Top 10 Active Driver Ratings at Bristol
Matt Kenseth.......................... 100.2
Kyle Busch................................ 99.3
Chase Elliott.............................. 97.4
Kevin Harvick............................ 96.3
Erik Jones................................. 93.4
Jimmie Johnson........................ 93.0
Kyle Larson............................... 92.8
Kurt Busch................................ 91.4
Denny Hamlin............................ 90.5
Brad Keselowski........................ 89.6
Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2017 races (25 total) among active drivers at 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 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup race was July 30, 1961; Jack Smith won the event (with relief from Johnny Allen).
· All of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races have been scheduled for 500 laps, except for both races in 1976 and the second in 1977, which were 400 laps.
· 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, and the turns were ground down in 2012 to eliminate part of the progressive banking.
· There have been 113 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races at Bristol Motor Speedway since the first race in 1961, two races each season.
Starts
· 445 drivers have competed in at least one Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol; 312 in more than one.
· NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the series in starts at Bristol with 60.
· Matt Kenseth leads all active MENCS drivers in starts at BMS with 35 starts, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr. with 34.
· NASCAR Hall of Famer Fred Lorenzen leads the series in average starting position at Bristol with a 3.250 in 12 starts.
· Joey Logano leads all active MENCS drivers in average starting position at Bristol with a 7.760 in 17 starts.
· Logano (7.760) and Chase Elliott (9.000) are the only two active drivers with an average starting position inside the top 10.
· Thirty-three drivers have made their first series career start at Bristol Motor Speedway; but only one is currently active in the MENCS - AJ Allmendinger (03/25/2007).
Poles
· Fred Lorenzen won the inaugural Coors Light pole at Bristol in the MENCS with a speed of 79.225 mph in a Ford.
· 48 different MENCS drivers have poles at Bristol, led by Mark Martin and Cale Yarborough with nine each.
· Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman lead all active drivers in Coors Light poles at BMS with three each.
· 12 different drivers have posted consecutive poles at Bristol Motor Speedway; Mark Martin is the only driver of the 10 to win four consecutive poles at Bristol: Fireball Roberts (swept 1962), Fred Lorenzen (swept 1963), Richard Petty (1967-'68), Bobby Allison (swept 1972), Cale Yarborough (swept 1973; swept 1977; swept 1980), Darrell Waltrip (swept 1981), Geoff Bodine (swept 1986), Mark Martin (swept 1995-1996- all four races; and swept 2009); Rusty Wallace (swept 1998), Jeff Gordon (swept 2002) and Denny Hamlin (fall 2013, spring 2014).
· Youngest Bristol pole winner: Joey Logano (3/21/2010 - 19 years, 9 months, 25 days) - his first MENCS career pole.
· Oldest Bristol pole winner: Harry Gant (8/27/1994 - 54 years, 7 months, 17 days).
· Seven different drivers have posted their first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career pole at Bristol. Joey Logano is the only active driver to win his first MENCS pole at Bristol (03/21/2010).
· Nine different manufacturers have won Coors Light poles at Bristol Motor Speedway in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series; led by Chevrolet (37) and followed by Ford (36), Dodge (8), Toyota (8), Pontiac (7), Buick (4), Plymouth (4), Oldsmobile (3) and Mercury (2).
Wins
· 42 different drivers have won at Bristol, led by Darrell Waltrip (12). Kurt Busch and Kyle Busch each have five wins, the most among active drivers.
· Jack Smith (with relief from Johnny Allen) won the first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway on July 30, 1961 in a Pontiac.
· 12 drivers have won consecutive MENCS races at Bristol led by Darrell Waltrip with seven consecutive victories from 1981-1984. The other 11 are Fred Lorenzen (1963-1964 sweep), David Pearson (1968 sweep), Bobby Allison (1972 sweep), Cale Yarborough did it twice (1974 sweep and four straight from 1976-1977), Richard Petty (1975 sweep), Dale Earnhardt also did twice (1985 sweep and 1987 sweep), Alan Kulwicki (1992 sweep), Rusty Wallace (2000 sweep), Kurt Busch (2003 sweep and 2004 spring race), Kyle Busch (2009 sweep) and Brad Keselowski (2011 fall-2012 spring).
