot, and it is a fun track to drive,” Bliss said. “Of course, it will be nerve-racking trying to get into the race Friday. It’s nice to be right there at the edge of the top 35, and the goal this weekend will be to leave Bristol still in the top 35. Our focus this weekend will be on doing whatever is needed to stay in the top 35.”

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Race fans can secure an all-access pass at Infineon Raceway for the Sprint Cup Series weekend with the a Platinum Pass, which features a reserved ticket to the races on June 18-20 as well as a pre-race pit and track pass and preferred parking.

The raceway also has partnered with Michael Waltrip Racing on an exclusive Q&A with Michael Waltrip for Platinum Pass ticket holders, who will also receive a commemorative credential featuring Waltrip.

Cost for the Platinum Pass featuring Michael Waltrip Racing is $295, and there are only 200 passes available. Call (800) 870-RACE or visit www.infineonraceway.com to secure your Platinum Pass.