• Race: Sunday, March 25, 2001 in Bristol, TN
  
  
• TV: Fox 1:00pm/et(pre-race at 12:30pm/et)
  
  
• Announcers: Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds
  
  
• Pit Reporters: Dick Berggren, Matt Yocum, Steve Byrnes, Jeanie Zelesko
  
  
• Posted Awards/Purse: $3,591,445 (was $2,307,231 in 2000)
  
  
• Entry List: Entry List for the: Food City 500 from NASCAR.com
  
  
• 2000 Race Winner: Rusty Wallace, 88.018mph
  
  
• Track Race Record 1st Race: Cale Yarborough, Apr 1977, 100.989
  
  
• Track Race Record 2nd Race: Charlie Glotzbach, July 1971, 101.074
  
  
• Track/Race Length: 0.533-mile concrete oval, 500 laps, 266.5 miles
  
  
• Pit Road Speed: 35mph
  
  

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  Practice
  
  
• Practice: Friday, Mar 23rd from 11:45am - 1:45pm/et; Saturday, Mar 24th none listed except Happy Hour
  
  
• Happy Hour Practice: Saturday, Mar 24th after the BGN race, TV-FX approx 3:30pm/et
  
  

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  Qualifying
  
  
• Qualifying Draw: Friday, March 23rd at 10:45am/et
  
  
• Qualfying Order - Food City 500: at or NASCAR Online
  
  
• Qualifying: 2 laps for positions 1-36, Friday, Mar 23rd at 3:30pm/et, TV-FSN(Fox Sports Net) and live via PRN radio/internet
  
  
• NASCAR.com will have live lap-by-lap coverage of Winston Cup qualifying via the web using it's Racecast feature
  
  
• Second-Round Qualifying: there is no longer a 2nd round of qualifying
  
  
• Track/Event Qualifying Record: Steve Park, Mar 2000, 126.370mph
  
  
• Last Year's Pole Sitter: Steve Park, 126.370mph
  
  
  
  

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• Track Specs:
  0.533-mile concrete oval
  Degree of banking in corners: 36 degrees
  Degree of banking in straights: 16 degrees
  Straightaways are 650 feet long.
  Concrete racing surface is 40 feet wide.
  Seating capacity: ~147,000
  Bristol has two pits roads: 21 pit stalls on the front stretch and 21 on the back stretch(1 must be shared)
  
  
• Track Homepage: Bristol Motor Speedway
  
  
• Scanner Frequencies: are linked on my Racing Links Page/ Scanners Section
  
  

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  PAST RACE WINNERS of All past races at Bristol

• All Time Bristol Winners and Pole Sitters (BMS Site)
  
  

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  RACE BONUS INFO

• The NASCAR Winston Cup Leader Bonus is $10,000 at Bristol for leading the points and winning the race(Dale Jarrett last won the award, $50,000 at Darlington on Mar 18, 2001). The $360,000 annual award is paid at $10,000 per race to the point leader at the end of each event if he is also the winner. The award increases by $10,000 each week the it goes unclaimed. If the point leader is not the race winner at the end of the year, the balance of the award is distributed among the top-10 finisher in the point standings(3-18-2001)
  
  

IN-CAR AUDIO SITES

PREVIEW, FACT SHEETS and MISC News

• : Food City 500 Race Info
  
  
• CBS Sportsline: Food City 500 Preview
  
  
• Raceday Today - Food City 500(3-25-2001)
  
  
• Sporting News: This Week In NASCAR - Food City 500(3-20-2001)
  
  
• NASCAR - Food City 500 Preview(WRAL)
  
  
• Yahoo: Food City 500 - Preview
  
  
• Crew Chief Club
  
  

• note: this is not to promote gambling but to offer readers odds and ideas on what the 'experts' think about the upcoming race and the Cup series season
  
  
• Don Best Sports - Food City 500 and the 2001 Winston Cup Championship(3-20-2001)
  
  
• Imperial Palace NASCAR Odds - Food City 500 and the 2001 Winston Cup(SportsFax News)(3-23-2001)
  
  
• NASCAR Odds - Opening Odds for the Food City 500(3-24-2001)
  
  
• Stardust NASCAR Odds - Food City 500(WRAL)(3-24-2001)
  
  
• United Bet - Food City 500 Odds - click on Motorsports link(3-20-2001)
  
  
• Vegas Insider - Food City 500 odds and The Regent Las Vegas - Food City 500 Odds (3-23-2001)
  
  

