MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- The storm of debate over double-file restarts in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series has largely abated.

Like 'em or not -- and many drivers really don't -- the consensus is that they have improved the quality of racing in a big way. Fans love 'em. Television embraces the drama they produce each time there is a caution on the race track.

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It's definitely going to be a learn-as-you-go process.

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KURT BUSCH

Bruton Smith, chairman and CEO of Speedway Motorsports Inc. that owns and operates a slew of tracks, was asked recently about the addition of double-file restarts to the sport and responded: "That's been fabulous. Why didn't we do it earlier? I don't know, but it's added tremendously to our sport."

So they are here to stay. As that has become more widely accepted, not all that much has been said about them one way or another recently.

But now comes this Sunday's Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway, where the current rule permitting the lead cars to line up side-by-side for every restart was not in effect when the Sprint Cup gang last visited this .526-mile short track in the spring.

"I think we will see a little bit different race for the pure fact of the double-file restarts," said Greg Biffle, who will start 20th on Sunday. "I think that's gonna be a big deal. It's been a fairly big deal everywhere we've gone."

And it has the potential to be even bigger at Martinsville. Fellow driver Kurt Busch said that he expects the restarts especially will play a huge role toward completion of the 500-lap race.

"It will definitely be pretty wild there at the end," Busch said.

His theory is that while at many tracks it's a difficult decision for the leader to make when it comes to being on the inside or the outside, at Martinsville drivers are almost certainly going to want to be on the inside lane on the restarts, especially late in the race.

"Being on the inside lane will be key," Busch said. "You hope that you get the inside as much as the outside [as the race progresses]. You want it to be a 50-50 shake. If you're out there and you're hung out and you're getting freight-trained, there's not much you can do other than find a teammate or find a hole that will help you get back to the bottom. It's definitely going to be a learn-as-you-go process."

All the drivers seem to agree that it will be much better to be on the inside lane on restarts for this race than getting stuck on the outside.

"I think it's going to make a big difference," said Brian Vickers, who will start 24th. "At most tracks we've been to, there hasn't been a very defined, definite advantage, one way or the other. The outside line has been good at a lot of places. Maybe the groove is on the inside, but the outside line has been better because of the aero advantage, because the guy under you is getting loose.

"I think it's going to change the order dramatically throughout the field on every restart. If you're hung on the outside and you can't get down, you may lose several spots. The next restart, maybe you're on the inside and you gain several. All in all, it'll probably come out full circle -- but sometimes you have those weeks where you're always in the right lane and sometimes you have those weeks where you're always in the wrong lane."

Biffle was even more blunt about what very well may happen to someone who gets stuck on the outside for a restart late in the race.

"I think here more than anywhere the bottom groove, I think, will be the place to be," Biffle said. "It's predominantly been the fastest way around forever, so if you do get third row on the top, we've seen a car get shuffled out of line and he goes to 20th -- sort of like restrictor-plate racing -- before there's an opening.

"So that could happen to the fourth-place guy. He could get stuck out there forever. I don't know, so I'm curious to see how it works. But as far as the race track goes and the racing, that could be a huge difference."