Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Bristol Track Facts: 2013 Irwin Tools Night Race

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2012 Top 12 at Bristol Motor Speedway
 DriverRacesPolesWinsTop FivesTop 10sDNFsAverage FinishDriver Rating
          
1Jimmie Johnson2311713114.393.8
2Clint Bowyer150058216.282.6
3Carl Edwards182247114.686.5
4Kevin Harvick2501912212.690.3
5Kyle Busch171581209.8103.0
6Matt Kenseth27121017412.999.9
7Dale Earnhardt Jr.2701713111.687.9
8Brad Keselowski70233012.199.0
9Kurt Busch2515714213.492.8
10Greg Biffle2110611112.195.8
11Kasey Kahne191148318.286.8
12Martin Truex Jr.150022118.382.4
* – Based on last 17 races at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2013 Wild Card Standings Following Michigan
PosDriverWinsPts PosPointsPts From 10thStartsPolesT5sT10sDNFs
1Kasey Kahne211659-42307103
2Martin Truex Jr.112653-10230592
3Joey Logano113646-172316122
4Ryan Newman115636-272314105
5Tony Stewart118594-69210580
6Jeff Gordon014637-26230595
7Jamie McMurray016622-41231150
8Paul Menard017599-64230151
9Aric Almirola019587-76230154
10Jeff Burton020561-102230252
11David Ragan126420-243230113
The top-10 drivers will make the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.  Positions 11 and 12 in the 12-driver Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup are Wild Cards, and will go to drivers outside the top 10 with the most wins, as long as they are ranked in the top 20 in points. If multiple drivers outside the top 10 tie for wins, the tie-breaker will go to the race winner with the highest points position.

Bristol Motor Speedway Data
Season Race #: 4 of 36 (03-17-13)
Track Size: 0.533-miles
Banking/Turns 1 & 2: 24-28 degrees
Banking/Turns 3 & 4: 24-28 degrees
Banking/Frontstretch: 4-8 degrees
Banking/Backstretch: 4-8 degrees
Frontstretch Length:  650 feet
Backstretch Length:  650 feet
Race Length: 500 laps / 266.5 miles

Top 12 Driver Ratings at Bristol
Kyle Busch.............................. 103.0
Jeff Gordon............................. 100.6
Matt Kenseth............................ 99.9
Brad Keselowski...................... 99.0
Greg Biffle................................ 95.8
Jimmie Johnson....................... 93.8
Kurt Busch............................... 92.8
Denny Hamlin.......................... 90.8
Kevin Harvick........................... 90.3
Dale Earnhardt Jr..................... 87.9
Kasey Kahne............................ 86.8
Ryan Newman.......................... 86.7
Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2013 races (17 total) among active drivers at Bristol Motor Speedway

Qualifying/Race Data
2012 pole winner: None due to weather
2012 race winner: Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 84.402 mph, (3:09:27), 08-25-12
Track qualifying record: Kyle Busch, Toyota, 129.535 mph, 14.813 secs. 03-15-13
Track race record: Charlie Glotzbach, Chevrolet, 101.074 mph, (2:38:12), 07-11-71

