Bristol Motor Speedway
Discover the history of Bristol Motor Speedway, including NASCAR race winners for the Cup, Xfinity, and Truck Series, detailed track facts, and a full gallery of past race images.
Bristol Motor Speedway NASCAR Race History
CUP Race Winning Drivers
8
Kyle Busch
4
Denny Hamlin
3
Brad Keselowski
2
Jimmie Johnson
2
Kyle Larson
2
Joey Logano
1
Chris Buescher
1
Matt DiBenedetto
1
Chase Elliott
Cup Race Recaps
By Reid Spencer - NASCAR Wire Service
Denny Hamlin wins battle of NASCAR Cup tire managers at Bristol
How appropriate.
On a day where tire management was the essential element in a NASCAR Cup Series race, three veterans swept the podium positions, with Denny Hamlin winning Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
In a race that produced 54 lead changes—a record for Cup Series short tracks—Hamlin lost the lead briefly to Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. in the closing laps but regained it in traffic and beat Truex to the finish line by 1.083 seconds.
In a return to concrete after three straight spring races on dirt, Hamlin won his second straight race at the 0.533-mile speedway and his fourth overall, second most among active drivers to Kyle Busch’s eight.
The victory was the 52ndof Hamlin’s career, 13thall-time, and his first this season.
But the story was the tires and the mysterious way they behaved in a race that saw the track start to eat through to the cords 45 laps into a green-flag run.
Goodyear brought the same tire that ran without issues in last fall’s Night Race, but on Sunday, the concrete surface did not take rubber. Instead, marbles (small balls of rubber from degraded tires) accumulated high in the corners, making the top of the track untenable.
There were two variables that might have helped to account for the tire issues. The temperature was roughly 10-15 degrees cooler than it was for last year’s Night Race, which was run on Sept. 16.
NASCAR also opted for a different resin the bottom lane from the PJ1 traction compound previously in use.
Whatever the cause, with his short-track background, Hamlin was best equipped to deal with the surprising situation.
“That’s what I grew up here doing in the short tracks in the Mid Atlantic, South Boston (Va.), Martinsville,” said Hamlin, who grew up in Chesterfield, Va. “Once it became a tire-management race, I really liked our chances.
“Obviously, the veteran in Martin, he knew how to do it as well. We just had a great car, great team. The pit crew just did a phenomenal job all day. Can’t say enough about them… Man, it feels so good to win in Bristol.”
Truex passed Hamlin for the lead in traffic on Lap 483 but surrendered the top spot to the race winner one lap later, as the teammates worked around slower cars. Truex’s tires gave up the ghost on the last few circuits, as Hamlin pulled away.
“Apparently, that’s what I needed to have happen here at Bristol to have a shot at winning—I guess this tire management thing fit into my wheelhouse here at Bristol,” Truex said.
“Man, the difference was just coming out of the pits so far behind Denny (after green-flag pit stops during the final run). I had to use mine up more on the last run. The last four, five laps of the race, was cord.”
Hamlin led a race-high 163 laps, as the four JGR drivers spent a combined 383 of 500 laps at the front field, with Ty Gibbs leading 137, Truex 54 and Christopher Bell 29.
Brad Keselowski, a three-time winner at the track, finished third, 7.284 seconds behind Hamlin.
Hendrick Motorsports drivers Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson were fourth and fifth, respectively, as only five drivers finished on the lead lap.
The last time five or fewer drivers finished on the lead lap was the June 6, 2004 race at Dover.
John Hunter Nemechek, Chris Buescher, Chase Elliott, Gibbs and Bell came home sixth through 10th, respectively.
Larson and Truex leave Bristol tied for the series lead, passing defending series champion Ryan Blaney, who finished 16th.
By Reid Spencer - NASCAR Wire Service
Denny Hamlin dominates Bristol Night Race and advances to the Round of 12
Denny Hamlin landed a knockout punch in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
NASCAR Cup Series regular-season champion Martin Truex Jr. survived to fight another round.
Bubba Wallace rescued himself from the brink of elimination from the series Playoffs and advanced to the Round of 12 by four points.
Kevin Harvick, winner of the first elimination Playoff in 2014, won’t be around to fight for the title in his final season of Cup racing. He joins defending champion Joey Logano on the outside looking in for the final seven Playoff races.
Despite a strong run on Saturday night, Michael McDowell didn’t get the win he needed to advance, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. likewise fell by the wayside in a car that couldn’t compete for a top-five position.
Taking the lead off pit road on Lap 366 of 500, Hamlin beat Kyle Larson to the finish line by 2.462 seconds. Hamlin led the final 135 laps in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, 142 overall, and second only to the 187 circuits led by pole winner and third-place finisher Christopher Bell.
Led by Hamlin, all five Toyota drivers in the Playoffs advanced to the next round.
“Can’t thank this whole FedEx team enough,” said Hamlin, who won for the third time this season, the third time at Bristol and the 51st time in his career. “They’ve really kicked ass this whole first round. Really amazing how our team has been. So happy about the way we’re running. Can’t wait to keep going.
“It’s our year. I just feel like we’ve got it all put together. We’ve got the speed (at) every single type of race track. Nothing to stop us at this point.”
Chris Buescher followed Bell to the stripe, as the top four finishers all will race in the Round of 12. Brad Keselowski and William Byron (eighth and ninth Saturday) also advanced, as did 23XI Racing teammates Wallace and Tyler Reddick (13th and 14th), Truex (19th), Kyle Busch (20th), Ryan Blaney (22nd) and Ross Chastain (23rd).
Wallace finished 14th, a lap down, but the eight points he gained by running third in Stage 1 proved decisive. Only 10 cars finished on the lead lap, the last of whom was Stenhouse, who ended the Round of 16 in 15th, seven points behind Wallace.
Wallace was greeted with a chorus of boos when he climbed from his car, as was Hamlin.
“Like Coco Gauff said, all they’re doing is adding fuel to the fire—I love it,” said Wallace, who drives for Hamlin and co-owner Michael Jordan at 23XI. “I love where I’m at with this team. Wish my mom, dad, sister were here to celebrate with me.”