· Youngest Bristol winner: Kyle Busch (03/25/2007 - 21 years, 10 months, 23 days).
· Oldest Bristol winner: Dale Earnhardt (08/28/1999 - 48 years, 3 months, 30 days).
· Five drivers have posted their first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career win at Bristol Motor Speedway: Dale Earnhardt (04/01/1979), Rusty Wallace (04/06/1986), Ernie Irvan (03/25/1990), Elliott Sadler (03/25/2001) and Kurt Busch (03/24/2002).
· Junior Johnson leads the series in car owner wins at Bristol with 16. Roger Penske leads the series among active car owners with the most wins at Bristol with 12; followed by Jack Roush and Rick Hendrick with 11 each.
· The race winner has started from the pole 24 times (21.6%) - the most productive starting position in the field. The last driver to win from the pole was Carl Edwards (Spring, 2016).
· Six drivers have won from the pole position multiple times: Bobby Allison (1972 twice), Cale Yarborough (1973, 1977 twice, 1980), Darrell Waltrip (1981 twice, 1982), Rusty Wallace (1991, 1993, 1999, 2000), Matt Kenseth (2005, 2015) and Carl Edwards (2008, 2016).
· 37 of the 113 (32.7%) MENCS races at Bristol have been won from the front row: Pole position (24 wins); second-place (13 wins).
· 65 of the 113 (57.5%) MENCS races have been won from a top-five starting position.
· 89 of the 113 (78.7%) MENCS races have been won from a top-10 starting position
· Six of the 113 (5.3%) MENCS races have been won from a starting position outside the top 20; most recent was Kevin Harvick in 2016 (fall race) - he started 24th.
· The deepest in the field that a race winner has started is 38th, by Elliott Sadler in 2001.
· Ryan Newman leads the series among active drivers with the most Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Bristol without visiting Victory Lane at 31.
· Eight different manufacturers have won in the MENCS at Bristol; led by Chevrolet with 45 victories; followed by Ford (36), Toyota (8), Dodge (8), Pontiac (8), Buick (4), Plymouth (3) and Oldsmobile (1).
Additional Finishing Position Stats
· Richard Petty leads the series in runner-up finishes at Bristol with 10; Kevin Harvick leads all active drivers with five; followed by Kyle Busch with three.
· Darrell Waltrip leads the series in top-three finishes at Bristol with 23 followed Richard Petty with 18. Kevin Harvick leads all active drivers with nine.
· Darrell Waltrip and Richard Petty lead the series in top-five finishes at Bristol with 26 each. Matt Kenseth leads all active drivers with 14; followed by Kevin Harvick with 12.
· Richard Petty leads the series in top-10 finishes at Bristol with 37. Matt Kenseth leads the series among active drivers in top-10 finishes with 21; followed by Jimmie Johnson (18).
· Paul Menard (20 starts) leads the series in starts with the fewest DNFs (0) at Bristol.
· Chase Elliott leads the series among active drivers in average finishing position at Bristol with a 8.7.
Track/Event Specific Stats
· Since the advent of electronic scoring (1993) the closest margin of victory in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Bristol Motor Speedway is the March 25, 2007 race won by Kyle Busch with a MOV of 0.064 second.
· Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Bristol Motor Speedway three times: 3/26/2006, 3/16/2008 and 8/25/2012.
· Two of the 113 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races at Bristol Motor Speedway have been shortened due to weather conditions.
· There have been five NASCAR Overtime finishes at Bristol:
Female Competitor Stats
· Two female drivers have made Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Bristol: Janet Guthrie and Danica Patrick.
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