Thunder Valley always produces fun, even with Charlie Daniels
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; Jack Smith won the event (with relief from Johnny Allen).
·       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, and the turns were ground down last season to eliminate part of the progressive banking.
Notebook
·       There have been 105 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Bristol Motor Speedway since the first race 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.
·       422 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol; 294 in more than one.
·       NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the series in starts at Bristol with 60. Terry Labonte leads all active drivers with 58 starts.
·       Fred Lorenzen won the inaugural Coors Light pole with a speed of 79.225 mph.
·       46 different drivers have poles at Bristol, led by Mark Martin and Cale Yarborough with nine each.  Martin swept both poles at Bristol in 2009.
·       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.
·       Four drivers have won from the pole position more than once: Bobby Allison (1972 twice), Cale Yarborough(1973, 1977 twice, 1980), Darrell Waltrip (1981 twice, 1982) and Rusty Wallace (1991, 1993, 1999, 2000).
·     10 different drivers have posted consecutive poles at Bristol Motor Speedway; Mark Martin is the only of the 10 to win four consecutive poles at Bristol: Fireball Roberts (swept 1962), Fred Lorenzen (swept 1963), Richard Petty (1967-’68), Bobby Allison (swept 1972), Cale Yarborough (swept 1973; swept 1977; swept 1980),Darrell Waltrip (swept 1981), Geoff Bodine (swept 1986), Mark Martin (swept 1995-1996– all four races; and swept 2009); Rusty Wallace (swept 1998) and Jeff Gordon (swept 2002).
·       Jeff Gordon leads (active drivers) the series in average starting position at Bristol with a 6.876. 
·       Youngest Bristol pole winner: Joey Logano (3/21/2010 – 19 years, 9 months, 25 days) – his first series career pole.
·       Oldest Bristol pole winner: Harry Gant (8/27/1994 – 54 years, 7 months, 17 days).
·       41 different drivers have won at Bristol, led by Darrell Waltrip (12). Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon and Kyle Buscheach have five wins, the most among active drivers.
·       Junior Johnson leads the series in car owner wins at Bristol with 16; Rick Hendrick, Roger Penske and Jack Roush are tied among active car owners for the most wins at Bristol with 10 each.
·       12 drivers have won consecutive races at Bristol led by Darrell Waltrip with seven consecutive victories from 1981-1984. The other 11 are Fred Lorenzen (1963-1964 sweep), David Pearson (1968 sweep), Bobby Allison(1972 sweep), Cale Yarborough did it twice (1974 sweep and four straight from 1976-1977), Richard Petty(1975 sweep), Dale Earnhardt also did twice (1985 sweep and 1987 sweep), Alan Kulwicki (1992 sweep),Rusty Wallace (2000 sweep), Kurt Busch (2003 sweep and 2004 spring race), Kyle Busch (2009 sweep), andBrad Keselowski (2011 fall-2012 spring).
·       Youngest Bristol winner: Kyle Busch (3/25/2007 – 21 years, 10 months, 23 days).
·       Oldest Bristol winner: Dale Earnhardt (8/28/1999 – 48 years, 3 months, 30 days).
·       Eight different manufacturers have won in the NSCS at Bristol; led by Chevrolet with 43 victories; followed byFord with 33. Toyota is ranked fifth among Manufacturers with five wins at Bristol.
·       84 of the 105 (80%) races have been won from a top-10 starting position; including 53 from the first four spots.
·       35 of the 105 (33.3%) races at Bristol have been won from the front row: Pole position (22 wins); second-place (13 wins).
·       Five of the 105 (4.7%) races have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.
·       The deepest in the field that a race winner has started was 38th, by Elliott Sadler; in 2001.
·     Mark Martin leads the series (among active drivers) in runner-up finishes at Bristol with six; followed by Kevin Harvick and erry Labonte with four.
·     Darrell Waltrip and Richard Petty lead the series in top-five finishes at Bristol with 26 each. Terry Labonteleads the series among active drivers with 19 followed by Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin (16).
·    Richard Petty has 37 top-10 finishes, more than any other driver. Terry Labonte leads the series among active drivers in top-10 finishes with 33; followed by Mark Martin with 23 and Jeff Gordon with 22.
·       Kyle Busch leads the series (active drivers) in average finish at Bristol with a 9.824.
·       Six of the last eight races have ended with a Margin of Victory of less than a second.   
·   There has been three green-white-checkered finishes at Bristol – all three were the spring race: 2007 (500/504); 2008 (500/506); 2009 (500/503).
·     Two of the 105 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Bristol Motor Speedway have been shortened due to weather conditions; the most recent was the event on 3/31/1996. 
·      Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Bristol Motor Speedway three times; most recently this event last season.    
·       Kurt Busch posted his first series career win at Bristol (2002), and Joey Logano won his first pole at Bristol (2010).
·       All 15 active NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers who have won at Bristol Motor Speedway participated in at least two or more races before visiting Victory Lane – among the active winners Kurt Busch won in the fewest starts (third) at Bristol.
·       Jeff Burton competed at Bristol Motor Speedway 28 times before winning (2008 spring race); the longest span of any the 15 active winners. Burton is the only active driver to have made 20 or more attempts before his first win at BMS. Kasey Kahne, who won earlier this season made 18 previous starts before his win at BMS.
·     Bobby Labonte leads the series (active drivers) with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup starts at Bristol without visiting Victory Lane with 41.
·    Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Bristol was the 3/25/2007 race won by Kyle Busch with a MOV of 0.064 second.
·       Two female drivers have made NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Bristol: Janet Guthrie and Danica Patrick.
Driver
Starting Position
Finishing Position
Date
Janet Guthrie
21
11
4/17/1977
Janet Guthrie
9
6
8/28/1977
Danica Patrick
43
29
8/25/2012
Danica Patrick
41
28
3/17/2013
·       Four car numbers have produced eight or more Bristol NSCS wins:
Car Number – (Number of Wins) – Most Recent Win
o   No. 11  - (19 wins) – Denny Hamlin, 2012
o   No. 2 – (12 wins) – Brad Keselowski, 2012
o   No. 17 – (eight wins) – Matt Kenseth, 2006
o   No. 3 – (eight wins) – Dale Earnhardt, 1999
NASCAR in Tennessee
·       There have been 166 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Tennessee.
Track Name
City
NSCS
Bristol Motor Speedway
Bristol
105
Nashville Speedway
Lebanon
42
Smokey Mountain Raceway
Maryville
12
Kingsport Speedway
Kingsport
3
Chattanooga International Raceway
Chattanooga
2
Tennessee-Carolina Speedway
Newport
2
·       103 drivers in NASCAR national series history have their home state recorded as Tennessee.
·       14 drivers from Tennessee have won at least one race in NASCAR’s three national series.
Driver
NSCS
NNS
NCWTS
Darrell Waltrip
84
13
0
Sterling Marlin
10
2
0
Bobby Hamilton
4
1
10
Joe Lee Johnson
2
0
0
Trevor Bayne
1
2
0
Paul Lewis
1
0
0
Bobby Hamilton Jr
0
5
0
Jeff Purvis
0
4
0
L.D. Ottinger
0
3
0
Mike Alexander
0
2
0
Casey Atwood
0
2
0
Brad Teague
0
1
0
Chad Chaffin
0
0
2
John King
0
0
1

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