Bristol Motor Speedway
Track data
Race #: 5 of 36 (3-26-06) Track Size: 0.533 Miles
Event: Food City 500 Number of Laps: 500
Location: Bristol, TN Length of Event: 266.5 Miles
Length of Front Stretch: 650 Feet Degree of Banking in Corners: 36?
Length of Back Stretch: 650 Feet Degree of Banking on Straights: 16?
Qualifying/Race data:
Last year's event pole winner: Elliott Sadler 127.733 mph 4-1-05 15.022 seconds
Last year's event winner: Kevin Harvick 77.496 mph 4-3-05 3 hrs, 26 min, 20 sec
Track qualifying record: Ryan Newman 128.709 mph 3-21-03 14.908 seconds
Track race record: Charlie Glotzbach 101.075 mph 7-11-71 2 hrs, 38min, 12 sec
Historical data:
Previous winners at Bristol
Darrell Waltrip (12) Cale Yarborough (9) Dale Earnhardt (9) Rusty Wallace (9) David Pearson (5)
Jeff Gordon (5) Bobby Allison (4) Kurt Busch (4) Fred Lorenzen (3) Richard Petty (3)
Alan Kulwicki (2) Terry Labonte (2) Mark Martin (2) Davey Allison (1) Donnie Allison (1)
Bill Elliott (1) Charlie Glotzbach (1) Paul Goldsmith (1) Dick Hutcherson (1) Ernie Irvan (1)
Ned Jarrett (1) Bobby Johns (1) Junior Johnson (1) Benny Parsons (1) Jim Paschal (1)
Fireball Roberts (1) Jack Smith (1) Joe Weatherly (1) Dale Jarrett (1) Elliott Sadler (1)
Tony Stewart (1) Dale Earnhardt Jr. (1) Kevin Harvick (1) Matt Kenseth (1)
Races won from the pole: 21 of 90 events (23%)
Races won from in top 10: 74 of 90 events (82%)
Races won from outside top 10: 16 of 90 events (18%)
Track Milestones
Fred Lorenzen won the first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series pole at Bristol in 1961.
Jack Smith won the inaugural NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at Bristol in 1961.
The track was re-configured to 36-degree banking, the most acute on the current NASCAR NEXTEL Cup
schedule, and re-measured at .533 miles for the 1969 Volunteer 500.
The first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup night race at Bristol was the 1978 Volunteer 500.
The track surface was switched from asphalt to concrete for the 1992 Bud 500 (fall race).
The track name was changed from Bristol International Speedway to Bristol International Raceway in 1978
and then to Bristol Motor Speedway in the fall of 1996.
A race at Bristol has been shortened by rain on only two occasions (fall 1983 and spring 1996).
There has been only one caution-free race at Bristol: the 1971 Volunteer 500, won by Charlie Glotzbach.
Track Update
Four of the six NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races at Bristol between 1991 and 1993 were won from the Bud
Pole. In the 24 races since, only four times was the race won at Bristol from the Bud Pole: .Rusty Wallace (spring
1999 and fall 2000), Jeff Gordon (fall 2002) and Matt Kenseth (fall 2005).
Qualifying Update
Elliott Sadler (Food City 500) and Matt Kenseth (Sharpie 500) won the Bud Poles at Bristol in 2005. They
became the only drivers other than Jeff Gordon (four) and Ryan Newman (two) to score a Bud Pole at Bristol
since 2001.
Manufacturer Update
Chevrolet and Ford each won one race at Bristol in each of the four seasons between 1996 and 1999. Ford
won eight of the 12 Bristol races since 2000 with Chevrolet claiming three and Pontiac one. The last victory by a
Dodge at Bristol was when Richard Petty won the 1975 Volunteer 500.
Pit Road Rules
Beginning with the 2002 spring race at Bristol, NASCAR instituted a change in the yellow-flag pit road
procedures at the Tennessee short track. The pace car will pick up the field in turn three (as opposed to turn one).
All lead car laps will enter pit road at the turn-two entrance (regardless of front or backstretch pits). Cars pitting
on the front will drive the backstretch pit road then on the apron to the front stretch pit entrance in turn four. Cars
pitting on the back will follow the same path and all cars will exit pit road using the exit in turn one.
So Who Owns Bristol Now?
Kurt Busch has won four of the last eight races at Bristol and led in five. Busch has only competed in 10
career races at Bristol.
Matt Kenseth has scored top 10 finishes in seven of the last eight races at Bristol, including a victory in the
2005 Sharpie 500.
Would You Believe?
Kurt Busch has won three of the past four spring races at Bristol and four of the last eight races there overall.
He finished 35th there this past spring.
