BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) – It’s one of the toughest tickets to get in NASCAR and the atmosphere is always electric as 43 cars bang around the tight turns of Bristol Motor Speedway.

The night race has always been an annual showcase event on the NASCAR schedule.

Now it’s taken on even greater importance.

With just three races to go before NASCAR’s 10-race playoff series begins, drivers are scrambling to become eligible to race for the Nextel Cup Championship.

Bristol, a high-banked .0533-mile bullring, could be the one track that makes or breaks many teams’ title hopes.

“Bristol is an intense race track to say the least,” said Mark Martin. “Forty-three cars is a lot for a track that size, and driving around that place is like trying to fly a jet fighter airplane around the inside of a basketball arena, so it gets really wild when you have 42 other guys trying to do the same thing.

“You just have to hope that you have a good car and that you can stay out of all the trouble and sometimes that’s hoping for a lot.”

Only the top 10 drivers in the points standings, and anyone else within 400 points of the leader, will qualify for the final shootout. Headed into the Sharpie 500 on Saturday night, a handful of drivers are clinging to their spot while others are racing to get into the chase.

Rookie Kasey Kahne is currently holding the 10th and final spot, with just a six-point lead over teammate Jeremy Mayfield. Sitting in 11th position, Mayfield wants to crack the top 10 – but could still make it in because he’s only 68 points outside of the 400-point cutoff.

Right behind the Evernham Motorsports duo is Martin, who is just 33 points out of the top 10 and has an impressive resume at Bristol: two career victories and 20 top-10 finishes.

Dale Jarrett is in striking distance, 58 points out of 10th and a proven record at Bristol with one win and 15 top-10s.

“”Obviously the best-case scenario for going into Bristol is having a good race car that allows you to run up front,” Jarrett said. “Then usually you can have a pretty good weekend because you don’t have to drive every single lap crazy back in the middle of the pack.”

Even 15th place Jamie McMurray can consider himself racing for a spot. He’s just 70 points out of 10th.

All of them will have to contend with the drivers ahead of them.

Jimmie Johnson has failed to finish the past three races, sliding into second in the standings.

Elliott Sadler, who scored his first career victory at Bristol, is coming off a 32nd place finish in Michigan that saw his hold on seventh in the standings cut to a 72-point advantage over Kahne.

Then there’s Bobby Labonte, who has been on a steady slide the past month. His 26th place finish in Michigan last week cut his lock on the ninth spot to a 13-point advantage over Mayfield.

Anything can go wrong at Bristol.

One wrong move can trigger a multi-car crash. An ill-handling car can cause a driver to be lapped minutes into the race. Tempers are usually as high as the Tennessee heat and humidity.

“You have to remember, whether you are leading, last, or in the middle, you are vulnerable at all times to get caught up in a mess,” Kevin Harvick said. ” You have to pick and choose when to pass because it’s so hard to do without using your front end.”

Sadler expects this to be one of the most intense Bristol races in history.

“There is a lot of side-by-side racing and a lot of guys are racing to get into the top 10, so I dont foresee too much giving and taking going on,” Sadler said. “But, thats Bristol and you just have to go in there elbows up, hard-nosed and be ready to race the hardest race of your life.”

Everyone will be trying to unseat Kurt Busch, who has three-straight wins at Bristol. Busch isn’t banking on making it four in a row.

“It’s a daunting task to say the least,” he said. “Each time I go there, I don’t expect to win, and I don’t expect to run bad. It’s just a matter of controlling the most that you can within your car.”

AP-ES-08-26-04 1303EDT