“I’m mentally exhausted. I’m wore out. Gave it our all there. Battled hard and executed. That’s what you got to do. We know next week’s a reset. We just got to go out and have some fun, work our asses off. Thank you to the ones that believe in me. Keep it going. Yeah, on to next week.”
A vicious wreck on the backstretch cost Joey Logano a chance to advance to the Round of 12—the first time under the elimination format that a defending championship has exited the Playoffs in the opening round.
Logano was a lap down, running toward the back of the pack, when Corey LaJoie went three-wide underneath the Chevrolet of Erik Jones and lost control of his No. 7 Chevrolet. LaJoie’s car swept up the track into the path of Logano, Justin Haley and Ryan Newman, all of whom were knocked out of the race in the accident.
“Yeah, I saw the smoke,” said Logano, who was credited with a 34th-place finish and missed the Round of 12 by four points. “I saw the 7 spinning. (Spotter) Coleman (Pressley) was saying, ‘He’s coming up. He’s coming up’ as I was on the brakes to try to pull onto the bottom.
“I think it was Newman behind me, but I think someone hit him behind him, and it was just kind of a chain reaction into it. Once I got hit, I was like, ‘Shoot, I’ve got to go up now,’ because I couldn’t make the bottom, so I committed to that and the hole closed up.
“Obviously, it’s a real bummer. You get out of the race like that and you’re behind the wall and you’re in denial for a minute. You don’t want to believe that it happened, and you want to think that it’s fixable, but the car was tore up too bad.”
Harvick fought an ill-handling car from the outset and finished 29th, five laps down. Like Logano, he finished four points behind Wallace in the battle for the final spot in the Round of 12.
“We’ve been like that all year,” Harvick said. “We’ve been hit-or-miss. Tonight, we just missed by a mile. I’ve had some good days and bad days, but that’s definitely the worst one I’ve had with fenders on it.”
Ty Gibbs finished fifth after leading 102 laps. McDowell ran sixth, followed by Chase Elliott, Keselowski, Byron and Stenhouse.
By Reid Spencer - NASCAR Wire Service
Chris Buescher triumphs at Bristol as Playoff field is trimmed to 12
With Chase Elliott pursuing him relentlessly for the final 50 laps, Chris Buescher held on to win Saturday's Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motors Speedway, becoming the 19th different NASCAR Cup Series winner this season.
After the event that set the field for the Round of 12 in the series Playoffs—and eliminated superstars Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick from the postseason—a dozen drivers were breathing sighs of relief and hoping fervently for a return to stock car sanity in the next round.
A two-tire pit stop under caution on Lap 438 of 500 put Reddick in the lead for a restart on Lap 444. The driver of the No. 17 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford led the final 61 laps and a race-high 169 overall to give the RFK organization its first victory since Ricky Stenhouse Jr. took the checkered flag at Daytona on July 1, 2017 at Daytona.
The victory was the first for RFK Racing since Brad Keselowski joined the organization as an owner/driver after the 2021 season.
Buescher was the third straight non-Playoff driver to win a race in the Round of 16, an unprecedented occurrence.
“It’s so special here,” said Buescher, whose only other Cup win came in a rain-shortened race at Pocono in 2016. “I love this racetrack. I love the fans. I love every time we come here. It’s so special. It’s pretty awesome.”
Buescher said he wasn’t worried about starting the final run on two fresh tires, even though everyone chasing had four.
“I wasn’t a bit,” he asserted. “It was up to me at that point. I made it work, and we had a really fast (car). We knew we had a really fast race car in practice and didn’t quite get the job done in qualifying (20th)—but what a race car.
“I don’t know what all to say right now. I’m out of breath. This place will wear you flat-out, and I love that about it. It’s just a special night.”
Elliott was .458 seconds behind Buescher at the finish. William Byron came home third, followed by Christopher Bell, who posted his third straight top-five finish in the Round of 16. Kyle Larson was fifth and Ross Chastain sixth, as all five drivers immediately behind Buescher in the finishing order advanced to the Round of 12.
Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, Daniel Suarez, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and Alex Bowman also clinched spots in the next round, though all had serious issues during the race.
Elliott got closer to Buescher on the final two laps but ran out of time.
“I felt like we were gaining, but it was… I wasn't close enough to do anything with him,” Elliott said. “But I appreciate the effort. We had a long day yesterday. Was able to battle back from a bad qualifying effort (23rd) to get a top two, so proud of that.
“Glad to be moving on (in the Playoff) and looking forward to some more opportunities here these coming weeks.”
Needing a victory to advance to the next round, Harvick ran consistently in the top five after staying out at the end of Stage 1 to gain track position. But Harvick’s chances evaporated in the pits on Lap 438 when his crew failed to secure the left-rear on his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford.
As the tire rolled away, Harvick had to back up into his pit stall. The lost time left him 10th for the final restart on Lap 444. That’s where he finished, exiting the Playoffs in 16th place.
“It was pretty tough,” Harvick said. “We pitted in front of the 17 (Buescher), so just kind of the way the year has gone. Just went from having a chance to lead the parade to being a part of the parade. Just difficult to pass.”
Busch’s ouster was a touch-and-go affair. Both he and Tyler Reddick fell two points short after Austin Cindric, who finished seven laps down in 20th place but gained enough positions by passing back markers to advance.
Busch had accumulated 14 points in the first two stages and was running above the cut line when his engine blew on Lap 270—Busch’s second such failure in the three Playoff races.
“It just goes with our year,” Busch said. “I don’t even know what to say. I’m flabbergasted. I just feel so bad for my guys. They don’t deserve to be in this spot. They work too hard. We are too good of a group to be this low—down on the bottom, fighting for our lives just to make it through. Two engine failures in three weeks, that will do it to you.”
Reddick and Richard Childress Racing teammate Austin Dillon both failed to make the Round of 12 after both drivers’ Chevrolets were damaged in a 12-car pileup on the backstretch on Lap 277. Reddick finished 25th and Dillon 31st.
Keselowski led 109 laps and appeared to have race-winning chances until his right-front tire went flat on Lap 414 while he was leading.