The Money
Purse $5,436,071
NASCAR NEXTEL Leader Bonus $10,000
Tire/Fuel Data
Goodyear Tire Codes: Left-side - D-4028; Right-side - D-4032
Other Nextel Cup Tracks With Same Tire Combinations: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Estimated Pit Window: every 150-160 laps, based on fuel mileage
Track Tidbits
The field will consist of 43 cars. Two timed laps will be used to determine starting positions, with the
adjustments made afterward as required.
There have been 90 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races at Bristol since the track opened in 1961.
Elliott Sadler is the defending Bud Pole winner for the Food City 500.
Thirty-nine drivers have posted Bud Poles at Bristol; 19 have scored more than one.
Mark Martin leads all active drivers with seven Bud Poles at Bristol.
Retired driver Cale Yarborough leads all drivers with nine Bud Poles at Bristol.
The race has been won from the Bud Pole on 21 occasions at Bristol, the most of any starting position. Ten of
those have come in the spring race; 11 in the fall.
Tony Stewart won the Bud Pole for the Goody's Headache Powder 500 in the fall of 1999, breaking a
streak of five consecutive Bud Poles by the Wallace family. Kenny won the Bud Pole for the 1997 Goody's
Headache Powder 500 and Rusty won the other four.
Mark Martin scored four consecutive Bud Poles at Bristol (1995-1996).
Forty-nine races at Bristol have been won from the first four starting positions (54 percent).
Only 16 races have been won from a starting position outside the top 10, including six of the past 10.
The furthest back in the field that a race winner has started was 38th by Elliott Sadler in the 2001 Food City
500.
Kevin Harvick is the defending champion of the Food City 500.
Thirty-four different drivers have won a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race at Bristol since 1961; 13 have won
more than once.
Darrell Waltrip won 12 races at Bristol, more than any other driver.
Jeff Gordon leads all other active drivers with five victories at Bristol.
In the 45 years of twice-yearly NASCAR NEXTEL Cup racing at Bristol (1961 to 2005), a sweep of both
races in the same year has occurred 14 times, most recently by Kurt Busch in 2003.
Kevin Harvick finished 24th in his first race at Bristol, the 2001 Food City 500 yet led 137 of the 500 laps
raced. Harvick finished second in his return to Thunder Valley in 2001 in the Sharpie 500 but did not lead a
lap. Harvick won both the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup and Busch Series race at Bristol in April 2005.
Cale Yarborough led all 500 laps of the 1973 Southeastern 500.
Back-to-Back at Bristol
There have been 12 back-to-back victories posted at Bristol since 1980, including seven consecutive races
by Darrell Waltrip and three straight by Kurt Busch. Waltrip's seven consecutive Bristol victories tied the
NASCAR record for consecutive wins at one track set by Richard Petty at Richmond in 1970-73.
Darrell Waltrip Spring 1981 through spring 1984 (six)
Dale Earnhardt Both races 1985 and 1987 (two)
Alan Kulwicki Fall 1991 and spring 1992 (one)
Rusty Wallace Both races in 2000 (one)
Kurt Busch Both races in 2003 and Spring 2004 (two)
Starting Up Front is Important at Bristol Motor Speedway
Only seven of the 90 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races at Bristol have been won from a starting position of 15th
or worse. All seven of those wins have occurred since 1990. The last driver to win a race at Bristol from outside
the top 15 was Dale Earnhardt Jr. who won from the 30th-place starting position in the 2004 Sharpie 500.
Owner/Winner at Bristol Motor Speedway
Junior Johnson, as a car owner, has won 21 of the 90 races at Bristol Motor Speedway, the most of any car
owner.
Big Winner at Bristol Motor Speedway
Darrell Waltrip posted 12 Bristol victories the most of any driver at Bristol. The most Bristol victories by an
active driver is five by Jeff Gordon.
Skunked at Bristol Motor Speedway
Kyle Petty has competed in 45 races at Bristol Motor Speedway without a victory. Ken Schrader and
Sterling Marlin have competed in 42 races at Bristol without a victory.
Leading The Way at Bristol Motor Speedway
Cale Yarborough led 4,306 laps in 29 races at Bristol Motor Speedway, more than any other driver. Jeff
Gordon leads all active drivers with 2,385 laps led in 26 races at Bristol.
Would you Believe?
Jeff Gordon has started from the top-15 in 25 of his 26 races at Bristol Motor Speedway. He started 21st in
his very first race at the Tennessee short track – his only start outside the top-15.
Manufacturers at Bristol Motor Speedway
A Ford has won four of the last six races at Bristol; a Chevrolet won the other two. A Dodge has not won at
Bristol since Richard Petty won the 1975 Volunteer 500.