• How About That! Elliott Sadler Wins at Bristol!: #21-Elliott Sadler won the Food City at Bristol in the Motorcraft/Air Force Ford. Sadler's first ever win and first top five of his career. It was the Wood Brothers points win since Morgan Shepherd at Atlanta in March of 1993 (Michael Waltrip won The Winston in 1996 for the Wood Brothers). The 17th different driver to win for the Wood Brothers in their long history and their first ever at Bristol. It was also the 4th first time winner in the last 7 Winston Cup races (Nadeau at Atlanta in 2000, Waltrip at Daytona, Harvick at Atlanta and now Elliott). #43-John Andretti was 2nd and came close to giving Dodge it's first win and Andretti's best finish of the year beating last weeks 6th. #4-Kevin Lapage gave Morgan-McClure it's best finish of the year with a 15th place finish in his first run in the car after starting 42nd. See for the story at: Sadler scores first win; Gordon, Stewart tangle and results at: Food City 500 results. Or see NASCAR.com for Unofficial Results and Unofficial Standings. See 42 photos online from Elliott Sadler's winning weekend at his official website: www.sadlerfanclub.com(3-25-2001)
  
  
• Food City 500 at Bristol Lineup
  
  
• Happy Hour at Bristol is over for the Food City 500. #2-Rusty Wallace was the fastest at 120.963mph. 2nd was #6-Mark Martin at 120.528. Slowest was #77-Robert Pressley at 118.488. #17-Matt Kenseth spun and hit the wall on the backstretch in the final minutes of Happy Hour but the damage was minimal and he should not have to go to a backup. See the whole rundown of speeds at : Saturday's 'Happy Hour' practice speeds and at NASCAR.com: Final Practice Speeds (3-24-2001)
  
  
• Backstretch: Only two drivers in the history of Bristol has ever won a race after pitting on the backstretch. Davey Allison(started 19th) in the spring 1990 race and Dale Earnhardt(26th) in the 2nd 1999 race(3-23-2001)
  
  
• Best Starts: #55-Bobby Hamilton (6th) has his best starting spot since he lined up 5th at Darlington in September of 1999. #45-Kyle Petty (7th) had his best qualifying run since he started 4th at The BrickYard last August (Jayski note: but that was in the #12 Ford for Mayfield after Petty missed the race and Mayfield was too injured to run, so Petty had to fall to the end of the field, Kyle did have a did start 2nd at Sears point last June). #43-John Andretti (11th) has his best starting spot since he lined up on the outside pole at Loudon last July. #2-Rusty Wallace has 4 Top-10 starts in a row.(Catchfence)(3-24-2001)
  
  
• Pole at BMS: Mark Martin is now tied for third all-time at BMS for most poles. He joins Richard Petty with six, and still trails Rusty Wallace (7) and Cale Yarborough (9).(Bristol Herald Courier)(3-24-2001)
  
  
• Qualifying is over at Bristol for the Food City 500. #6-Mark Martin won the pole with a speed of 126.303mph just a little slower then the track record set last year by Steve Park(126.370). When Martin went out to qualify, the track was totally cloud covered. It was Martins first pole since Rockingham in Oct 1999. Outside pole goes to #40-Sterling Marlin with a speed of 125.387mph, so Martin was almost a mph faster then Marlin. Three drivers missed the race are: #01-Jason Leffler(41st in owners points); #90-Hut Stricklin(42nd), #85-Carl Long(48th). #4-Kevin Lepage used a provisional to make the race, that is the team's 4th provisional in 6 races, so the team is out of provisionals until race #8(Martinsville) unless he can moved into the top 25 in owners points(presently 37th) more info on my 2001 Provisional Page. Bristol has two pit roads, 21 stalls in the front and 22 in the back. #44-Buckshot Jones got the final frontstretch pit stall qualifying 21st. #25-Jerry Nadeau just missed the front stretch. Some notes: #11-Bodine and #21-Sadler had practice wrecks and had to go to backup cars. Tommy Morgan and Buddy Parrott are sharing crew chief duties on the #97 this week since regular crew chief Matt Chambers is suspended for this races and nest week at Texas. See qualifying results at:NASCAR.com(3-23-2001)
  
  
• Progression of the Pole at Bristol:
  #88-Jarrett (1st out, 124.146, starts 19th) #45-Petty (3rd out, 124.743, starts 7th) #2-Wallace (9th out, 125.166, starts 4th) #29-Harvick (14th out, 125.354, starts 3rd) #6-Martin (41st out, 126.303, on the pole)(3-23-2001)
  
  
• Friday Practice: is over at Bristol. #6-Mark Martin was the fastest at 126.129mph, track record is Steve Park last year with a speed of 126.370mph. 2nd fastest was #24-Jeff Gordon at 125.884. Slowest was #7-Mike Wallace with a speed of 120.429. #4-Kevin Lapage was 28th at 123.905mph in his first run in the Morgan-McClure Chevy. See the speeds at : Friday's Winston Cup practice speeds or at NASCAR.com: Food City 500 Practice Results(3-23-2001)
  