“We had two cars that were really good today and one that was unlucky and one that executed, and everything came the right way for them,” Keselowski said.
By Reid Spencer - NASCAR Wire Service
Kyle Larson wins wild NASCAR Cup elimination race at Bristol
Kyle Larson celebrated victory in Saturday's Bass Pro Shops Night Race with a burnout on the frontstretch at Bristol Motor Speedway, as tempers flared between Kevin Harvick and Chase Elliott on pit road.
With an assist from Elliott, who took Harvick's line at the .533-mile concrete track and slowed his progress, Larson made the winning pass on Lap 397 of 400 and sealed his sixth NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season.
At the other end of the spectrum, Aric Almirola, Tyler Reddick, Kurt Busch and Michael McDowell were eliminated from the Playoffs in the cutoff race of the Round of 16. William Byron snagged the final transfer spot into the Round of 12 by finishing third behind Larson and Harvick.
That result gave Byron a two-point edge over Almirola and Reddick, the first two drivers out of the Playoff.
On Lap 465 of 500, as Harvick was attempting to pass Elliott for the lead, the driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford pinched Elliott's Chevrolet toward the outside wall, with contact between the cars cutting a tire on Elliott's machine.
Elliott brought his car to pit road on Lap 466, lost three laps in the process and returned to the track behind Harvick. On new tires, Elliott quickly passed Harvick to get one lap back and took Harvick's line at the top of the track.
Larson gradually closed on Harvick and made the winning pass on Lap 397. Larson did an admirable job keeping his car under control as Harvick retaliated with contact to the rear of Larson's Camaro on the frontstretch.
"Yeah, that was an awesome race," said Larson, who won for the first time at Bristol and the 12th time in his career. "It was so cool to be able to race there for the win. Obviously, Harvick and Chase got together. Chase was upset. Kind of held him up. It got Harvick having to move around and use his tires up off the bottom.
"I started to get some dive-ins working off of (Turn) 2, got a big run, decided to pull the trigger, slide him, squeeze him a little bit. Then he had me jacked up down the frontstretch. It was wild."
While Larson celebrated, Harvick and Elliott traded their views of the finish in a heated exchange on pit road.
"It's just chicken (expletive)," Harvick said after the confrontation broke up. "I don't know what else to say. Throw a temper tantrum like you're two years old because you got passed for the lead and got a flat tire. We barely even rubbed. It's all Chase's way, or it's no way. If he doesn't get his way, he throws a fit."
Not surprisingly, Elliott had a different interpretation of the events in the closing stages of the race.
"It's something that he does all the time," said the reigning Cup Series champion, who finished 25th. "He runs into your left side constantly at other tracks, and sometimes it does cut down your left sides. Other times it doesn't.
"Whether he does it on purpose, it doesn't matter. At some point, you've got to draw the line. I don't care who he is and how long he's been doing it. I'm going to stand up for myself and my team, and we'll go on down the road."
Of the 12 drivers who advanced to the second round of the Playoff, four represent Hendrick Motorsports (Elliott, Larson, Byron and Alex Bowman); four represent Joe Gibbs Racing (Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. and Christopher Bell); and three represent Team Penske (Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney).
Harvick is the lone driver from Stewart-Haas Racing to advance to the Round of 12.
Both Kyle Busch and Bell survived cut tires near the end of the race to clinch spots in the next round. Blaney finished fourth and Bowman fifth on Saturday night. Keselowski, Truex, Erik Jones, Hamlin and Matt DiBenedetto completed the top 10.
Harvick and Elliott later continued their discussion behind closed doors in Elliott's No. 9 transporter.
XFINITY Race Winning Drivers
2
Noah Gragson
1
Justin Allgaier
1
AJ Allmendinger
1
Christopher Bell
1
Chase Briscoe
1
Cole Custer
1
Kyle Larson
1
Ryan Preece
1
Tyler Reddick| DATE | RACE | WINNER | # | MAKE | ST | TEAM | CREW CHIEF | LAPS | TIME |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09-2024 | Food City 300 | Cole Custer | 00 | Ford | 2nd | Stewart Haas Racing | Jonathan Toney | 300 | 02:00:55 |
| 09-2023 | Food City 300 | Justin Allgaier | 7 | Chevrolet | 10th | JR Motorsports | Jim Pohlman | 300 | 01:52:11 |
| 09-2022 | Food City 300 | Noah Gragson | 9 | Chevrolet | 9th | JR Motorsports | Luke Lambert | 300 | 01:58:27 |
| 09-2021 | Food City 300 | AJ Allmendinger | 16 | Chevrolet | 10th | Kaulig Racing | Jason Trinchere | 306 | 02:10:26 |
| 09-2020 | Food City 300 | Chase Briscoe | 98 | Ford | 10th | Stewart Haas Racing | Richard Boswell | 300 | 01:55:39 |
| 06-2020 | Cheddar's 300 Presen… | Noah Gragson | 9 | Chevrolet | 9th | JR Motorsports | Dave Elenz | 303 | 02:19:03 |
| 08-2019 | Food City 300 | Tyler Reddick | 2 | Chevrolet | 38th | Richard Childress Racing | Randall Burnett | 300 | 01:58:01 |
| 04-2019 | Alsco 300 | Christopher Bell | 20 | Toyota | 8th | Joe Gibbs Racing | Jason Ratcliff | 300 | 01:45:03 |
| 08-2018 | Food City 300 | Kyle Larson | 42 | Chevrolet | 3rd | Chip Ganassi Racing | Mike Shiplett | 310 | 02:00:27 |
| 04-2018 | Fitzgerald Glider Ki… | Ryan Preece | 18 | Toyota | 7th | Joe Gibbs Racing | Eric Phillips | 300 | 02:21:57 |
| 08-2017 | Food City 300 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 300 | 01:48:30 |
| 04-2017 | Fitzgerald Glider Ki… | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 300 | 02:21:38 |
| 08-2016 | Food City 300 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 308 | 01:56:07 |
| 04-2016 | Fitzgerald Glider Ki… | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 200 | 01:08:10 |
| 08-2015 | Food City 300 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 302 | 01:51:57 |
| 04-2015 | Drive to Stop Diabet… | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 300 | 01:50:00 |
Xfinity Race Recaps
By Reid Spencer - NASCAR Wire Service
Cole Custer captures regular-season NASCAR Xfinity title with Bristol win
Cole Custer recovered from an early brush with the outside wall to win Friday’s Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway, the race that set the field for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs.