Bristol Standouts
Richard Petty competed in 60 races at Bristol Motor Speedway, more than any other driver.
Cale Yarborough won nine Budweiser Poles at Bristol Motor Speedway, the most of any driver. Mark
Martin follows with seven, leading all active drivers.
Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with five victories at Bristol.
Mark Martin has scored 20 top-10 finishes in his 38 races at Bristol Motor Speedway, the most among
active drivers.
Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers at Bristol with a 4.73 starting average in 26 races there.
Greg Biffle has a 10.333 average finish in his six races at Bristol Motor Speedway, the best of all active
drivers.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has posted three straight top-10 finishes at Bristol Motor Speedway, the longest current
streak. Earnhardt has scored eight top-15 finishes in his last nine races at Bristol.
Point leader, Jimmie Johnson finished 36th at Bristol last August, his worst Bristol finish and only DNF
there.
Casey Mears, who ranks fifth in points, has finished 21st or worse in all six races at Bristol.
Milestones
Matt Kenseth is expected to make his 225th NASCAR NEXTEL Cup start at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Who's Hot
Jimmie Johnson is the only driver to score top-10 finishes in the first four races in 2006. He finished first,
second, first and sixth in those races. Johnson has ranked among the top-10 for 73 straight races, since
Atlanta in March 2004.
Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne have each scored three top-five finishes in the first four races in 2006,
leading all drivers.
Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth and Mark Martin are the only drivers to score top-15
finishes in all four races in 2006.
Tony Stewart and Greg Biffle are the only drivers to lead at least one lap in all four races this season.
Mark Martin has scored eight straight top-15 finishes; extending a streak that began at Atlanta last
October.
Mark Martin has climbed from 11th to fourth in the point standings since Daytona.
Jeff Gordon has climbed from 25th to sixth in the point standings since Daytona.
Top 10 in 2005 Points at This Track
First
Jimmie Johnson finished sixth in the Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway and remained the 2006
NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point leader. Johnson has scored top-10 finishes in nine of the 11 races since Kansas
City last October. He is the only driver to start the season with four top-10 finishes. One year ago Johnson began
the 2005 season with seven straight top-10 finishes. Johnson ranked first in the point standings after Race No. 4
in 2005 with an 82-point lead. Johnson has ranked among the top-10 for 73 straight races, since Atlanta in March
2004. He has competed in eight races at Bristol Motor Speedway, scoring five top-10 finishes. His best Bristol
finish of third came in August 2004. Johnson has a 14.375 average finish at Bristol Motor Speedway. Johnson
finished sixth at Bristol in this race one year ago and posted his worst Bristol finish of 36th there last August.
Second
Kasey Kahne won the Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway and climbed from third to second in the
2006 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings, the highest ranking of his career. Kahne has scored top-15 finishes
in the first four races in 2006, joining Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth and Mark Martin who also have four top-15
finishes. One year ago he ranked 28th in the point standings. Kahne has competed in four races at Bristol scoring
just one top-15 finish - 14th in this race one year ago. He finished 42nd there last fall, his worst Bristol finish.
Kahne has a 29.25 average finish at Bristol. Two of his four finishes at Bristol were DNFs.
Third
Matt Kenseth finished 13th in the Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway scoring his fourth top-15
finish of the season. Kenseth dropped from second to third in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings In
2003 and 2004, Kenseth held the top spot in the point standings after four races. One year ago Kenseth ranked
31st in the point standings after four races. He has competed in 12 races at Bristol Motor Speedway, scoring one
victory (August 2005) and seven top-10 finishes. Kenseth scored all seven of his Bristol top-10s in the last eight
races there. He finished 16th in this race one year ago - his only finish outside the top 10 in the last eight races at
Bristol. He has a 12.166 finishing average at Bristol.
Fourth
Mark Martin finished second in the Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway and climbed from fifth to
fourth in the 2006 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings. One year ago he ranked fifth in the point standings.
Martin has scored eight straight top-15 finishes, since Atlanta last October. He has had only one DNF (Talladega
in October 2005 - Accident) in the 28 races since Dover in June 2005. Martin has competed in 38 races at Bristol
scoring two victories (August 1993 and 1998). His 20 top-10 Bristol finishes are the most among active full-time
drivers there, however - Martin has not scored a top-10 finish in his last 10 races at Bristol. He finished 31st in
this race one year ago and 16th there last August. Despite his current streak of bad finishes, Martin has a 12.605
average finish at Bristol.
