Golden’ Rule: History Continues At Bristol Motor Speedway
Bristol Motor Speedway, one the more storied tracks on the NASCAR schedule, celebrates its 50th anniversary this season – and the history it has built is staggering.
The wins list alone features some of the most iconic names in the sport’s history. Eight of the top nine are series champions, and five of those are either NASCAR Hall of Famers, inductees or nominees. The top nine: Darrell Waltrip (12), Dale Earnhardt (9), Rusty Wallace (9), Cale Yarborough (9), Kurt Busch (5), Jeff Gordon (5), David Pearson (5), Bobby Allison (4) and Kyle Busch (4).
Here’s a quick ‘By the Numbers’ look at Bristol since its first Cup race in 1961, won by Jack Smith.
.064 – In seconds, the closest margin of victory at Bristol since the inception of electronic scoring in 1993. On March 25, 2007, in the first race with the new car, Kyle Busch edged Jeff Burton to the finish line by that miniscule figure. Each of the last four races at Bristol has had a margin of victory under one second.
9 – Bristol poles by Mark Martin and Cale Yarborough, most all-time there. Martin would reach career milestone 50 poles if he wins the pole this weekend.
16 – Different leaders at Bristol on April 9, 1989. Won by Rusty Wallace, 16 of the 32-car field – half the competitors – led at least one lap.
40 – Lead changes at Bristol on April 14, 1991, the most ever at Bristol. Starting from the pole, Rusty Wallace won that event. Eight different drivers exchanged the top spot, with Ricky Rudd leading the most laps (145).
50 – Career win number of Jimmie Johnson when he won his first Bristol race, March 21, 2010. It was also the site of Rusty Wallace’s 50th win, on March 26, 2000.
500 – Laps led by Cale Yarborough on March 25, 1973. It was the only time a driver led every single lap at Bristol. Yarborough won the race by two laps over runner-up Richard Petty.
Back At Home: 500 Champ Bayne Returns To Native Tennessee
Expect the cheers from the fans to be extra loud this weekend when Trevor Bayne is introduced during driver introductions. It will be his first time competing in front of his hometown fans after capturing the checkered flag at this season’s Daytona 500.
He’ll pull double duty – again – running both the NASCAR Nationwide Series and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Bristol, about a two-hour drive from Bayne’s native Knoxville.
There are a few intertwined storylines with Bayne’s homecoming, involving two teams, and two series.
• For the fourth time this season, Bayne will pilot the iconic No. 21 Ford for the Wood Brothers. This is the 10-year anniversary of the Wood Brothers NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bristol win in 2001. It was the historic team’s last win – until this season’s Daytona 500. In that race, Elliott Sadler led 70 laps, beating John Andretti in the iconic No. 43 to the finish line by .426 seconds.
• Since Bayne’s 500 victory, he has finished 40th at Phoenix and 20th at Las Vegas.
• Bayne is sixth in the NASCAR Nationwide Series driver standings, 24 points behind Reed Sorenson. In the first three starts of the season he has posted one top five and two top 10s. Bayne has made four starts at Bristol, posting one top-10 finish. His pre-race Driver Rating at Bristol is 72.9.
• Also watch for NASCAR Nationwide Series Roush Fenway Racing teammate and 2010 Sunoco Rookie of the Year Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who is second in the standings, two points back from series standings leader Reed Sorenson. Stenhouse has posted three top 10s in his first three starts this season. His season-to-date Driver Rating of 102.7 is up 42.0 points over last season’s 60.7 after the first three races – the largest improvement in the series. Stenhouse has made two starts at Bristol, posting a best finish of 22nd, last fall.
Driver Rating Improvement Comparison
Rank Driver 2010 2011 Difference
1 Ryan Newman 66.1 101.5 35.4
2 Tony Stewart 88.1 118.4 30.3
3 Regan Smith 49.7 76.4 26.7
4 Paul Menard 64.4 90.8 26.4
5 Bobby Labonte 50.3 69.2 18.9
28 Clint Bowyer 107.8 84.3 -23.5
29 Greg Biffle 101.7 77.1 -24.6
30 Jeff Burton 97.3 66.6 -30.7
31 Jimmie Johnson 113.0 76.3 -36.7
32 Kevin Harvick 116.4 73.4 -43.0
Driver Rating: Good Times, Bad Times
The Driver Rating, a formula taking into account a number of statistics, paints an interesting picture of the first three races.
Comparatively speaking, there are some surprises at the top, but even bigger surprises at the bottom, in terms of the first three races of 2010 versus the first three of 2011.
Some of that might have to do with a wrinkle in the schedule. Last season opened with races at Daytona, Auto Club Speedway and Las Vegas. This season opened with Daytona, Phoenix and Las Vegas.
Still, the names involved are fascinating.
Stewart-Haas Racing leads the way. Ryan Newman has had the biggest Driver Rating jump after three races. After three events in 2010, his Driver Rating was 66.1. Currently, Newman has a rating of 101.5, a jump of 35.4 points – the largest gain in the series. Second is Tony Stewart, who improved 30.3 points – from 88.1 in 2010 to a series-best 118.4 now.
Some of the biggest surprises among the movers are also among the biggest surprise in the points standings. Paul Menard, currently sixth in points, had the fourth-largest jump in Driver Rating: 64.4 after three 2010 events compared to 90.8 this season, a leap of 26.4 points.
The biggest drops come from a number of 2010 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
The biggest drop in Driver Rating is Kevin Harvick, who had a 116.4 after three races last year. He now has a 73.4, a drop of 43 points. Harvick ranks 20th in series points. Click here to listen to Harvick talk about racing at Bristol.
Jimmie Johnson dropped 36.7 points, from 113.0 last year to 76.3 after the first three races this season. Though currently 12th, the position is nothing new for the five-time defending champion. In three of the past four seasons, Johnson sat outside the top 10 after three races.
Surprising Figures Among Drivers Battling To Beat ‘The Bubble’
Several top names – including a pair of drivers who qualified for last year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup – are in danger of losing a guaranteed top 35 starting position with two races remaining before 2011 owner points come into play. After race No. 5 at Auto Club Speedway, the top 35 cars in the current owner points will earn guaranteed starting spots to the following race. For the first five races, the 2010 owner points are used.
Chasers Greg Biffle (33rd) and Jeff Burton (34th) are among the endangered, only 13 points to the good over the No. 71 Chevrolet driven by Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Andy Lally in 36th. Sitting directly on the bubble is Casey Mears, whose Germain Racing team occupies 35th. Regan Smith’s No. 78 Chevrolet (30th), Jamie McMurray’s No. 1 Chevrolet (31st) and Joey Logano’s No. 20 Toyota (32nd) aren’t safe by any stretch, 16 points ahead of the cutoff.
• Burton is the only “bubble” driver with a Bristol win.
• Biffle counts top-10 finishes in his three most recent Bristol starts. McMurray was a top-10 finisher in both 2010 Bristol races. Logano has a single top-10 run in his four starts at the track.
• Lally and Tony Raines currently hold top 35 qualifying status but are eight and 11 points, respectively, behind Mears. Lally will be making his first Bristol appearance. Raines has yet to finish higher than 17th with an average Bristol finish of 29.4. As for Mears, his sole top 10 came in the spring of 2005.
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