DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (August 17, 2015) – Below is a look at some of the top statistical performers at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee going into the IRWIN Tools Night Race on August 22 (7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN).

BRISTOL-SPECIFIC STATISTICS

Greg Biffle (No. 16 CHEEZ-It Ford)

·         Six top fives, 13 top 10s; one pole

·         Average finish of 12.667, sixth-best

·         Average Running Position of 13.535, sixth-best

·         Driver Rating of 92.3, eighth-best

·         334 Fastest Laps Run, eighth-best

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 115.708, ninth-fastest

·         7246 Laps in the Top 15 (68.8), fourth-most

·         588 Quality Passes, fifth-most

Kyle Busch (No. 18 SKITTLES Toyota)

·         Five wins, eight top fives, 12 top 10s; one pole

·         Average finish of 12.150, fourth-best

·         Average Running Position of 13.724, eighth-best

·         Driver Rating of 100.0, third-best

·         610 Fastest Laps Run, 10th-best

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 115.791, fifth-fastest

·         6344 Laps in the Top 15 (63.3), ninth-most

·         498 Quality Passes, eighth-most

Kurt Busch (No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet)

·         Five wins, eight top fives, 15 top 10s; one pole

·         Average finish of 15.952, 10th-best

·         Average Running Position of 13.572, seventh-best

·         Driver Rating of 92.6, sixth-best

·         408 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-best

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 115.765, sixth-fastest

·         6859 Laps in the Top 15 (65.2), seventh-most

·         633 Quality Passes, third-most

Dale Earnhardt Jr (No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet)

·         One win, seven top fives, 14 top 10s

·         Average finish of 12.095, third-best

·         Average Running Position of 14.977, 11th-best

·         Driver Rating of 87.2, 13th-best

·         249 Fastest Laps Run, 11th-best

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 115.720, eighth-fastest

·         6071 Laps in the Top 15 (57.7), 11th-most

·         539 Quality Passes, sixth-most

Carl Edwards (No. 19 STANLEY Toyota)

·         Three wins, five top fives, nine top 10s; two poles

·         Average finish of 14.333, seventh-best

·         Average Running Position of 13.977, ninth-best

·         Driver Rating of 90.6, 10th-best

·         443 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-best

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 115.690, 10th-fastest

·         7012 Laps in the Top 15 (66.6), sixth-most

·         489 Quality Passes, 10th-most

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet)

·         Five wins, 17 top fives, 25 top 10s; five poles

·         Average finish of 12.333, fifth-best

·         Average Running Position of 9.954, second-best

·         Driver Rating of 100.3, second-best

·         455 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-best

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 115.905, third-fastest

·         8324 Laps in the Top 15 (79.1), second-most

·         662 Quality Passes, second-most

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota)

·         One win, four top fives, eight top 10s; two poles

·         Average finish of 17.368, 12th-best

·         Average Running Position of 16.077, 12th-best

·         Driver Rating of 87.9, 12th-best

·         399 Fastest Laps Run, second-best

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 115.675, 11th-fastest

·         5373 Laps in the Top 15 (56.4), 13th-most

·         461 Quality Passes, 11th-most

Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet)

·         One win, nine top fives, 12 top 10s; one pole

·         Average finish of 17.143, 11th-best

·         Average Running Position of 13.038, fourth-best

·         Driver Rating of 92.5, seventh-best

·         460 Fastest Laps Run, third-best

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 115.874, fourth-fastest

·         6742 Laps in the Top 15 (64.0), eighth-most

·         527 Quality Passes, seventh-most

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Pro Services Chevrolet)

·         One win, nine top fives, 15 top 10s; one pole

·         Average finish of 15.143, ninth-best

·         Average Running Position of 13.356, fifth-best

·         Driver Rating of 92.3, ninth-best

·         549 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-best

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 115.634, 12th-fastest

·         7069 Laps in the Top 15 (67.2), fifth-most

·         496 Quality Passes, ninth-most

Kasey Kahne (No. 5 Great Clips Chevrolet)

·         One win, five top fives, ten top 10s; one pole

·         Average finish of 17.476, 13th-best

·         Average Running Position of 16.578, 13th-best

·         Driver Rating of 88.1, 11th-best

·         474 Fastest Laps Run, series-best

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 115.618, 13th-fastest

·         5948 Laps in the Top 15 (56.5), 12th-most

·         616 Quality Passes, fourth-most

Matt Kenseth (No. 20 Dollar General Toyota)

·         Four wins, 13 top fives, 20 top 10s; two poles

·         Average finish of 11.333, second-best

·         Average Running Position of 9.821, series-best

·         Driver Rating of 104.6, series-best

·         582 Fastest Laps Run, 12th-best

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 115.981, second-fastest

·         8699 Laps in the Top 15 (82.6), series-most

·         678 Quality Passes, series-most

Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Miller Lite Ford)

·         Two wins, four top fives, four top 10s

·         Average finish of 15.091, eighth-best

·         Average Running Position of 14.249, 10th-best

·         Driver Rating of 93.3, fifth-best

·         212 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-best

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 115.721, seventh-fastest

·         3323 Laps in the Top 15 (60.3), 10th-most

·         393 Quality Passes, 12th-most

Kyle Larson (No. 42 Target Chevrolet)

·         Two top 10s

·         Average finish of 9.667, series-best

·         Average Running Position of 11.383, third-best

·         Driver Rating of 99.0, fourth-best

·         77 Fastest Laps Run, 13th-best

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 116.278, series-fastest

·         1169 Laps in the Top 15 (77.2), third-most

·         144 Quality Passes, 13th-most

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2015 Top 10 at Bristol Motor Speedway

* – Based on last 21 races at Bristol Motor Speedway (2005 – 2015).