Custer’s second victory of the season, combined with a litany of trouble that befell Justin Allgaier, gave the driver of the No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford an unlikely come-from-behind victory in the battle for the regular-season title and accompanying 15 Playoff-point bonus.
Custer, who led a race-high 104 laps, took the top spot for good with a pass of Sheldon Creed on Lap 209 of 300. In winning for the first time at Bristol and the 15th time in his career, Custer crossed the finish line 0.896 second ahead of Creed, who now has 13 runner-up finishes to his credit without an Xfinity win.
“This is huge, because our confidence was going down there the last month,” said Custer, the reigning series champion who will begin his title defense Sept. 28 at Kansas Speedway. “To get this win really means a lot…
“It’s unbelievable. These guys never give up. It’s been a tough month, but to be able to lead into the Playoffs like this, we’re going to really bring it to them.”
The race also secured Playoff spots for the final two drivers on the postseason grid. Sammy Smith and Parker Kligerman finished 15th and 16th, respectively, to earn their Playoff berths.
Chandler Smith ran third and Jesse Love fourth on Friday, both having already secured Playoff spots. Ryan Truex was fifth, followed by Brandon Jones, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Ryan Sieg (who missed the final Playoff spot by 36 points) and Playoff-bound Sam Mayer.
The battle for the regular-season championship took more twists and turns than a game of Dungeons and Dragons. Custer hit the outside wall on Lap 2 and cut a tire, temporarily jeopardizing his second-place position in the standings.
But Justin Allgaier, the driver Custer was chasing for the regular-season title, had his own share of ill fortune on Lap 52. Having led every lap to that point, Allgaier was cruising toward what would have been his 15th stage win of the season when the Chevrolet of Austin Green bounced off the outside wall into Allgaier’s path.
Contact between the Camaros sheared the rear bumper cover off Allgaier’s No. 7 Chevy. After a pit stop to repair the car’s right-rear quarter panel, Allgaier continued. Allgaier pitted on Lap 60 and stayed on the track during the stage break after Lap 85, putting him fifth for a restart on Lap 96.
He was second for a restart on Lap 127 but his sojourn in the top five didn’t last. On Lap 153, contact between Creed’s Toyota and Allgaier’s Chevy sent the No. 7 down the track nose-first into the inside wall.
During repairs, Allgaier’s car dragged a saw out of the pits, incurring a penalty. From that point on, the JR Motorsports driver ran roughly three seconds off the pace, rapidly losing laps and positions.
When Custer took the race lead from Creed on Lap 209, he had the regular-season lead, having erased the 43-point advantage Allgaier carried into the race. With his victory, Custer secured the regular-season crown by three points over Allgaier, who nevertheless will enter the postseason as the top seed with 34 Playoff points to Custer’s 28.
“I don’t really have any words for tonight,” said Allgaier, who finished 30th, 10 laps down. “It started with getting the damage from the wreck in front of us. There was nothing we could do. And then, just racing, trying to get as many stage points as we could, and I think the 18 (Creed ) came off the wall a little bit.
“I’m really bummed about tonight. We’ll go back and talk about it … We had the best car tonight. It was very obvious from the beginning of the race that it was the best car, and nothing to show for it.”
By Reid Spencer - NASCAR Wire Service
Pit strategy propels Justin Allgaier to NASCAR Xfinity Playoff victory at Bristol
On an ambivalent night for JR Motorsports, Justin Allgaier took advantage of a brilliant strategic call by crew chief Jim Pohlman to win Friday night’s Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway, the first event in the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs.
Charging from 13th after restart on Lap 257 of 300, Allgaier passed Daniel Hemric for the lead on Lap 288 and pulled away to win by 1.695 seconds, securing a spot in the Round of 8 of the Playoffs.
Allgaier also broke news in Victory Lane, announcing off the cuff that he had re-signed for another season with JR Motorsports.
That was the good news. In a rare appearance as a driver team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. led 47 laps before pulling off the track on lap 271 with a fireball in his car licking at his firesuit. Earnhardt made a quick exit and finished 30th.
And that was after three JR Motorsports cars were eliminated from the race in the same wreck.
Without hesitation, Pohlman called Allgaier to the pits when Josh Bilicki’s spin in Turn 1 caused the sixth and final caution on Lap 248. Allgaier rocketed through the field until he caught Hemric, harrying the driver of the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet until he slipped past with just over 12 laps left.
The victory was Allgaier’s second at the 0.533-mile short track and his first since his initial Xfinity Series win in 2010. Between victories Allgaier led plenty of laps but couldn’t return to Victory Lane—until Friday night.
“This team has done an amazing job at this racetrack since I started at JR Motorsports,” Allgaier said. “We led a lot of laps, and the monkey was definitely on our back. The pit strategy there… coming down pit road by myself was nerve-wracking, right?
“I’m speechless, man. This place, Jim Pohlman and I circled this place on our calendar when we started the year, before we ever even took a green flag lap, we said we want to win Bristol. Man, we won Bristol! It’s Bristol, baby—let’s go!”
The victory was Allgaier’s third of the season and 22nd of his career.
Hemric floundered early in the race until the top lane came in. Then his car came to life.
“We just enough race car there that once the top came in, I was going to live by it,” Hemric said. “I thought it would be OK. I thought if I could hold the 7 (Allgaier) off to get to that next group of traffic maybe I’d have a chance to at least race him down in the last five or 10 laps.
“Yeah, the tires were just too much there. Him and Dale Jr. had the best cars all night. So yeah, proud of this group. We definitely stole a finish tonight but came a long way through traffic.”
Playoff drivers John Hunter Nemechek, Cole Custer and Chandler Smith finished third through fifth, respectively. Custer led 109 laps, one fewer than Allgaier.
