By Jim Utter

Three things to watch

1 . Brad Keselowski has won the past two Cup races at Bristol and certainly is in good position for another this weekend.

2 . One more win and Greg Biffle could be tied for the lead when the Chase gets underway in the next few weeks. But he's never won at Bristol, Atlanta or Richmond.

3 . New Bristol? Old Bristol? Somewhere in between? What will drivers see in the race after changes made to the track since March? Most say it won't become clear until about half the race has been run with all 43 drivers on the track.

Observations

The comments made by Brad Keselowski about Hendrick Motorsports have – like many other things in NASCAR – been blown completely out of proportion. Keselowski never said HMS teams were cheating. The worst thing he said was they were “living in the gray area.” Excuse me, but aren't all teams in NASCAR doing that? And if they aren't, they better start or they will likely get left behind. That, in essence, was the crux of Keselowski's comments. He thought his Penske Racing organization needed to start heading down that direction when it came to the performance gains in rear suspensions.

The fall race at Bristol always features one of the best pre-race driver introductions of the season. Typically, drivers pick their own favorite song that is played when they are introduced and the selections themselves often times are quite telling. Another great moment is when the children of NASCAR drivers and crew members join together to sing the national anthem before the race.

Best bets

Jim Utter gives you three picks for your fantasy racing league:

Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski.

Notes

Mears starts from the pole: Fast in practice proved a big bonus for Casey Mears on Friday.

Heavy rain washed out qualifying for Saturday night's Cup race at Bristol, and since both practice sessions were complete, the lineup was set by practice speeds from the first session, which Mears led.

Defending race winner Brad Keselowski will start second, series points leader Greg Biffle starts third, Joey Logano fourth and Aric Almirola fifth. Danica Patrick, who was slowest of 47 cars in both practice sessions, will line up 43rd.

“For our team, it's been a long couple of years. The team has really grown and we've made a lot of improvements this year. This will be a big shot in the arm, for sure,” Mears said.

“We've been able to cars and parts from Roush (Fenway Racing). We were pretty embarrassed with how we showed up here last time (in March). We unloaded way better than we did last time.”

Earnhardt not happy with Keselowski: Dale Earnhardt Jr. expressed his displeasure on Friday morning over comments Brad Keselowski made last weekend, which many in the media claimed were allegations of cheating at Hendrick Motorsports.

Keselowski never accused Hendrick of cheating but in reference to the organization's performance gains in the area of rear suspension, it was “living in the gray area.”

Earnhardt said he took “offense to the claims and accusations” made by Keselowski.

“I do know Brad pretty well. Brad is a really good guy. He has a pretty good heart. He is a really great race car driver and I wish he would concentrate on that,” Earnhardt said. “I think he likes to talk a lot, but I think his true skills shine on the race track not really behind the microphone.”

NASCAR suspends crew member: Ryan Hess, a crew member in the Nationwide Series for the No. 81 Dodge team, has been indefinitely suspended from NASCAR for violating the sanctioning body’s substance abuse policy.

Track type: .533-mile, highly banked, concrete oval

Race distance: 500 laps or 266.5 miles

Weather: Sunny and high in the low 80s.

TV: Coverage begins at 7 p.m. on ABC. Green flag is 7:45 p.m.

Radio: Performance Racing Network