Friday, May 29, 2020

Bristol Track Facts: 2020 Food City 500

Kyle Busch has eight Cup wins at Bristol.

Driver
Races
Poles
Wins
Top Fives
Top 10s
DNFs
Average Finish
Driver Rating
 
 
1
Kevin Harvick
38
1
2
12
19
4
13.8
95.2
 
2
Joey Logano
22
1
2
6
10
1
15
90.6
 
3
Chase Elliott
8
1
0
3
4
0
11.5
95.9
 
4
Alex Bowman
8
0
0
1
2
0
20.9
65.8
 
5
Brad Keselowski
20
0
2
5
6
0
17.3
88.2
 
6
Ryan Blaney
9
0
0
1
4
1
18.6
90.5
 
7
Martin Truex Jr
28
0
0
2
3
4
20.6
83.3
 
8
Denny Hamlin
28
4
2
9
14
2
14.4
91.7
 
9
Aric Almirola
21
0
0
1
3
6
24.8
63.5
 
10
Kurt Busch
38
1
6
12
20
3
14.2
91.5
 
11
Matt DiBenedetto
10
0
0
1
2
0
17.9
63.7
 
12
Kyle Busch
29
2
8
12
17
4
13.4
101.8
 
13
Erik Jones
6
1
0
2
2
0
16
94.1
 
14
Clint Bowyer
28
0
0
7
15
2
14.1
83.1
 
15
Austin Dillon
12
0
0
1
2
1
18.3
68.1
 
16
Jimmie Johnson
36
1
2
12
21
1
13.3
92.4
 
* – Based on last 30 races at Bristol Motor Speedway (2005 – 2019).


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.
·        The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway was on July 30, 1961; Jack Smith won the event (with relief from Johnny Allen).
·        All of the NASCAR Cup Series races have been scheduled for 500 laps, except for both races in 1976 and the second in 1977, which were 400 laps each.
·        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 in 2012 to eliminate part of the progressive banking.
·        There have been 118 NASCAR Cup Series races at Bristol Motor Speedway since the first race in 1961, two races each season.

STARTS
·        A total of 462 different drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway; 324 have competed in more than one.
·        NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the series in starts at Bristol with 60.
·        Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch lead all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in starts at Bristol with 38 starts each.
·        NASCAR Hall of Famer Fred Lorenzen (12 starts) and driver Charlie Glotzbach (four starts) are tied for the all-time series lead in average starting position at Bristol with a 3.25 each.
·        Chase Elliott leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in average starting position at Bristol with a 7.0 in eight starts. 
Top Five in Average Starting Positions at Bristol Motor Speedway (All-Time & Active)
Rank
All-Time Drivers
Average Start
Starts
Rank
Active Drivers
Average Start
Starts
1
Charlie Glotzbach
3.250
4
1
Chase Elliott
7.000
8
2
Fred Lorenzen
3.250
12
2
Joey Logano
8.364
22
3
Marvin Panch
3.750
8
3
Erik Jones
9.167
6
4
Fireball Roberts
4.286
7
4
Ryan Blaney
9.222
9
5
Junior Johnson
4.400
10
5
William Byron
9.750
4

·        Thirty-four drivers have made their first series career start at Bristol Motor Speedway; the most recent was Chad Finchum (April 16, 2018).  

POLES
·        A total of 51 different NASCAR Cup Series drivers have won the Busch Pole Award at Bristol Motor Speedway.
·        NASCAR Hall of Famers Mark Martin and Cale Yarborough lead the series in poles at Bristol with nine each.
·        Denny Hamlin leads all active drivers in Busch poles at Bristol Motor Speedway with four (2013, 2014, 2015 and 2019).
·        Fred Lorenzen won the inaugural Busch Pole Award at Bristol in the NASCAR Cup Series with a speed of 79.225 mph in a Ford.
·        12 different drivers have posted consecutive poles at Bristol Motor Speedway; Mark Martin is the only driver of the 12 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, spring 1982), Geoff Bodine (swept 1986), Mark Martin (swept 1995-1996– all four races; and swept 2009); Rusty Wallace (swept 1998, spring 1999), Jeff Gordon (swept 2002), Denny Hamlin (fall 2013, spring 2014) and Carl Edwards (2016 sweep).
·        Youngest Bristol pole winner: Joey Logano (March 21, 2010 – 19 years, 9 months, 25 days) – his first NASCAR Cup Series career pole.
·        Oldest Bristol pole winner: Harry Gant (August 27, 1994 – 54 years, 7 months, 17 days) – his last NASCAR Cup Series career pole.
NASCAR Cup Series
First-Time Pole Winners
Pole Winner
Date
Tim Richmond
8/28/1982
Rick Wilson
4/10/1988
Ernie Irvan
4/8/1990
Chuck Bown
4/10/1994
Steve Park
3/26/2000
Jeff Green
8/25/2001
Joey Logano
3/21/2010
Erik Jones
8/19/2017
·        Seven different drivers have posted their first NASCAR Cup Series career pole at Bristol.
·        Joey Logano (03/10/2010) and Erik Jones (08/19/2017) are the only active drivers to win their first NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole Award at Bristol Motor Speedway.
·        A total of nine different manufacturers have won Busch Pole Awards at Bristol Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series; led by Chevrolet (39) and followed by Ford (36), Toyota (11), Dodge (8), Pontiac (7), Buick (4), Plymouth (4), Oldsmobile (3) and Mercury (2).


