Media Credit: AP Jeff Gordon makes a pit stop during the NASCAR Nextel Cup Food city 500 auto race in Bristol, Tenn., Sunday.

Many milestones were set on Sunday. Most notably, the "Car of Tomorrow" ran its first race after six years of development. Kyle Busch gave Chevrolet its 600th win in NASCAR Cup competition and car owner Rick Hendrick his 200th win in NASCAR overall. The Chevrolet Impala won its first race in NASCAR since 1963, when Wendell Scott, the first African-American to win in NASCAR, piloted his No. 34 car to victory lane in Jacksonville, Fla.

Veteran driver and current points leader Mark Martin stuck to his promise that he would not run the full season. The Food City 500 at Bristol ended his streak of 621 consecutive starts dating back to the 1988 Daytona 500. Despite all of this, however, it was just another day at Bristol.

The look of the "Car of Tomorrow" is the most obvious difference from the current car. It is shaped much more like a box in an attempt at safety. The traditional rear spoiler has been replaced by a high rear wing, which is a throwback to the days of Richard Petty and his 1970s Plymouth Superbirds. A "splitter" on the front nose of the car made out of a weak carbon-fiber-type substance now inhabits the space where the valence was. This has caused a lack of downforce in the cars, which has made them tighter and harder to drive, in addition to slowing them down. Eventual second-place finisher Jeff Burton made the most laconic remark about the "Car of Tomorrow" this weekend.

"It's just another car," Jeff Burton told The Associated Press. "Why won't everyone just shut up and race the damn thing?"

The "Car of Tomorrow" was a direct cause of several wrecks caused by the aforementioned front "splitter." During the close racing that is traditional at Bristol, the front splitter made contact with the tires of the car beside it, cutting them down and leading to crashes. Kasey Kahne, Jimmie Johnson and Jeremy Mayfield were all victims of this phenomenon on Sunday. This is a major problem that NASCAR needs to address in the coming weeks if it wants to stick to its safety initiative.

The race was slowed by 15 caution flags for a total of 90 laps. Tony Stewart led 257 of the 504 laps but fell out of contention with a broken fuel pump. Winner Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin had a good battle going until a restart with 10 laps to go, when Hamlin's No. 11 Chevrolet blew its engine. David Ragan's No. 6 Ford wrecked with three laps to go, which set up a green-white-checkered finish. Jeff Burton passed Jeff Gordon on the final restart to take over second place but lost to Kyle Busch by half of a car length.

NASCAR visits the 526-mile Martinsville Speedway next week, the only track on the current schedule that was also on the original schedule in NASCAR's inaugural 1949 season. The "Car of Tomorrow" will be used next week, as it will on all tracks under 1.5 miles in length. However, most drivers and teams think the full effect of the car will not be felt until it is used at a larger track.

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