“After a week off, the NASCAR boys head to Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend for the fifth race of the 2009 NASCAR season.
Here is a quick run down of trivial facts and statistics for this weekend’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, TN.
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.
- Bristol held its first NASCAR Sprint Cup race on July 30, 1961.
- In the fall of 1969 the track was reshaped and re-measured to .533-mile.
- The name changed to Bristol International Raceway in 1978.
- The first night race was held in the fall of 1978.
- The first NASCAR Nationwide Series race was held on March 13, 1982.
- The first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Bristol was held on June 23, 1995.
- The track 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.
Track Numbers
- There have been 96 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Bristol Motor Speedway since the first race there in 1961, two races each season.
- All Bristol races have been scheduled for 500 laps, except for both races in 1976 and the second in 1977, which were 400-lap events.
- 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 (nine); 19 drivers have more than one.
- 37 different drivers have won races at Bristol, led by Darrell Waltrip (12); 15 drivers have more than one victory there.
- The race winner has started from the pole 22 times, the most productive starting position.
- 79 of 96 races have been won from a top-10 starting position, including 51 from the first four spots.
- The deepest in the field that a race winner has started was 38th by Elliott Sadler in 2001.
- There have been six different pole winners in the past eight Bristol races. Qualifying was canceled in the spring of 2006 and 2008. There have been seven different race winners in the 10 races since Kurt Busch won three straight in 2003 and 2004. Matt Kenseth (fall 2005 and 2006) and Carl Edwards (fall 2007 and 2008) are the repeat race winners since.
- Junior Johnson won 21 races, more than any other car owner. His victories came between 1965 and 1986 and were scored by five different drivers, including one himself.
- There has been one caution-free race at Bristol, July 1971.
- There have been two extended races at Bristol: March 2005 (504 laps) and March 2008 (506 laps).
Hot Fact
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has scored the most points in the past 10 races at Bristol (1,468), 50 more than his closest competitor Kevin Harvick. He has posted seven top-10 finishes, including one victory, in the 10-race span.
Bristol Motor Speedway Data
- Race #: 5 of 36 (3-22-09)
- 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
- 2008 pole winner: None (weather)
- 2008 race winner: Jeff Burton (89.775 mph, 3-16-08)
- 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.
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