WINS
·        A total of 42 different NASCAR Cup Series drivers have won at Bristol Motor Speedway.
·        NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip leads the series in wins at Bristol with 12 victories; including eight straight (1978, 1979, 1981 sweep, 1982 sweep, 1983 sweep, 1984, 1986, 1989, 1992). 
·        Kyle Busch leads the series among active drivers in wins at Bristol with eight victories (Spring 2007, 2009 sweep, Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2019).
·        Jack Smith (with relief from Johnny Allen) won the first NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway on July 30, 1961 in a Pontiac.
·        12 drivers have won consecutive NASCAR Cup Series races at Bristol; led by Darrell Waltrip with eight consecutive victories from 1979-1984.
·        The other 11 drivers with consecutive wins 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 and Fall 2017-Spring 2018) and Brad Keselowski (Fall 2011-Spring 2012).
·        Youngest Bristol winner: Kyle Busch (March 25, 2007 – 21 years, 10 months, 23 days).
·        Oldest Bristol winner: Dale Earnhardt (August 28, 1999 – 48 years, 3 months, 30 days).
·        Five drivers have posted their first NASCAR Cup Series career win at Bristol Motor Speedway: Dale Earnhardt (04/01/1979), Rusty Wallace (04/06/1986), Ernie Irvan (03/25/1990), Elliott Sadler (03/25/2001) and Kurt Busch (03/24/2002).
·        The race winner has started from the pole 26 times (22.03%) - the most productive starting position in the field. The last driver to win from the pole was Denny Hamlin (Spring 2019).

NASCAR Cup Series Wins by Starting Positions at Bristol Motor Speedway
Starting Position
Wins
Winning %
Starting Position
Wins
Winning %
Starting Position
Wins
Winning %
1
25
22.03%
9
6
5.13%
18
2
1.71%
2
13
11.11%
10
2
1.71%
19
3
2.56%
3
9
7.69%
11
1
0.85%
20
1
0.85%
4
9
7.69%
12
5
4.27%
24
2
1.71%
5
10
8.55%
13
4
3.42%
26
1
0.85%
6
9
7.69%
14
2
1.71%
27
1
0.85%
7
1
0.85%
15
1
0.85%
30
1
0.85%
8
7
5.98%
17
1
0.85%
38
1
0.85%
Stats
Winning %
Wins
   
Winning from the First Starting Position:
22.03%
26
   
Winning from the Front Row:
33.05%
39
   
Winning from a Top-Five Starting Position:
56.77%
67
   
Winning from a Top-10 Starting Position:
77.96%
92
   
Winning After Starting Outside the Top 20:
5.13%
6
   

·        Six drivers have won from the pole position multiple times: Bobby Allison (1972 twice), Cale Yarborough (1973, 1977 twice, 1980), Darrell Waltrip (1981 twice, 1982), Rusty Wallace (1991, 1993, 1999, 2000), Matt Kenseth (2005, 2015) and Carl Edwards (2008, 2016).
·        The deepest in the field that a race winner has started is 38th, by Elliott Sadler in 2001.
Top Five Bristol Owner Winners
Race Winners
Wins
Junior Johnson & Assoc.
16
Joe Gibbs Racing
13
Team Penske
12
Hendrick Motorsports
11
Roush Fenway Racing
11
·        Junior Johnson leads the series in car owner wins at Bristol with 16. Joe Gibbs leads the series among active car owners with the most wins at Bristol with 13; followed by Roger Penske (12), Jack Roush and Rick Hendrick with 11 each.
·        Eight different manufacturers have won in the NASCAR Cup Series at Bristol; led by Chevrolet with 45 victories; followed by Ford (36), Toyota (12), Dodge (8), Pontiac (8), Buick (4), Plymouth (3) and Oldsmobile (1).

ADDITIONAL FINISHING POSITIONS STATS
·        A total of 53 different NASCAR Cup Series drivers have finished runner-up at Bristol Motor Speedway, led by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty with 10 second-place finishes.
·        Kevin Harvick leads all active drivers in runner-up finishes at Bristol with five.

Top Five in Runner-Up Finishes at Bristol Motor Speedway (All-Time & Active)
Rank
All-Time Drivers
Runner-Ups
Rank
Active Drivers
Runner-Ups
1
Richard Petty
10
1
Kevin Harvick
5
2
Rusty Wallace
7
2
Kyle Busch
3
3
Bobby Allison
6
3
Jimmie Johnson
2
4
Dale Earnhardt
6
4
Kyle Larson
2
5
Mark Martin
6
5
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
2

·        A total of 117 different NASCAR Cup Series drivers have finished in the top-five at Bristol, led by NASCAR Hall of Famers Darrell Waltrip and Richard Petty with 26 top-five finishes each.
·        Matt Kenseth leads all active drivers in top fives at Bristol Motor Speedway with 15.  