  
• Some Bristol Facts:
  There have been 80 NASCAR Winston Cup Series races at Bristol since the track opened in 1961.
  Rusty Wallace 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 19 occasions at Bristol, the most of any starting position (24%).
  The furthest back in the field that a race winner has started was 26th by Dale Earnhardt in the 1999 Goody's Headache Powder 500
  A total of 28 drivers have won Cup races at Bristol since 1961
  12 have won more than once.
  Retired driverDarrell Waltrip leads all drivers with 12 victories at Bristol
  In the 40 years of twice-yearly Cup racing at Bristol (1961 to 2000), a sweep of both races in the same year has occurred 13 times (32.5 percent).
  Rusty Wallace was the most recent driver to win both Bristol races in the same year (2000).
  A NASCAR Winston Cup Series race at Bristol has been shortened by rain on only two occasions, once in the fall of 1983 and again in the spring of 1996
  There has been only one race run caution-free at Bristol, the 1971 Volunteer 500, won by Charlie Glotzbach
  Cale Yarborough led all 500 laps of the 1973 Southeastern 500.(NASCAR PR)(3-2-2001)
  
  
• Qualifying Order is up: See above for the link. 46 drivers are schedule to attempt qualifying today at Bristol. First due out is #88-Dale Jarrett, last due out is #40-Sterling Marlin. Qualifying will be at 3:30pm/et and televised on FSN and can be followed on NASCAR.com(3-23-2001)
  
  
• Entry List is up at NASCAR.com for the Food City 500 at Bristol. See the link above. 46 drivers/cars are listed. Robby Gordon is listed in the #4 Kodak Chevy. #85-Carl Long is on the list and plans to be there. No #71-Dave Marcis listed(3-20-2001)
  
  
• an interesting point: When NASCAR officials decided to disallow Jerry Nadeau's qualifying time yesterday, it raised an interesting question. With the Winston Cup series having only one round of qualifying the rest of the season, what happens if an unapproved part is found? According to NASCAR, drivers no longer have to post an official qualifying time to use a provisional, they only have to practice. So a driver could have a penalty on a qualifying issue but still have access to one of the seven provisionals for the race(Richmond Times Dispatch)(2-11-2001)
  
  
• How to break a tie during qualifying?(same speed/time) When drivers are tied for a starting spot during qualifying, it is broken by owners points standings(not drivers). For provisionals standings see the Jayski Provisional Status page(2-20-2000)
  
  
• Links: Practice speeds, qualifying and results can be found at these sites: NASCAR Online, Racin Network, and
  
  

TRACK/RACE NEWS

• VOTE for the BMS Moment: Vote For Your Favorite Bristol Motor Speedway Moment And Be Entered To Win Fans' Favorite Raceday Give-Away at: Vote For Your Favorite Bristol Motor Speedway.(link fixed)(2-14/15-2001)
  
  
• How to Calculate Track Speeds: use the formula Speed = Distance divided by Time. Distance is Track Length, and Lap Time into Hours. Once hour is 3600 seconds, so the calculation for a 48 second lap at Daytona(2.5 miles) would be: Speed = 2.5 x (3600/48), = 2.5 x 75 = 187.500mph. For a 19 second lap at Bristol(.533 miles): Speed = .533 x (3600/19), = .533 x 189.474 = a speed of 100.990mph
  
  
• Past track news: posted in the past at Jayski's Past Track News/Rumors - Bristol
  
  

DRIVER/TEAM NEWS

• Crew Chiefs Return: Two NASCAR Cup crew chiefs, suspended for rules violations at Daytona, will be able to return to the race track next weekend at Bristol for the Food City 500. Winston Cup crew chiefs Tony Furr, from Jerry Nadeau's #25 Chevy team, and Kevin Cram, from Jason Leffer's #01 Dodge operation, were suspended for four races after rule violations at the season opener at Daytona. Furr was fined and suspended for unapproved fender braces and altered suspension parts, while Cram was suspended for an additive to fuel()(3-18-2001)
  
  
• See the 2001 Team Chart which has links to past news for each team
  
  

PAINT SCHEME NEWS

• Billy Ray and the #90: Sony recording artist Billy Ray Cyrus will use the Hills Bros Coffee Ford driven by Hut Stricklin to promote his new album, "Southern Rain," at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 25, announced Junie Donlavey, owner of Stricklin's Winston Cup Series #90 machine. Decals commemorating the new album's cover will be placed on the rear quarter panels of the Hills Bros Coffee Ford for the Food City 500. Cyrus will also be singing the national anthem prior to the start of the race. Cyrus has been a NASCAR fan for several years and met Donlavey's team last year at Bristol. Cyrus is currently working on a new television series for PAX Television called "DOC."(Keystone Marketing PR)(3-13-2001)
  
  
• More Paint Scheme news can be found on Paint Schemes Gallery, choose current news
  
  

STATS and STUFF thru the race before this one