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 98 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 42 different pole winners, led by Cale Yarborough and Mark
Martin (nine). Martinswept both poles at Bristol last season.
· 37 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.
· 79 of 97 races have been won from a top-10 starting position, including 51
from the first four spots. But both races last season – swept by Kyle Busch
–were won from a starting position outside the top 10.
· The deepest in the field that a race winner has started is 38th, by Elliott
Sadler in 2001.
· Only one active driver averages a top-10 finish: Marcos Ambrose. Ambrose, who
has an average finish of 6.5, has run two races at Bristol, both last season.
· Last year’s 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.
· Three of the last four Bristol races had a margin of victory under one second.
