Bristol Motor Speedway

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 100 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 44 different pole winners, led by Cale Yarborough and Mark Martin (nine). Martin swept both poles at Bristol in 1995, 1996 and 2009.
· 38 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.
· 80 of 100 races have been won from a top-10 starting position, including 52 from the first four spots.
· The deepest in the field that a race winner has started is 38th, by Elliott Sadler in 2001. Prior to this year’s Daytona 500, that race was the last win by legendary owners, the Wood Brothers.
· Only one active driver averages a top-10 finish: Kyle Busch with a 9.3 average finish in 12 starts.
· Five of the last six Bristol races had a margin of victory under one second.
Bristol Motor Speedway Data
Race #: 4 of 36 (3-20-11)
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
Kyle Busch 106.0
Greg Biffle 99.5
Jeff Gordon 98.7
Matt Kenseth 97.7
Kurt Busch 95.9
Tony Stewart 93.8
Denny Hamlin 91.8
Kevin Harvick 89.8
Carl Edwards 89.4
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 88.7
Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2010 races (12 total) at Bristol.

Qualifying/Race Data
2010 pole winner: Joey Logano, 124.630 mph, 15.396 seconds
2010 race winner: Jimmie Johnson, 79.618 mph, 3-21-10)
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)