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Bristol Motor Speedway: By the Numbers
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 101 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 2009.
— 38 different drivers have won, led by Darrell Waltrip (12).
— Kurt Busch, Kyle 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 101 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.
— The 2009 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.
— The last five Bristol races had a margin of victory under one second.
NASCAR in Tennessee
— There have been 162 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Tennessee.
— 101 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.
Darrell Waltrip
Sterling Marlin
Bobby Hamilton
Joe Lee Johnson
Paul Lewis
Trevor Bayne
Bobby Hamilton Jr.
Jeff Purvis
L.D. Ottinger
Mike Alexander
Casey Atwood
Brad Teague
Track Size: .533 miles
Race Length: 500 laps/266.5 miles
Banking/Corners: 26 to 30 degrees
Banking/Straights: 4 to 9 degrees
Qualifying/Race Data
2010 pole winner: Jimmie Johnson, 123.475 mph, 15.540 seconds
2010 race winner: Kyle Busch, 99.071 mph, 8-21-10
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)
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— 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 101 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 2009.
— 38 different drivers have won, led by Darrell Waltrip (12).
— Kurt Busch, Kyle 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 101 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.
— The 2009 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.
— The last five Bristol races had a margin of victory under one second.
NASCAR in Tennessee
— There have been 162 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Tennessee.
— 101 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.
Darrell Waltrip
Sterling Marlin
Bobby Hamilton
Joe Lee Johnson
Paul Lewis
Trevor Bayne
Bobby Hamilton Jr.
Jeff Purvis
L.D. Ottinger
Mike Alexander
Casey Atwood
Brad Teague
Track Size: .533 miles
Race Length: 500 laps/266.5 miles
Banking/Corners: 26 to 30 degrees
Banking/Straights: 4 to 9 degrees
Qualifying/Race Data
2010 pole winner: Jimmie Johnson, 123.475 mph, 15.540 seconds
2010 race winner: Kyle Busch, 99.071 mph, 8-21-10
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)
Become a fan of the Facebook page NASCARBeyond
Follow me on Twitter:
Follow @MattMyftiu
posted by Matt Myftiu at
9:50 PM
2 Comments:
I have been to a dozen Bristol races. It's really a sight to see. Then they repaved the track & it's not nearly as much fun to watch.The beating & banging has been removed. It's almost Michigan like. I stopped going.
Which one is oldest track in the world? Such an old and efficient track and also witness of no. of races Bristol Motor Speedway,…..nice blog informative …thanks for posting..
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