Below is a look at some of the top statistical performers at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt in Bristol, Tennessee going into the Food City Dirt Race on Sunday, April 17 at 7 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).
Bristol Motor Speedway Stats & Tidbits
Season Race: 9 of 36 (04-17-22)
Track Size: 0.5-miles
Banking/Turns 1 & 2: 24-28 degrees
Banking/Turns 3 & 4: 24-28 degrees
Banking/Frontstretch: 5-9 degrees
Banking/Backstretch: 4-8 degrees
Frontstretch Length: 650 feet
Backstretch Length: 650 feet
Race Length: 250 laps / 125 miles
Stages 1 & 2 Length: 75 laps (each)
Final Stage Length: 100 laps
2021 Bristol Dirt Pole Winner & Track Qualifying Record:
Qualifying was cancelled due to weather — Metric Qualifying set the starting lineups — Kyle Larson started from first.
2021 Bristol Dirt Race Winner & Track Race Record:
Joey Logano, Ford, 46.313 mph, (2:43:53), March 29, 2021
HISTORY
Groundbreaking for Bristol International Speedway, as Bristol Motor Speedway was originally known, took place in 1960. The track was an exact half-mile.The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway was on July 30, 1961; Jack Smith won the event (with relief from Johnny Allen).All of the 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 each.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.The 2020 season marked the first time that Bristol Motor Speedway hosted the NASCAR Cup Series Open and All-Star Race as well as a Playoff race.In 2021, the track was covered with 23,000 cubic yards of dirt to create the .5-mile Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt track.In 2021, the track hosted the first NASCAR Cup Series race on dirt since September 30, 1970 (North Carolina State Fairgrounds). The 2021 Food City Dirt Race was won by Team Penske driver Joey Logano (Ford).This weekend marks just the second NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt. The inaugural event was held on March 29, 2021 and was the 502nd different series event held on a dirt surface.
STARTS
A total of 39 different drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt.Four drivers made their first NASCAR Cup Series career start at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt in 2021 — Chris Windom, Mike Marlar, Shane Golobic and Stewart Friesen. Of the four drivers making their first career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt, Stewart Friesen had the best finish with a 23rd-place.
POLES
Busch Light Pole Qualifying was cancelled due to weather for the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt.Metric Qualifying set the field and as a result Hendrick Motorsports Kyle Larson started from first; he finished 29th.
WINS
Team Penske‘s driver Joey Logano won the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt in 2021.Joey Logano is the 77th different driver in the NASCAR Cup Series to win a race on a dirt surface.Youngest & Oldest Cup Series Bristol Dirt winner: Joey Logano (March 29, 2021 — 30 years, 10 months, 5 days).Joey Logano started in the 10th position and won the inaugural Bristol Dirt race in the Cup Series.Team Penske is the lone organization with a NASCAR Cup Series win at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt track (Logano, 2021).Ford leads the NASCAR Cup Series in wins at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt with one victory (2021).
ADDITIONAL FINISHING POSITIONS STATS
Runner-Up Finishes:
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. leads NASCAR Cup Series in runner-up finishes at Bristol Dirt with one (2021).
Top-Five Finishes:
A total of five different NASCAR Cup Series drivers have finished in the top-five at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt — Joey Logano, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Denny Hamlin, Daniel Suarez, Ryan Newman.
Top-10 Finishes:
A total of 10 different NASCAR Cup Series drivers have finished inside the top-10 at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt — Joey Logano, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Denny Hamlin, Daniel Suarez, Ryan Newman, William Byron, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, Erik Jones, Chase Elliott.
LAP LEADERS
A total of five different drivers have led at least one lap in the NASCAR Cup Series at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt.Joe Gibbs Racing‘s driver Martin Truex Jr. leads the NASCAR Cup Series in laps led at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt with 126 laps led.Kyle Busch leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in laps led at Bristol with 2,593 in 31 starts.The most laps led by the winner in a NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt is 61 laps led by Joey Logano on March 29, 2021 — he won the event starting from the 10th position.The most laps led in a NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt by a driver that did not win the event was 126 laps led by Martin Truex Jr. who started fifth and finished 19th on March 29, 2021.
NASCAR Cup Series Laps Leaders at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt
RankAll-Time DriverLedCompleted% Led1Martin Truex Jr12625349.8%2Joey Logano6125324.1%3Daniel Suárez5825322.9%4Kyle Busch72532.8%5Denny Hamlin12530.4%
TRACK/EVENT SPECIFIC STATS
Since the advent of electronic scoring (1993) the closest margin of victory in the NASCAR Cup Series at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt is the March 29, 2021 race won by Joey Logano with a margin of victory of 0.554 second over Ricky Stenhouse Jr.Qualifying has been cancelled in the NASCAR Cup Series at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt track once (2021).The inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt was not shortened due to weather conditions.The inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt was scheduled for 250 laps but went to overtime adding an additional three laps. The race concluded at 253 laps completed.The inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt produced five lead changes among five different leaders.The inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt produced 10 cautions for 39 caution laps (15.6% of laps completed).A total of 39 cars entered the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt with 31 running at the finish of the race and 19 finishing on the lead lap.
NASCAR IN TENNESSEE
A total of 360 NASCAR national series races among nine tracks have been held in the state of Tennessee.Track NameCityCupXfinityTruckCombinedFirst YearBristol Motor SpeedwayBristol12178242231961Bristol Motor Speedway DirtBristol10122021Nashville SuperspeedwayNashville12214372001Chattanooga International RacewayChattanooga20021962Kingsport SpeedwayKingsport30031969Memphis Motorsports ParkMemphis01112231998Nashville SpeedwayLebanon4295561958Smokey Mountain RacewayMaryville1200121965Tennessee-Carolina SpeedwayNewport20021956Totals18412056360The first NASCAR Cup Series race held in Tennessee was at Tennessee-Carolina Speedway on October 7, 1956 and won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Fireball Roberts.
TENNESSEE DRIVERS IN NASCAR
A total of 109 different drivers in NASCAR national series history have their home state recorded as Tennessee.15 drivers from Tennessee have won at least one race in NASCAR‘s three national series; totaling 152 wins across all three series.
Tennessee Drivers In NASCAR with Wins
DriverCupXfinityTruckCombinedDarrell Waltrip8413097Sterling Marlin102012Bobby Hamilton411015Joe Lee Johnson2002Trevor Bayne1203Paul Lewis1001Bobby Hamilton Jr0505Jeff Purvis0404L.D. Ottinger0303Mike Alexander0202Casey Atwood0202Josh Berry0202Brad Teague0101Chad Chaffin0022John King0011Totals1023713152Darrell Waltrip, from Franklin, Tennessee, was inducted into the 2012 class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Waltrip is the only Tennessee native driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series championship.Only two of the 15 drivers from Tennessee have won at least one race in the NASCAR Cup Series at a track located in the state of Tennessee: Darrell Waltrip (Bristol, 12 wins; Nashville, eight wins) and Joe Lee Johnson (Nashville, one win).
— NASCAR —
