By the Numbers: Bristol

Following the past two seasons that saw Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards run away with the Nationwide Series title, this '08 season has been a refreshing change of pace. Not since 2003 has the points race been this close with 10 races remaining, meaning the top-three of Clint Bowyer, Edwards and Brad Keselowski -- separated by 132 points -- have more pressure than ever heading into the Food City 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway under the lights Friday (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).

In 2003, Vickers was fifth in points, 135 points behind leader Scott Riggs heading into Race 25. Vickers went on to win that race in Darlington and the title when the season wrapped up at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Vickers' come from behind story should give hope to Keselowski, who is third in points, 132 behind leader Bowyer. Bristol is also a track where Keselowski has shown some promise in his short career.

The fourth-place finish in March was Keselowski's first top-five of his career. Since that race, he has been a staple up front with seven top-fives and 12 top-10s in the 20 races since, including his first Nationwide victory at Nashville.

Falling to third in points after an 11th-place finish at Michigan last week, Keselowski is ready to return to a track to his liking.

"I really enjoyed running there last fall and again in the spring," Keselowski said. "The track opened up to where you could run the bottom and the top and we saw more passing than we've ever seen at Bristol. It's just we were able to do it without hitting and wrecking each other.

"I'm proud of the track for recognizing that and making improvements. Give it some time and the top of the track will rubber up and there'll be great side-by-side racing."

For Bowyer, this year's spring race was near-perfect as he led 122 laps and took the checkered flag when the race was shortened due to rain. It was Bowyer's first Nationwide win at Bristol and has been his only win on the season.

Still, Bowyer has been very impressive as the points leader -- even if the wins aren't there.

As impressive as his season has been, his performances at Bristol have been equally stout. Three top-fives and four top-10s in seven races, Bowyer has an average start of 6.9 and an average finish of 9.4 puts the 29-year-old among the best at the .533-mile track since 2005.

"Bristol is such a neat racetrack and it's a dream come true to have won a race there," Bowyer said. "The trophies are the same but the trophy from the Nationwide race is a little smaller than the one from the Cup race.

"It's such a demanding racetrack and if you can win at a place like that, you've done a good day's work."