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Matt Kenseth has a Cup-best driver rating of 127.7 at Bristol, but will it make a difference in the COT?By the Numbers: Bristol
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Bristol is unlike any other track in NASCAR. The Car of Tomorrow is unlike ... well, you've heard the stories. Put the two of them together and this week's Food City 500 becomes an even greater variable.
Will the COT make two years of Loop Data moot? Can patterns suggested throughout the course of 46 years be erased? Not likely. After all, most in NASCAR contend, COT or no, Bristol is still Bristol.
But to officially welcome the Car of Tomorrow, By the Numbers presents a mini-BTN of the COT.
Now, on to Bristol, the .533-mile bullring that's as much of a crapshoot as NASCAR has to offer. The track opened in 1961 and has been the home to two events a year ever since. That's 92 races and 401 drivers. But only 34 of them have ever won there.
Interesting Fact
9Dale Earnhardt and Rusty Wallace had similar numbers at Bristol, including the same number of wins. They each won their first race at Bristol Earnhardt had a 9.3 average finish in 43 starts with 20 top-fives and 30 top-10s. Wallace had a 9.6 average finish in 44 starts with 22 top-fives and 29 top-10s.
Fun Fact
76High temperature forecast for all three days of the Bristol weekend, a far cry from last March when wet conditions canceled qualifying, Busch Series pit-crew members engaged in snowball fights with fans and Sunday morning flurries left the chill of winter in the air.
All the Facts
0Lead changes in the March 1973 Southeastern 500, the only race at Bristol won start to finish as Cale Yarborough led all 500 laps.
0Fewest cautions in a race at Bristol, in July 1971. Despite that fact, winner Charlie Glotzbach was the only driver to finish on the lead lap in the Volunteer 500.
2.4Average finish of Dick Hutcherson in five Bristol starts. Hutcherson had one victory, three runner-ups and a fifth-place finish during the mid-60s.
3.464Average running position of Matt Kenseth in the past four Bristol races, best of any driver.
4Drivers to post top-10 finishes in both Bristol races in 2006: Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman.
4Consecutive finishes of 24th or worse by Jamie McMurray, who in his first four races at Bristol followed an 11th-place finish in his debut with three consecutive top-10s.
5Drivers to post their first career victory at Bristol: Dale Earnhardt (1979), Rusty Wallace (1986), Ernie Irvan (1990), Elliott Sadler (2001), Kurt Busch (2002).
5Wins by Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch at Bristol, most of any active drivers.
9Top-10 finishes for Matt Kenseth in his past 10 Bristol starts.
10.0Denny Hamlin's average finish in his first two Bristol starts, by far the best of the six full-time rookies in 2006: Martin Truex Jr. (28.0), Reed Sorenson (29.0), J.J. Yeley (32.0), Clint Bowyer (33.5), David Stremme (35.5).
12Wins by Darrell Waltrip at Bristol, most of all time. Waltrip won seven in a row in the early 1980s.
16Races won at Bristol from outside a top-10 starting spot.
20Most cautions in one race at Bristol, accomplished three times: April 1989, April 1997, August 2003.
21Wins from the pole at Bristol.
29.6Regan Smith's average finish in five Busch Series starts at Bristol, including two DNFs (crashes). His best finish was 19th in August 2006. Smith will make his Nextel Cup debut in place of Mark Martin in the 01 Chevrolet.
36Degree of banking in the corners, the most acute on the Nextel Cup circuit.
56Career starts made by Ricky Rudd at Bristol. Despite having never won there, he leads all active drivers in laps completed (23,951), top-fives (16) and top-10s (31).
167Most caution laps run in one race at Bristol, in July 1965. Winner Ned Jarrett was one of only two cars to finish on the lead lap in the Volunteer 500, where just 13 of 36 cars finished the race.
2,429 Laps led by Jeff Gordon. No other active driver has even led 1,000 laps at Bristol.
Also
Bristol Motor Speedway
Most Wins (all time)
| Pos. | Wins | Driver | Starts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 12 | Darrell Waltrip | 52 |
| 2. | 9 | Dale Earnhardt | 43 |
| 9 | Rusty Wallace | 44 | |
| 9 | Cale Yarborough | 29 | |
| 5. | 5 | Kurt Busch | 12 |
| 5 | Jeff Gordon | 28 | |
| 5 | David Pearson | 20 | |
| 8. | 4 | Bobby Allison | 44 |
| 9. | 3 | Fred Lorenzen | 12 |
| 3 | Richard Petty | 60 | |
| 11. | 2 | Matt Kenseth | 14 |
| 2 | Alan Kulwicki | 14 | |
| 2 | Terry Labonte | 55 | |
| 2 | Mark Martin | 40 | |
| 14. | 1 | Davey Allison | 12 |
| 1 | Donnie Allison | 11 | |
| 1 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 14 | |
| 1 | Bill Elliott | 41 | |
| 1 | Charlie Glotzbach | 4 | |
| 1 | Paul Goldsmith | 8 | |
| 1 | Kevin Harvick | 12 | |
| 1 | Dick Hutcherson | 5 | |
| 1 | Ernie Irvan | 20 | |
| 1 | Dale Jarrett | 41 | |
| 1 | Ned Jarrett | 12 | |
| 1 | Bobby Johns | 7 | |
| 1 | Junior Johnson | 10 | |
| 1 | Benny Parsons | 27 | |
| 1 | Jim Paschal | 13 | |
| 1 | Fireball Roberts | 7 | |
| 1 | Elliott Sadler | 17 | |
| 1 | Jack Smith | 6 | |
| 1 | Tony Stewart | 16 | |
| 1 | Joe Weatherly | 6 |
• Track Page: Bristol Motor Speedway
Car of Tomorrow
2007 races with the COT
| Date | Track |
|---|---|
| March 25 | Bristol |
| April 1 | Martinsville |
| April 21 | Phoenix |
| May 5 | Richmond |
| May 12 | Darlington |
| June 3 | Dover |
| June 24 | Sonoma |
| July 1 | New Hampshire |
| Aug. 12 | Watkins Glen |
| Aug. 25 | Bristol |
| Sept. 8 | Richmond |
| Sept. 16 | New Hampshire * |
| Sept. 23 | Dover * |
| Oct. 7 | Talladega * |
| Oct. 21 | Martinsville * |
| Nov. 11 | Phoenix * |
* -- Chase race
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