Drivers' Introduction Songs Say Plenty About Mindset Coming Into Jeff Byrd 500 Presented By Food City

If there is any doubt that four-time Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon is more than ready to launch an all-out assault on the 2011 title, his song of choice for Sunday’s Jeff Byrd 500 Presented by Food City driver introductions should erase any uncertainty.

Gordon, who has 83 Sprint Cup victories, including this year’s win at Phoenix, will make his Bristol Motor Speedway entrance to Tom Petty’s defiant “I Won’t Back Down.” A year ago, Brad Keselowski, who ended up winning the 2010 Nationwide title, selected that same song.

Meanwhile, Carl Edwards is going in a completely different direction, choosing to hear the theme song from the TV sitcom Cheers “Where Everybody Knows Your Name” as he makes his entrance. Dukes of Hazzard aficionado Ryan Newman so admires Bo and Luke Duke that he has chosen to will walk out to Waylon Jennings’ “Good Ol’ Boys.”

Keeping with theme songs, Clint Bowyer is channeling the other Clint, as in Eastwood, with the theme music from “The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly.

Matt Kenseth, an avid fan of hard rock, has selected “Nightmare” by Avenged Sevenhold as his introductory song, while Ragan Smith is also going with that group, choosing “Welcome To The Family.” Marcos Ambrose is going with Metallica’s “Fuel.”

David Ragan, known for being a rather laid-back kind of driver, has seemingly issued a warning of just what his on-track attitude might be this weekend with his selection of Alice Cooper’s “No More Mr. Nice Guy.” Teammate Greg Biffle is feeling pretty good about his chances in the Jeff Byrd 500, deciding to go with “Tonight’s Gonna Be A Good Night,” by Black Eyed Peas.

David Reutimann is keeping it light with “Pretty Fly For A White Guy” by The Offpring, while young Joey Logano wants to be introduced to “Opposite of Adults” by Chiddy Bang. A Hank Williams Jr. selection is Kasey Kahne’s choice, as he wants to hear “A Country Boy Can Survive” as he walks to the microphone and Martin Truex Jr. is sticking with the country theme by choosing Eric Church’s “Homeboy.” Not surprisingly, Bobby Labonte, a native of the Lone Star State, will stroll out to “God Bless Texas” by Little Texas.

Kevin Harvick, driving his black ride at BMS for the first time, is going with AC/DC’s “Back In Black,” while teammates Jeff Burton and Paul Menard are definitely thinking about the Bristol track surface as Burton will be introduced to Guns N’ Rose’s “Welcome To The Jungle” and Menard will walk out to “Concrete Jungle” by Black Label Society.

Saliva’s rousing rendition of  “Ladies and Gentleman,” made famous by World Wrestling Entertainment, will be played for Juan Pablo Montoya and Kurt Busch wants to hear “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer” by George Thorogood.

“Burn It To The Ground” by Nickelback will be played as Jamie McMurray makes his entrance, while Denny Hamlin is sticking with last August’s music, “Shipping Up To Boston,” by Dropkick Murphys, as is Tony Stewart with Kid Rock’s “Bawataba” and Kyle Busch with his own song, “Rowdy Busch” by 2012 featuring Raytona500.

Jimmie Johnson and Brian Vickers are selecting each other’s songs and have chosen to keep them a secret until they are introduced. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Mark Martin also are being tight-lipped about their choices.

Fans at BMS can hear all the songs during driver introductions, which begin at 12:30 p.m. Sunday.
Tickets for the Jeff Byrd 500 are available for $93, while tickets for the Scotts EZ Seed 300 start at $45 for adults and $10 for children 12 and under. Ford Fan Friday tickets are only $5 and are just $4 for fans who have tickets to the Jeff Byrd 500.

A March race weekend package for both the Scotts EZ Seed 300 and the Jeff Byrd 500 can be purchased for as low as $99.

The 2011 season ticket package also is available and consists of both the Jeff Byrd 500 and IRWIN Tools Night Race Sprint Cup events and the Scotts EZ Seed 300 and Food City 250 Nationwide races. Also included are lower-priced options to add Pole Day (March 18) and the O’Reilly Auto Parts 200 Camping World Truck Series/UNOH Perfect Storm 150 Whelen Modified Series races (Aug. 24).

The Wallace Tower package is the lowest priced season ticket at BMS in 2011. The cost for the package is only $185 and includes special food and beverage discounts for season ticketholders.

For more information concerning tickets, please visit www.bristoltix.com or call the BMS ticket office at 423-BRISTOL (274-7865).