Fifth
Casey Mears finished 21st in the Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway - his worst finish of the
season, and dropped from fourth to fifth in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings. Mears is one of just four
drivers to start the season with three or more top-10 finishes in the first four races. One year ago he ranked 17th
in the point standings. Mears has scored top-10 finishes in five of the seven races since Texas last November. He
finished fourth at Texas, fifth at Homestead, second in the 2006 Daytona 500, seventh at California, and ninth at
Las Vegas. Mears has competed in six races at Bristol Motor Speedway never finishing better than 21st. Mears
finished 43rd in this race one year ago and 34th there last August. He has a 32.666 average finish at Bristol Motor
Speedway, the worst among the current top 10.
Sixth
Jeff Gordon finished fourth in the Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway and climbed from ninth to
sixth in the 2006 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings. Gordon has climbed from 26th to sixth in the point
standings since Daytona. He ranked 12th in the standings at this point one year ago. Gordon has competed in 26
races at Bristol Motor Speedway scoring five victories and 16 top-10 finishes. He finished 15th in this race one
year ago and sixth there last August. He has scored four top-15 finishes in his last four races at Bristol. Gordon
has an 11.692 average finish at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Seventh
Dale Earnhardt Jr., finished third in the Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway and climbed from
11th to seventh in the 2006 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings. One year ago he ranked 26th in the point
standings. Earnhardt has scored two top-10 finishes in 2006. His only finish outside the top-15 this season was his
27th-place finish at Las Vegas. He has competed in 12 races at Bristol scoring one victory (August 2004) and six
top-10 finishes. He has scored eight top-15 finishes in his last nine races at Bristol. Earnhardt has a 13.4 average
finish at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Eighth
Kyle Busch finished 12th in the Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway and dropped from sixth to
eighth in the 2006 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings. One year ago he ranked 19th in the point standings.
Busch has scored two top-10 finishes in 2006. His only finish outside the top-15 this season was his 23rd-place
finish at Daytona. He has competed in just two races at Bristol posting his best finish of 28th in this race one year
ago. He finished 33rd there last August. Busch has a 30.5 average finish at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Ninth
Dale Jarrett finished ninth in the Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway and climbed from 13th to
ninth in the 2006 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings. One year ago he ranked 15th in the point standings.
Jarrett has scored two top-10 finishes in 2006 and four of his finishes this season have been top-20s. He has
competed in 39 races at Bristol posting one victory (August 1997) and 19 top-10 finishes. He finished fifth in this
race one year ago and 31st there last fall. Jarrett has a 16.025 average finish at Bristol Motor Speedway.
10th
Clint Bowyer finished 27th in the Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway and dropped from seventh
to 10th in the 2006 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings. It was his only finish outside the top-15 in the
first four races of the season. He begins the 2006 season with the best record among the 2006 Rookie-of-the-
Year contenders. Bowyer's first start came at Phoenix last April where he finished 22nd. Bowyer will attempt to
compete in his first race at Bristol Motor Speedway in just his sixth career start.
Pending Streaks
Jeff Gordon has won at least one Bud Pole in each season 1993-2005, 13 consecutive years.
Ryan Newman has won at least one Bud Pole in each season 2001-2005, five consecutive years.
Jimmie Johnson has won at least one Bud Pole in each season 2002-2005, four consecutive years.
Kasey Kahne has won at least one Bud Pole in each season 2004-2006, three consecutive years.
Jeff Gordon has won at least one race in each season 1994-2005, 12 consecutive years.
Tony Stewart has won at least one race in each season 1999-2005, seven consecutive years.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has won at least one race in each season 2000-2005, six consecutive years.
Kurt Busch has won at least one race each season 2002-2005, four consecutive years.
Ryan Newman has won at least one race each season 2002-2005, four consecutive years.
Greg Biffle has won at least one race each season 2003-2005, three consecutive years.
Mark Martin has won at least one race each season 2004-2005, two consecutive years.
Robert Yates Racing has won at least one race each season 1989-2005, 17 consecutive years.
Penske Racing has won at least one race each season 1991-2005, 15 consecutive years.
Joe Gibbs Racing has won at least one race each season 1993-2005, 13 consecutive years.
Dale Earnhardt, Inc. has won at least one race each season 2000-2005, six consecutive years.
There has been at least one first time Bud Pole winner in each of the last 19 years (1987-2005).
There has been at least one Rookie-of-the-Year contender win a Bud Pole in each of the last 10 years (1996-
2005).
Tony Stewart has finished in the top 10 in the points each season 1999-2005, seven consecutive years.
Jimmie Johnson has finished in the top 10 in the points each season 2002-2005, four consecutive years.
Matt Kenseth has finished in the top 10 in the points each season 2002-2005, four consecutive years.
Ryan Newman has finished in the top 10 in the points each season 2002-2005, four consecutive years.