A four-car wreck in Turn 1 on Lap 167 sidelined three JR Motorsports cars, two of them driven by Playoff contenders Josh Berry and Sam Mayer. After slight side-to-side contact with the No. 1 Chevrolet of Mayer, Berry’s No. 8 Chevy cut a right front tire and turned up the track into Mayer, knocking him into the outside wall.
Running behind his JR Motorsports teammates, Brandon Jones also was collected in the wreck, as was the No. 39 Ford of Ryan Sieg.
Those weren’t the only teammates who ran afoul of each other. On Lap 217, Sheldon Creed clipped regular-season winner Austin Hill just short of the start/finish line. Out of control, Hill’s Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet bounced off the inside wall and nosed into the outside SAFER barrier in Turn 1. Hill was unable to continue.
Hill finished 33rd. Creed came home 11th.
As if that weren’t enough drama, Earnhardt ran in or near the lead until his car began to smoke with 30 laps left.
“The shifter tunnel column was on fire,” Earnhardt explained. “I saw some smoke in the car, and I felt that I was like, ‘Hopefully that’s not me,’ but it was. That last lap, I saw a big fireball down in the tunnel of the car and I felt it.
“Obviously, my uniform was burning up. I was like, ‘I can’t keep going. I got to stop.’ And usually when you stop the fire gets bigger.
“So I pulled over by the pit stall and some of the guys were pretty alert, and they helped me out. We were going to finish with a top 10, maybe top five. We had a shot at winning it, if the car was going to run good at the end.”
Mayer, Berry, Parker Kligerman (who lost 53 laps under repairs in the garage) and Jeb Burton (who started from the rear in a backup car and finished 13th) all dropped below the cut line for the Round of 8 as the series heads for the second Round of 12 Playoff race Sept. 23 at Texas Motor Speedway.
By Reid Spencer - NASCAR Wire Service
Noah Gragson claims third straight Xfinity victory in Bristol shootout
Make it three in a row for Noah Gragson, who has built enormous momentum as the NASCAR Xfinity Series moves into its seven-race Playoff.
On 90-lap older tires, Gragson held off Brandon Jones, the driver who will take his seat in the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet next year, in a 20-lap green-flag run to the finish of Friday night’s Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The victory was Gragson’s third straight in the series, his sixth of the season and the 11th of his career.
The race also settled the series Playoff picture. Despite power-steering issues, Daniel Hemric clinched one of the two available spots in the 12-driver Playoff field with a 20th-place finish. Ryan Sieg claimed the final berth, finishing 10th—his first top-10 run in 16 Bristol starts—after brake issues sent Landon Cassill to the garage for 112 laps and relegated him to 35th.
AJ Allmendinger clinched his second straight Regular Season Championship with a sixth-place result.
When J.J. Yeley slammed the inside wall after slight contact from race leader Justin Allgaier, on Lap 271, Gragson and crew chief Luke Lambert opted to stay on the track while all the other lead-lap cars pitted for fresh tires.
After the restart on Lap 281, Gragson pulled out to a one-second lead before Jones began to close the gap on new rubber. Jones got to Gragson’s bumper but couldn’t find a way past the No. 9 Chevrolet. Gragson crossed the finish line .145 seconds ahead of Jones’ No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
“That last caution came out, and I knew if I could ring the top, it was going to be hard for them to get there,” said Gragson, who will graduate to a full-time NASCAR Cup Series ride with Petty GMS in 2023. “I appreciate Brandon Jones racing us clean. He gave us the bumper with two (laps) to go, and I was hanging on, scrubbing the fence.
“We won here in Bristol in 2020 and there were no fans here (because of the coronavirus pandemic)… What a great opportunity to race here in front of fans and have the opportunity to win the race. Our car was fast all day. We got to the top and we were rolling. I had a blast.”
A rueful Jones provided a post-mortem of the event on pit road.
“This one hurt the most because this was our race to lose, I thought,” Jones said. “Fresher tires certainly paid off there at the end. I just caught him (Gragson) at the wrong time every time.”
Gragson’s stiffest competition—his JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier—wasn’t at the front of the field for the ending. Allgaier led the procession of lead-lap cars to pit road when Gragson stayed out, but a speeding penalty sent him to the rear of the field for the final restart.
“I know what happened; I didn’t really think I was speeding, but obviously I was,” said Allgaier, who has led 791 laps in his last seven Bristol races without winning. “I just hate it for everybody. It was cool for (Noah) to get the win. I cannot believe that they were able to stay out there and still run the speed they were.
“I love to hate this place. I’m close to 1,000 career laps led here (actually 1,004) and only one win, and that was over 10 years ago (2010). So, I’ve just got to do a better job next time.”
Allgaier led a race-high 148 laps on Friday, to 89 for Ty Gibbs, 34 for Sheldon Creed and 25 for Gragson.
Gragson also was instrumental in changing the complexion of the race in the middle of Stage 2. Pole winner Gibbs had won the first stage wire-to-wire, but on Lap 129, while Gibbs and Creed were battling for the lead, contact from Gragson’s Chevrolet sent Gibbs’ Toyota into Creed’s Camaro.
Both Gibbs and Creed crashed hard into the outside wall and were eliminated from the race.
Austin Hill finished third, followed by Sam Mayer and Riley Herbst. Allmendinger, Josh Berry, Stefan Parsons, Allgaier and Sieg completed the top 10.
By Reid Spencer - NASCAR Wire Service
AJ Allmendinger triumphs at Bristol, wins Xfinity regular-season crown in slugfest
With cars bouncing off each other like pinballs through two laps of overtime, AJ Allmendinger took his No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet three-wide to the bottom, passed Justin Allgaier and Austin Cindric on the final lap and won Friday night's Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The victory gave Allmendinger the NASCAR Xfinity Series Regular Season Championship by 10 points over Cindric, who held the race lead when the 10th and final caution flag flew on Lap 297 of 300 after Allgaier turned JR Motorsports teammate Sam Mayer in Turn 1.
In the overtime, things got crazy. Cindric and Allgaier picked the top lane, and Allmendinger chose the inside of the front row. On the white-flag lap, Allmendinger drove hard into Turns 3 and 4 and slid up into Cindric's No. 22 Team Penske Ford.