Top Five in Top-Five Finishes at Bristol Motor Speedway (All-Time & Active)
Rank
All-Time Drivers
Top Fives
Rank
Active Drivers
Top Fives
1
Darrell Waltrip
26
1
Matt Kenseth
15
2
Richard Petty
26
2
Kevin Harvick
12
3
Bobby Allison
23
3
Kurt Busch
12
4
Rusty Wallace
22
4
Kyle Busch
12
5
Dale Earnhardt
20
5
Jimmie Johnson
12



·        A total of 199 different NASCAR Cup Series drivers have finished inside the top-10 at Bristol Motor Speedway, led by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty with 37 top-10 finishes.
·        Matt Kenseth leads the series among active drivers in top-10 finishes at Bristol with 22.

Top Five in Top-10 Finishes at Bristol Motor Speedway (All-Time & Active)
Rank
All-Time Drivers
Top 10s
Rank
Active Drivers
Top 10s
1
Richard Petty
37
1
Matt Kenseth
22
2
Terry Labonte
33
2
Jimmie Johnson
21
3
Darrell Waltrip
32
3
Kurt Busch
20
4
Ricky Rudd
31
4
Ryan Newman
19
5
Dale Earnhardt
30
5
Kevin Harvick
19

·        Dick Hutcherson leads the NASCAR Cup Series in average finishing postion with a 2.4 in five starts.  
·        Chase Elliott leads the series among active drivers in average finishing position at Bristol with a 12.429 in seven series starts.

Top 10 in Average Finishing Position at Bristol Motor Speedway (All-Time & Active)
Rank
All-Time Drivers
Average Finish
Starts
Rank
Active Drivers
Average Finish
Starts
1
Dick Hutcherson
2.400
5
1
Chase Elliott
11.500
8
2
Junior Spencer
5.500
2
2
Daniel Suarez
13.000
6
3
Jimmy Hensley
6.500
2
3
Jimmie Johnson
13.278
36
4
Joe Weatherly
6.667
6
4
Kyle Busch
13.448
29
5
Janet Guthrie
8.500
2
5
Matt Kenseth
13.611
36
6
Benny Parsons
8.630
27
6
Kevin Harvick
13.842
38
7
Gene Black
9.000
3
7
Clint Bowyer
14.071
28
8
Dale Earnhardt
9.256
43
8
Kurt Busch
14.184
38
9
Rusty Wallace
9.568
44
9
Denny Hamlin
14.393
28
10
Cale Yarborough
10.483
29
10
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
14.429
14

TRACK/EVENT SPECIFIC STATS
·        Since the advent of electronic scoring (1993) the closest margin of victory in the NASCAR Cup Series at Bristol Motor Speedway is the March 25, 2007 race won by Kyle Busch with a MOV of 0.064 second over Jeff Burton.

Top Five Closest Margins of Victory in the NASCAR Cup Series at Bristol:
Rank
Margin of Victory
Winner
Runner-Up
Date
1
0.064
Kyle Busch
Jeff Burton
3/25/2007
2
0.098
Kyle Busch
Mark Martin
8/22/2009
3
0.102
Dale Jarrett
Mark Martin
8/23/1997
4
0.140
Mark Martin
Rusty Wallace
8/28/1993
5
0.160
Rusty Wallace
Mark Martin
8/27/1994
 
0.160
Terry Labonte
Dale Earnhardt
8/26/1995


·        Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions in the NASCAR Cup Series at Bristol Motor Speedway four times: 3/26/2006, 3/16/2008, 8/25/2012 and 04/24/2017. 
·        Two of the 118 NASCAR Cup Series races at Bristol Motor Speedway have been shortened due to weather conditions.
Scheduled No. of Laps
Actual No. of Laps
No. of Fewer Laps
Race Winner
Date
500
342
158
Jeff Gordon
3/31/1996
500
419
81
Darrell Waltrip
8/27/1983

·        There have been five NASCAR Overtime finishes at Bristol:
Scheduled No. of Laps
Actual No. of Laps
NASCAR Overtime Laps
Race Winner
Date
500
511
11
Matt Kenseth
4/19/2015
500
503
3
Carl Edwards
3/16/2014
500
503
3
Kyle Busch
3/22/2009
500
506
6
Jeff Burton
3/16/2008
500
504
4
Kyle Busch
3/25/2007


LAP LEADERS
·        A total of 132 different drivers have led at least one lap in the NASCAR Cup Series at Bristol Motor Speedway.
·        NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough leads the series in laps led at Bristol with 4,305 laps led in 29 starts.
·        Kyle Busch leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in laps led at Bristol with 2,334 in 30 starts.

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