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BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Kyle Busch has three races remaining to claim a spot in the 12-driver Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. Under normal circumstances, his chances would be good headed into Saturday nights race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Busch, after all, has five Cup victories at Bristol. But that was before track owner Bruton Smith decided grinding the race track would potentially lure fans back to the track after several years of declining attendance. Asked Friday what he thought of the changes, Busch offered a succinct assessment: "Terrible," he said. He was one of the few drivers with a strong opinion after two Friday practice sessions. Qualifying was washed out by rain, and Casey Mears and Brad Keselowski will start on the front row because the field was set by practice times. Keselowski has won the last two Cup races at the track. Few drivers ventured into the top groove during practice, and insisted its too early to tell how the race will develop. Smith is hoping the race proves Bristol is once again one of the most exciting tracks in NASCAR. After yet another ho-hum Bristol race in March, Smith had the top lane ground down in an effort to eliminate the two-wide racing that fans believed ruined the product. Progressive banking was added to the track in 2007, and the bumping and banging that was a Bristol trademark disappeared. The track had a streak of 55 consecutive sellouts from 1982 until 2010, and Smith believed tightening the track might bring the fans back. Busch was one of the drivers who didnt bother to run at the top of the track on Friday. Why didnt he check it out? "I dont have to," he replied, "I watched the Truck race." Timothy Peters led all 204 laps -- and the first 82 were under green -- in Wednesday nights truck series race. Drivers kept an eye on that race, and voiced their frustrations with Smiths track on Twitter. "Just as expected. Killing the top groove doesnt make the bottom groove any better," tweeted Martin Truex Jr. Carl Edwards, who also needs a win to move into Chase contention, said hes reserving judgment on the track until after the race. He stayed out of the top groove in practice -- a combination of habit and "I dont want to be the first guy to go up there if theres no grip" -- and said nobody knows what it will be like during the race. "They changed the track because everybody wanted it to be two or three grooves and then they changed it back," Edwards said. "I give them a lot of credit for doing the very best they can. This is one of the coolest race tracks in the world and I think theyve done everything they can to make sure we have the best show that we can have and it will be an exciting race one way or another." Matt Kenseth wasnt even sure the track needed to be changed. He surmised the push for changes snowballed, perhaps in part to the presence of social media. "Everybody talks about the old Bristol and people knocking each other out of the way and fighting and all that stuff. Well, we raced these cars at Bristol before they reconfigured it and there was hardly any passing," Kenseth said. "Things change over time and I thought the race in the spring was pretty good. Everybody is going to want something different. We tried to narrow the track up and take grooves away to take passing away, so Im a little confused on the whole concept to start with. "I think all of the races are pretty good here. I havent really seen a real bad one here. I think the racing is always entertaining." Mears was another driver who had no idea what to expect Saturday night. "Where they actually worked on the track, we havent actually been all the way up there yet," Mears said. "Ive seen some guys flirting with the edge of it, so its really going to be hard to say. If it keeps guys from running up against the wall, I think it could make it a little bit more competitive just because when guys are running right up against the fence and its really hard to pass guys down underneath." Wholesale Jerseys China . Manager John Farrell says the slugger had six at-bats Wednesday morning in a simulated game. Wholesale Jerseys Cheap . Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos joined TSN Radios Mike Richards this morning and admitted that the club is already planning for the off-season and that his sights are set clearly in one specific area of improvement. http://www.wholesalechinajerseysmall.com/ . Briand defeated fellow Canadian Arthur Margelidon in the semifinal of the mens under-73-kilogram class, then defeated Mexicos Lee Matya for gold. Margelidon and Justin Fumiya Imagawa, who lost to Mata in the semifinals, each won their bronze-medal matches.AUSTIN, Texas -- Lance Armstrong said he will answer questions "directly, honestly and candidly" during an interview with Oprah Winfrey next week. He will also apologize and make a limited confession to using performance-enhancing drugs, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. Armstrong has spent more than a decade denying that he doped to win the Tour de France seven times. Without saying whether he would confess or apologize during the taping, Armstrong told The Associated Press in a text message early Saturday, "I told her (Winfrey) to go wherever she wants and Ill answer the questions directly, honestly and candidly. Thats all I can say." A confession would be a stunning reversal for Armstrong after years of public statements, interviews and court battles from Austin to Europe in which he denied doping and zealously protected his reputation. Armstrong was stripped of his titles and banned from the sport for life last year after the U.S. Anti-Doping agency issued a detailed report accusing him of leading a sophisticated and brazen drug program on his U.S. Postal Service teams that included steroids, blood boosters and a range of performance-enhancing drugs. Armstrongs interview with Winfrey is not expected to go into great detail about specific allegations levied in the more than 1,000-page USADA report. But Armstrong will make a general confession and apologize, according to the person, who requested anonymity because there was no authorization to speak publicly. Several outlets had also reported that Armstrong was considering a confession. Armstrong hasnt responded to the USADA report or being stripped of his Tour de France titles. But shortly afterward, he tweeted a picture of himself on a couch at home with all seven of the yellow leaders jerseys on display in a room at his home in Austin. He also agreed to be interviewed there, in what the Oprah Winfrey Network announced would be a "no-holds barred" session. Thats scheduled to be taped Monday and broadcast Thursday night. "His reputation is in crisis," said crisis management expert Mike Paul, president of New York-based, MGP & Associates PR. "Most people dont trust what comess out of his mouth.dddddddddddd He has to be truly repentant and humble." He also has to be careful. Armstrong is facing legal challenges on several fronts, including a federal whistle-blower lawsuit brought by former teammate Floyd Landis, who himself was stripped of the 2006 Tour de France title, accusing him of defrauding the U.S. Postal Service. The U.S. Justice Department has yet to announce whether it will join the case. The London-based Sunday Times is also suing Armstrong to recover about $500,000 it paid him to settle a libel lawsuit, and Dallas-based SCA Promotions has threatened to bring yet another lawsuit against Armstrong to recover more than $7.5 million an arbitration panel awarded him as a bonus for winning the Tour de France. The only lawsuit potentially impacted by a confession might be the Sunday Times case. Potential perjury charges stemming from his sworn testimony in the 2005 arbitration fight would not apply because of the statute of limitations. Armstrong was not deposed during a federal investigation that was closed last year without charges being brought. However, he lost most of his personal endorsements -- worth tens of millions of dollars -- after USADA issued its report and he left the board of the Livestrong cancer-fighting charity he founded in 1997. He is still said to be worth an estimated $100 million. Livestrong might be one reason to issue an apology or make a confession. The charity supports cancer patients and still faces an image problem because of its association with Armstrong. He may also be hoping a confession would allow him to return to competition in the elite triathlon or running events he participated in after his cycling career. But World Anti-Doping Code rules state his lifetime ban cannot be reduced to less than eight years. WADA and U.S. Anti-Doping officials could agree to reduce the ban further depending on what new information Armstrong provides and his level of co-operation. USADA chief Travis Tygart did not return a call Saturday from the AP. Armstrong met with USADA officials recently to explore a "pathway to redemption," according to a report by "60 Minutes Sports" aired Wednesday on Showtime. ' ' '