Allmendinger fell back to third, but contact between Allgaier's Camaro and Cindric's Mustang gave Allmendinger a chance to slip beneath both cars into the lead.
But the race wasn't over. On the final lap, Cindric charged off the final corner, slammed into Allmendinger, and both cars slid sideways across the finish line, with Allmendinger the winner by .082 seconds.
After taking the checkered flag, Allmendinger careened off the inside wall, slid across the track into traffic and took a huge hit from Kaulig Racing teammate Justin Haley.
But the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series Regular Season Championship was his.
"I expected to get run into," Allmendinger said. "It happened that previous corner. It's frustrating getting hit that hard coming to checker, but we're battling for the win. It's Bristol, baby. That's what it's all about.
"I haven't had a lot of chances to get a win at Bristol, so you know what? When you have a chance to do it, you've got to go do it. If I don't take that chance, I don't belong in a race car, because my team deserves the win."
Under the circumstances, Cindric exhibited remarkable restraint in his post-race interview.
"I thought we had a great battle all season long up to this point, so congratulations to Kaulig and AJ," said Cindric, who led 75 laps, third-most behind Allgaier's 92 and Daniel Hemric's 78. "Those guys didn't want us to win really bad, and I hate that it completely destroyed our Ford Mustang.
"That's all I've got, man...It's looks like the 7 (Allgaier) just got loose there (in spinning Mayer), and AJ obviously just drove straight through us. You'll have that in green-white-checkered racing."
The victory was Allmendinger's first at Bristol, his fourth of the season and the ninth of his career. The final lap of overtime was the only lap he led, as the race went six laps past its scheduled distance of 300 circuits.
The regular-season cutoff race also set the final positions for the Round of 12 in the Xfinity Series Playoff. With no new winner, Brandon Jones, Riley Herbst and Jeremy Clements clinched the final three spots on points, as expected, as the series heads for the Playoff opener Sept. 25 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Herbst finished third behind the wrecking cars of Allmendinger and Cindric. Allgaier fell to fourth on the final lap, with Jones and Haley running fifth and sixth. Harrison Burton, Myatt Snider, Mayer and Hemric completed the top 10.
TRUCKS Race Winning Drivers
1
Ryan Blaney
1
Kyle Busch
1
Christian Eckes
1
Corey Heim
1
Ty Majeski
1
Sam Mayer
1
Brett Moffitt
1
Layne Riggs
1
Johnny Sauter
1
Chandler Smith| DATE | RACE | WINNER | # | MAKE | ST | TEAM | CREW CHIEF | LAPS | TIME |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09-2024 | UNOH 200 presented b… | Layne Riggs | 38 | Ford | 18th | Front Row Motorsports | Dylan Cappello | 200 | 01:20:24 |
| 03-2024 | Weather Guard Truck … | Christian Eckes | 19 | Chevrolet | 1st | McAnally Hilgemann Racing | Charles Denike | 250 | 01:39:55 |
| 09-2023 | UNOH 200 | Corey Heim | 11 | Toyota | 11th | Tricon Garage | Scott Zipadelli | 200 | 01:16:06 |
| 09-2022 | UNOH 200 presented b… | Ty Majeski | 66 | Toyota | 6th | ThorSport Racing | Joe Shear | 200 | 01:25:37 |
| 09-2021 | UNOH 200 presented b… | Chandler Smith | 18 | Toyota | 7th | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Danny Stockman | 200 | 01:47:32 |
| 09-2020 | UNOH 200 presented b… | Sam Mayer | 24 | Chevrolet | 17th | GMS Racing | Charles Denike | 200 | 01:17:57 |
| 08-2019 | UNOH 200 presented b… | Brett Moffitt | 24 | Chevrolet | 1st | GMS Racing | Jerry Baxter | 200 | 01:36:56 |
| 08-2018 | UNOH 200 | Johnny Sauter | 21 | Chevrolet | 4th | GMS Racing | Joe Shear | 200 | 01:16:57 |
| 08-2017 | UNOH 200 | Kyle Busch | 46 | Toyota | 1st | -- | Cody Glick | 203 | 01:13:05 |
| 08-2016 | UNOH 200 | Ben Kennedy | 33 | Chevrolet | 13th | -- | Joey Cohen | 200 | 01:25:59 |
| 08-2015 | UNOH 200 presented b… | Ryan Blaney | 29 | Ford | 2nd | -- | Chad Kendrick | 202 | 01:20:16 |
Truck Race Recaps
By Reid Spencer - NASCAR Wire Service
Spoiler Layne Riggs wins second straight NASCAR Truck Playoff race
Layne Riggs relished his role as spoiler so much that he returned for an encore Thursday night at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Riggs isn’t competing for the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series championship, but that didn’t prevent him from winning the Playoff opener Aug. 25 at the Milwaukee Mile.
On Thursday, Riggs passed runner-up Corey Heim for the lead on Lap 121 of 200 in the UNOH 200 Presented by Ohio Logistics and held it the rest of the way to score his second career victory and his fourth straight top five.
“Oh, my gosh, we’ve just learned so much with the trucks,” said the driver of the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford. “My team, Dylan (Cappello), he’s bad-ass…
“To be running fifth, 10th and all of a sudden to go back-to-back in the Playoffs—man, I wish I was in the Playoffs so bad. I think we’d be a real threat to win the championship.”
Heim had to settle for second place, but there was a silver lining for the driver of the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota. Heim scored enough points on Thursday to advance to Round of 8, as did fourth-place finisher Christian Eckes and fifth-place Nick Sanchez.
“Every time we got a heat cycle on the tires, it seemed like we got tighter and tighter,” said Heim, who fell one spot short in his defense of last year’s victory at Thunder Valley. “Just didn’t quite have it, but solid points day in the Playoffs—that’s what you need, so I will keep moving forward…
“I’m looking forward to my favorite place (Kansas Speedway) next week.”
Heim won a drag race for the runner-up spot over Rajah Caruth, who elevated his standing in the Playoffs with a win in the first stage and a solid run the rest of the way.
