Track Vitals Location
Bristol, TN Distance / Track Type
0.5 Mile Oval 36-degree bank Nextel Cup Top Race Speed
100.989 by Cale Yarborough on 4/17/1977 Nextel Cup Top Qualifying Speed
128.709 by Ryan Newman on 3/23/2003 Busch Top Race Speed
88.164 by Kevin Harvick on 8/25/2000 Busch Top Qualifying Speed
127.132 by Greg Biffle on 3/27/2004 Craftsman Truck Top Race Speed
88.813 by Travis Kvapil on 8/20/2003 Craftsman Truck Top Qualifying Speed
126.922 by Ken Schrader on 8/25/2004NASCAR on FOX analyst Larry McReynolds scouts Bristol Motor Speedway.

Adapting to this track



The shock specialist stays busy all weekend, trying to find the right package for the track and maintaining a balance so the tires don't feel like basketballs through the bumps. The spotter will be a busy guy. He has to look at the entire track and everything that's going on all over it. If there's a wreck in Turn 4 when your driver is in Turn 2, in no time, your driver will come up on the mess in Turn 4.
In 1992, officials paved the track with concrete. Unlike asphalt, concrete doesn't change much with the weather. Early on, some drivers complained they could not pass because there was only one groove around the bottom. But now we see some side-by-side racing, and there is more than one groove. When I worked with Davey Allison in 1992, we tested after the concrete was put down. After he went out for a run, there was an inch thick of concrete dust on the floor of his car. It took several years for the drivers to get comfortable with the surface, but now the racing on this track is really awesome.

Plotting strategy

The biggest key at Bristol, whether it's winning or getting a top five finish, is being patient. You'll have to look really hard after the race to find one car among the 43 that doesn't have a fender or bumper knocked off -- even the car that wins the race. The key to winning is staying out of trouble, and the best way to stay out of trouble is to stay at the front of the field all race long. Stay up there where you don't have to contend with the middle of the pack. No matter where you are, you still must contend with lapped cars, but the front of the field is the best place to be.
You can run about 150 laps on a tank of fuel, but because of all the cautions, fuel strategy is not usually an issue. Near the end of the race, I would rather keep my track position, even if I have a good number of laps on the tires. If there's a late-race caution and you have a good position, it's better to stay out.

Where the action is

There are few one-car wrecks here; they turn into five-, six- or seven-car wrecks. If you wreck in the corner at the top of the track, you slide down the banking, and it's hard for anyone to avoid a wreck right in front of him. A guy wrecks, and the guy behind him checks up. But if the guy behind the guy who checks up doesn't check up, then it ends up like a big freeway wreck where cars stack on top of each other.
You'll see passing all the way around the track, but most of it happens when a guy gets under another guy on the exit of the corner. He'll run side by side to the inside of him down the straightaway. Then he'll take the lane away and outdrive and outbrake him getting in the next corner.