Sharpie 500
Here is a quick run down of trivial facts and statistics for this weekend’s Sharpie 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 miles with the turns banked at 36 degrees.
- 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 Craftsman Truck Series race 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
- NASCAR Cup Series Races: 95
- Pole Winners: 41
- Race Winners: 37
- All races have been scheduled for 500 laps – except for both races in 1976 and the second in 1977, which were 400-lap events.
- Fred Lorezen won the first pole.
- The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was won by Jack Smith (with relief from Johnny Allen) in 1961.
- Cale Yarborough has nine (the most) poles at Bristol; 19 drivers have more than one.
- Darrell Waltrip has twelve (the most) victories at Bristol; 14 drivers have more than one victory there.
- The race winner has started from the pole 21 times, the most productive starting position.
- 78 of 95 races at Bristol have been won from a top-10 starting position, including 51 from the first four spots. However, four of the past nine race winners have started outside the top 10.
- The deepest in the field that a Bristol race winner has started was 38th, by Elliott Sadler in 2001.
- Junior Johnson won 21 races at Bristol, more than any other car owner. His victories came between 1965 and 1986 and were scored by five different drivers, including one himself.
- Richard Childress and Jack Roush are the leading active car owners at Bristol, each with nine victories.
- There have been five different pole winners in the past seven Bristol races. Qualifying was canceled in the spring of 2006 and 2008. There have been seven different race winners in the nine races at Bristol since Kurt Busch won three straight in 2003 and 2004. Matt Kenseth won the fall race in 2005 and 2006.
NASCAR in Tennessee
- There have been 156 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Tennessee.
- 98 drivers in NASCAR’s three national series (all-time) have their home state recorded as Tennessee.
- There have been 11 race winners from Tennessee in NASCAR’s three national series:
| Driver | NSCS | NNS | NCTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sterling Marlin | 10 | 2 | 0 |
| Bobby Hamilton | 4 | 1 | 10 |
| Joe Lee Johnson | 2 | 0 | 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 |
Track Records
- 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)
Qualifying/Race Data
- 2007 pole winner: Kasey Kahne (119.805 mph, 16.016 seconds)
- 2007 race winner: Carl Edwards (89.006 mph, 8-25-07)
Bristol Race Day Data
- Estimated Pit Window: Every 120-130 laps, based on fuel mileage.
- 24 of 36 (8-23-08)
- Track Size: .533 miles
- Race Length: 500 laps/266.5 miles
- Banking/Corners: 24 to 30 degrees
- Banking/Straights: 4 to 9 degrees