Caruth vaulted from 10th to fifth in the standings with the third-place run and now stands 35 points above the current cut line with next Friday’s elimination race at Kansas left to determine which eight drivers advance to the next round.
“We executed the race—just two spots short,” said Caruth, who glanced toward Riggs’ truck doing celebratory burnouts on the frontstretch. “Man, I wish that was us,” Caruth added wistfully.
Reigning series champion Ben Rhodes fought an ill-handling truck and finished 27th, two laps down, and fell to 10th in the standings, 12 points behind Grant Enfinger in eighth.
Daniel Dye tangled with Kaden Honeycutt on the frontstretch on Lap 157 and finished 37th, six laps down. Dye heads for Kansas seven points behind Enfinger.
Eighteen-year-old Sprint Car star Corey Day finished 18th in his Truck Series debut. After winning his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut last Saturday at Watkins Glen, polesitter Connor Zilisch spun in Turn 4 on Lap 109 and came home 19th.
Matt Crafton ran sixth, followed by Chase Purdy and Playoff driver Ty Majeski, who started from the rear after his team made unapproved adjustments to the No. 98 Ford. Stewart Friesen and Playoff driver Tyler Ankrum completed the top 10.
By Reid Spencer - NASCAR Wire Service
Christian Eckes finds redemption in NASCAR Truck Series win at Bristol
Sometimes a victory tastes sweetest when it comes as a chaser for a bitter defeat.
That was certainly the case for pole winner Christian Eckes, who held off Kyle Busch in the closing laps to win Saturday night’s Weather Guard Truck Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
In last year’s NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Playoff race at Bristol, Eckes gave up the lead to Corey Heim with six laps left and finished second by 0.218 seconds.
The loss cost Eckes, who led 150 laps in that event, a berth in the Championship 4 at Phoenix, where his victory in the season finale gave him a consolation prize but not a title.
On Saturday night, Eckes passed Busch for the lead on Lap 159 and held it for the final 92 circuits as Busch made a frenetic charge that fell just short. In traffic, Eckes crossed the finish line 0.141 seconds ahead of the career Truck Series victory leader.
“Oh, man, it’s so sweet,” said Eckes, who won for the first time this season, the first time at Bristol and the sixth time in his career. “There’s just so much behind this win from last year, missing out on the Championship 4 and losing the race with (six) to go.
“To come back and redeem ourselves was our number one goal, and not only that, but the first three races (of this season), how terribly they’ve gone. We had a lot of issues, and to come back and run really good just show s the resilience of the team.”
By putting his No. 19 McAnally Hilgemann Racing Silverado in Victory Lane, Eckes extended Chevrolet’s 2024 Truck Series winning streak to four races.
Under the sixth and final caution, which slowed Busch’s pursuit for eight laps, Busch radioed to his team, “We’re a second-place truck, maybe third.”
But that didn’t prevent Busch from charging after Eckes after a restart on Lap 227 of 250. As the run progressed, Busch cut into Eckes’ lead, which had grown to more than one second, and closed to his back bumper by the time Eckes crossed the finish line.
“The crazy part about it is, we fought looseall through practice, all through qualifying, all through the beginning part of the race on older date codes,” Busch said. “Then we put on the newer date codes of tires and were instantly tight. So, just not being able to prepare and practice on what you expect to race on hurtus.
“We tightened up all day, and obviously I don’tthink we were as tight as the 19 (Eckes) at the end but, you know, just track position. I let him go early in that run to just goburn his stuff off and track position at the end, just aero effects… Didn’thave enough rubber on the road to outduel him.”
Zane Smith finished third in the first race of a double-duty weekend. Three-time series champion Matt Crafton was fourth after joining Eckes and Busch in a three-way battle for the lead before the final caution for a shunt involving Stewart Friesen and Nick Sanchez on Lap 219.
Series leader Tyler Ankrum was fifth, extending his margin over second-place Corey Heim to 17 points. Heim finished sixth, followed by Taylor Gray, Rajah Caruth, Grant Enfinger and Sunoco rookie Layne Riggs.
By Reid Spencer - NASCAR Wire Service
Dramatic late pass gives Heim NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win at Bristol Motor Speedway
After stealing a victory last Saturday at Kansas Speedway, Christian Eckes got his pocket picked by Corey Heim on Thursday night at Bristol Motor Speedway.
On Lap 195 of 200 of the UNOH 200 Presented by Ohio Logistics, Heim forced his way beneath Eckes’ No. 19 Chevrolet—with the lapped truck of Eckes’ TRICON Garage teammate, Tanner Gray, to the outside—took the lead and claimed the victory by .218 seconds over his disappointed rival.
With his third NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series victory of the season, his first at Bristol and the fifth of his career, Heim, the regular-season champion, moved one step closer to another possible title. The win propelled him into the Championship 4 race, scheduled for Nov. 3 at Phoenix Raceway.
“This is insane,” said Heim, who led only the last six laps. “I felt like I’ve given so many away this year, to win one like that at the end is so special… Like I said, we’ve given so many away, and we finally got one back…
“Gosh, it’s just so awesome to know we’re in Phoenix.”
Eckes seemed Phoenix-bound himself before Heim made the decisive pass. Eckes led 150 laps and swept the first two stages. The runner-up finish left him one point behind Heim in the Playoff standings but without a ticket to the Championship 4.
“I just think it’s ironic that the 15 (Tanner Gray) is three laps down and waited,” said Eckes, who felt Gray held him up and allowed Heim to close in. “Whatever. Good truck. I got really tight there at the end…
“That one stinks, for sure.”
If it’s any consolation to Eckes, mistakes and ill-fortune that beset other drivers created a significant spread between those above the cut line for the Championship 4 and those below it.
Defending series champion Zane Smith was penalized for pitting outside his box on Lap 116, was relegated to the rear of the fell and fell a lap down to Eckes on Lap 161. He finished 24th and heads for the next race—Sept. 30 at Talladega—in fifth place, 14 points behind Grant Enfinger (third on Friday) for the final Playoff-eligible position.
Contact between Heim’s Toyota and Ty Majeski’s Ford cut Majeski’s right front tire on Lap 107, three laps before the of Stage 2. Majeski was never a factor after that and finished 19th, leaving him 22 points behind Enfinger.