Bristol Motor Speedway Data

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 NASCAR Sprint Cup race was July 30, 1961; Jack Smith won the event (with relief from Johnny Allen).

·         All of the NSCS 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.

Starts

·        There have been 109 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Bristol Motor Speedway since the first race in 1961, two races each season.

·         436 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol; 304 in more than one.

·       NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the series in starts at Bristol with 60. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 45 starts.

·         Jeff Gordon leads (active drivers) the series in average starting position at Bristol with a 7.667. 

·        Ryan Newman leads the series (active drivers) with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Bristol without visiting Victory Lane at 27.

·         Paul Menard (16 starts) leads the series in starts with the fewest DNFs (0) at Bristol.

·         AJ Allmendinger made his first NASCAR Sprint Cup career start at Bristol (03/25/2007).

Poles

·         Fred Lorenzen won the inaugural Coors Light pole with a speed of 79.225 mph in a Ford.

·         48 different drivers have poles at Bristol, led by Mark Martin and Cale Yarborough with nine each.   Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with five.

·       10 different drivers have posted consecutive poles at Bristol Motor Speedway; Mark Martin is the only 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 series career pole.

·         Oldest Bristol pole winner: Harry Gant (8/27/1994 – 54 years, 7 months, 17 days).

·        Seven different drivers have posted their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career pole at Bristol. Joey Logano is the only active driver to win his first NSCS career pole at Bristol (03/21/2010).

Wins

·       42 different drivers have won at Bristol, led by Darrell Waltrip (12). Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch each have five wins, the most among active drivers.

·       12 drivers have won consecutive 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 NASCAR Sprint 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 and Jack Roush are tied among active car owners for the most wins at Bristol with 11 each.

·         The race winner has started from the pole 23 times (21.1%) – the most productive starting position. The last driver to win from the pole was Matt Kenseth earlier this season.

·         Five 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) and Matt Kenseth (2005 and 2015).

·         36 of the 109 (33%) races at Bristol have been won from the front row: Pole position (23 wins); second-place (13 wins).

·         87 of the 109 (79.8%) races have been won from a top-10 starting position; including 54 from the first four spots.

·       Five of the 109 (4.5%) races have been won from a starting position outside the top 20; most recent was Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2004 – he started 30th. 

·       The deepest in the field that a race winner has started is 38th, by Elliott Sadler in 2001.

·        Eight different manufacturers have won in the NSCS at Bristol; led by Chevrolet with 43 victories; followed by Ford (35), Dodge (8), Pontiac (8), Toyota (7), Buick (4), Plymouth (3) and Oldsmobile (1).

·         Four car numbers have produced eight or more Bristol NSCS wins:

Car Number – (Number of Wins) – Most Recent Win

o    No. 11  – (19 wins) – Denny Hamlin , 2012

o    No. 2 – (12 wins) – Brad Keselowski , 2012

o    No. 17 – (eight wins) – Matt Kenseth , 2006

o    No. 3 – (eight wins) – Dale Earnhardt, 1999

Additional Finishing Position Stats

·         Richard Petty leads the series in runner-up finishes at Bristol with 10; Kevin Harvick leads all active drivers with four.

·       Darrell Waltrip and Richard Petty lead the series in top-five finishes at Bristol with 26 each. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 17; followed by Matt Kenseth (13).

·       Richard Petty has leads the series in top-10 finishes at Bristol with 37. Jeff Gordon leads the series among active drivers in top-10 finishes with 25; followed by Matt Kenseth (20).

·         Ricky Stenhouse Jr. leads the series (active drivers) in average finishing position at Bristol with an 9.200.

Track/Event Specific Stats

·         Nine of the last 11 races have ended with a Margin of Victory of less than a second at BMS.   

·      There has been five green-white-checkered finishes at Bristol – all five were the spring race: 2007 (500/504); 2008 (500/506); 2009 (500/503); 2014 (500/503); 2015 (500/511).

·      Two of the 109 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Bristol Motor Speedway have been shortened due to weather conditions; the most recent was the event on 3/31/1996.   

·        Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Bristol Motor Speedway three times; most recently August 25, 2012.    

·       Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Bristol is the 3/25/2007 race won by Kyle Busch with a MOV of 0.064 second.

Female Competitor Stats

·         Two female drivers have made NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Bristol: Janet Guthrie and Danica Patrick .

NASCAR in Tennessee

·         There have been 170 NASCAR Sprint Cup races among six tracks in Tennessee.

·         The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held in Tennessee was at Tennessee-Carolina Speedway on 10/07/1956 won by Fireball Roberts.

Tennessee Drivers

·         105 drivers in NASCAR national series history have their home state recorded as Tennessee.

·         14 drivers from Tennessee have won at least one race in NASCAR’s three national series.

·         Darrell 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 Sprint Cup Series championship. 

·       Only two of the 14 drivers from Tennessee have won at least one race in the NASCAR Sprint 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).

Milestones