by Mike Forde
NASCAR Media Service
At Bristol Motor Speedway:
History
· Groundbreaking for Bristol International Speedway, as Bristol Motor Speedway was originally known, took place in 1960. The track was an exact half-mile.
· First NASCAR Sprint Cup race was July 30, 1961.
· In the fall of 1969, the track was reshaped and re-measured to .533-miles.
· The name changed to Bristol International Raceway in 1978.
· The first night race was held in the fall of 1978.
· The surface was changed from asphalt to concrete in 1992.
· The name changed to Bristol Motor Speedway in May 1996.
· The track was resurfaced between races in 2007.
Notebook
· There have been 98 NASCAR Sprint Cup races since the first race there in 1961, two races each season.
· All races have been scheduled for 500 laps, except for both races in 1976 and the second in 1977, which were 400 laps.
· Fred Lorenzen won the first pole.
· The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was won by Jack Smith (with relief from Johnny Allen).
· There have been 42 different pole winners, led by Cale Yarborough and Mark Martin (nine). Martinswept both poles at Bristol last season.
· 37 different drivers have won, led by Darrell Waltrip (12).
· Kurt Busch and Jeff Gordon each have five wins, most among active drivers.
· The race winner has started from the pole 22 times, the most productive starting position. The last driver to win from the pole was Carl Edwards in the night race of 2008.
· 79 of 97 races have been won from a top-10 starting position, including 51 from the first four spots. But both races last season – swept by Kyle Busch –were won from a starting position outside the top 10.
· The deepest in the field that a race winner has started is 38th, by Elliott Sadler in 2001.
· Only one active driver averages a top-10 finish: Marcos Ambrose. Ambrose, who has an average finish of 6.5, has run two races at Bristol, both last season.
· Last year’s night race had a margin of victory of .098 seconds, the second-closest MOV at Bristol since the advent of electronic scoring in May of 1993.
· Three of the last four Bristol races had a margin of victory under one second.
Bristol Motor Speedway Data
Race #: 5 of 36 (3-21-10)
Track Size: .533 miles
· Race Length: 500 laps/266.5 miles
· Banking/Corners: 26 to 30 degrees
· Banking/Straights: 4 to 9 degrees
Driver Rating at Bristol
Marcos Ambrose 108.2
Kyle Busch 105.6
Jeff Gordon 100.1
Greg Biffle 99.3
Denny Hamlin 98.9
Matt Kenseth 97.5
Tony Stewart 94.7
Kevin Harvick 93.5
Kurt Busch 91.7
Mark Martin 89.5
Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2009 races (10 total) at Bristol.
Qualifying/Race Data
2009 pole winner: Mark Martin, 125.773 mph, 15.256 seconds
2009 race winner: Kyle Busch, 92.139 mph, 3-22-09)
Track qualifying record: Ryan Newman (128.709 mph, 14.908 seconds, 3-21-03)
Track race record: Charlie Glotzbach (101.074 mph, 7-11-71)
Estimated Pit Window: Every 120-130 laps, based on fuel mileage.
NASCAR in Tennessee
* There have been 159 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Tennessee.
* 97 drivers all-time in NASCAR’s three national series have their home state recorded as Tennessee.
* There have been 12 race winners from Tennessee in NASCAR’s three national series.
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