Carson Hocevar ran fourth and enters the second Round of 8 race at Talladega 18 points above the cut line.
Tyler Gray, Rajah Caruth, Ben Rhodes, Chase Purdy, rookie Nick Sanchez and Matt DiBenedetto completed the top 10.
Sanchez started at the back of the field because of a broken suspension part that prevented him from making a qualifying run. Though he salvaged the ninth-place result, he trails Enfinger by 22 points with two races left in the Round of 8.
By Reid Spencer - NASCAR Wire Service
Ty Majeski claims Championship 4 NASCAR Truck Series berth with first career win
Ty Majeski downplayed his final run in Thursday night’s UNOH 200 presented by Ohio Logistics at Bristol Motor Speedway as “just another restart.”
In reality, it was the most important moment-to-date in Majeski’s hardscrabble career.
Streaking away from Zane Smith after a restart with 12 laps left in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’ Round of 8 Playoff race, Majeski scored the first NASCAR national series victory of his career and claimed the first berth in the Nov. 4 Championship 4 finale at Phoenix Raceway.
“Awesome job! Thank you!” Majeski radioed to crew chief Joe Shear Jr. as he crossed the finish line. “Let’s polish this baby up, and let’s take this thing to Phoenix.”
To preserve the lightning-fast No. 66 ThorSport Racing Toyota that had carried him to victory, the short-track ace eschewed the customary burnout on the frontstretch, eliciting some good-natured boos from fans in the grandstands.
But nothing could dampen Majeski’s mood.
“Man, this is unbelievable,” said the 28-year-old from Seymour, Wisconsin. “I’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this… We came guns blazing for this race, took our best truck. Joe was aggressive on pit strategy—got us out front, and we were able to get it done.
“This is so cool. My career’s been so up-and-down… This is just damn cool—I’ve been waiting for this for a long time.”
Smith started from the rear of the field because of transmission issues that prevented him from qualifying. But after pitting under the first caution for Josh Reaume’s accident on Lap 37, Smith finished the race without returning to pit road.
The strategy put Smith in the lead for 39 laps, but Majeski had the superior truck and made the winning pass during a restart on Lap 156. He kept Smith at bay on two late restarts to seal the victory.
“A good salvage of the night,” said Smith, who crossed the finish line 1.152 seconds behind the race winner. “I tried matching the 66 (on the restarts). I did the first time, but on the second time, he just got me. He was ultimately just better than us. Still, a never-give-up kind of night. That’s what it takes to get to the final four.”
Non-Playoff driver Parker Kligerman ran third, followed by Grant Enfinger, who fell below the cut line for the Championship 4 with two races left in the Round of 8. Matt Crafton was fifth, followed by pole winner Derek Kraus in a battle of non-Playoff drivers.
Chandler Smith led a race-high 89 laps and won the first two stages but was forced to pit for tires and fuel after the second stage and lost track position. He finished ninth behind fellow Playoff drivers Stewart Friesen and Christian Eckes.
Chandler Smith heads for the second Round of 8 race, Oct. 1 at Talladega Superspeedway, 24 points above the cut line.
Playoff driver John Hunter Nemechek slammed the outside wall during practice earlier in the day and started from the rear in a backup truck. He finished 12th.
Reaume, who spun sideways into the path of sliding Rajah Caruth’s Chevrolet on Lap 37, climbed from his truck after the driver’s-side impact but was taken to a local hospital for further evaluation.
151 Speedway Blvd
Bristol, TN, 37620
866-415-4158
Bristol Facts
- Backstretch Banking: 4- to 9-degrees
- Backstretch Length: 650 feet
- Frontstretch Banking: 4- to 9-degrees
- Frontstretch Length: 650 feet
- Surface: Concrete
- Track Width: 43 feet
- Turns 1 & 2 Banking: 24- to 30-degrees
- Turns 1 & 2 Length: 588 feet
- Turns 3 & 4 Banking: 24- to 30-degrees
- Turns 3 & 4 Length: 588 feet
Accupredict Similar
Track groupings used in my driver projections.
Compare the degree of track banking at this and other groups of tracks.
Bristol Trivia
- All of the NASCAR Cup Series races have been scheduled for 500 laps, except for both races in 1976 and the second in 1977, which were 400 laps each.
- Groundbreaking for Bristol International Speedway, as Bristol Motor Speedway was originally known, took place in 1960. The track was an exact half-mile.
- In the fall of 1969, the track was reshaped and re-measured to .533-miles.
- The 2020 season marks the first time that Bristol Motor Speedway hosted the NASCAR Cup Series Open and All-Star Race as well as a Playoff race.
- The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway was on July 30, 1961; Jack Smith won the event (with relief from Johnny Allen).
- The first night race was held in the fall of 1978.
- The name changed to Bristol International Raceway in 1978.
- The name changed to Bristol Motor Speedway in May, 1996.
- The surface was changed from asphalt to concrete in 1992.
- The track was resurfaced between races in 2007, and the turns were ground down in 2012 to eliminate part of the progressive banking.
Bristol History
Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Bristol is among the most popular tracks on the NASCAR schedule because of its distinct features, which include extraordinarily steep banking, an all concrete surface, two pit roads, and stadium-like seating. It has also been named one of the loudest NASCAR tracks.
Bristol Motor Speedway is the third largest sports venue in America and the seventh largest in the world, housing up to 162,000 people. The track is so short that speeds here are far lower than is typical on most NASCAR oval tracks, but they are very fast compared to other short tracks due to the high banking. These features make for a considerable amount of "paint swapping" at the NASCAR races where the initial starting grid extends almost halfway around the track, meaning that slower qualifiers begin the race almost half a lap down. The congestion inherent in this facility and the power of the cars and trucks has been likened to "flying fighter jets in a gymnasium". The track is one that tends to be either loved or hated by the fans and the drivers. Purists who grew up driving or attending races at older short tracks located at fairgrounds and similar places tend to love Bristol, while those raised on superspeedway racing tend to chafe at the lower speeds.
Source: Wikipedia