NASCAR Pre-race: FOX - 12:30pm/et

Television Race Coverage: FOX - 1:00pm/et

In the Booth: Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip, Larry McReynolds

Pit Reporters: Dick Berggren, Steve Byrnes, Matt Yocum, Krista Voda

Hollywood Hotel: Chris Myers and Jeff Hammond

SPEED's NASCAR Raceday Pre-Race Show: 12:30pm/et with John Roberts, Kyle Petty, Kenny Wallace

Scheduled Race Re-Air Dates/Times:
Wednesday, March 23 at 12:00pm/et on SPEED

TV Listings, Links and Info:
Jayski's TV Listings Page
NASCAR on TV
Race Fan TV

This Week - Performance Racing Network (PRN) and XM Sirius Satellite

goprn.com

sirius.com

Track Specifications:
0.533-mile concrete oval
500 laps, 266.5 miles
Degree of banking in corners: 24 to 30 degrees
Degree of banking in straights: 4 to 9 degrees
Straightaways: 650 feet long.
Concrete racing surface: 43 feet wide.
Seating capacity: 160,000
Bristol has two pits roads: 22 pit stalls on the front stretch and 21 on the back stretch
Pit Stall Size: 25.5 feet long, 15.5 feet wide
Pit Road Speed: 30 mph
Pace Car Track Speed: 35mph
Track Opened: 1960
First Cup race: 1961

Race Festivities/Officials:
Grand Marshal: Jeff Byrd's wife Claudia, children Christian & Belton
Command to start engines: Jeff Byrd's wife Claudia, children Christian & Belton
Honorary Starter/Wave Green Flag: ?
Invocation: Evg. Mike Rife, Vanasant Church of Christ, Vansant, VA
National Anthem: Billy Ray Cyrus
Pledge of Allegience: Trevor Bayne
Military Flyover: ?

Spring Race Attendance:
2011: 120,000
2010: 138,000
2009: 160,000
2008: 160,000
2007: 160,000

Track Websites:
Bristol Motor Speedway
ESPN's NASCAR Track Guide: Bristol Motor Speedway
Bristol Motor Speedway's Online Ticketing Center
Speedway Motorsports
Bristol Raceway Ministries
Bristol Motor Speedway - Facebook
BMS Photo Page on Flickr

August 2010: see my Bristol Night Race Info page

March 2010: see my Bristol Race Info page

For news, stats, records and more about this race track, see: Jayski's Bristol Motor Speedway Track News/Rumors/Links page

2010 March Race Winner: #48-Jimmie Johnson, 79.618mph, started 4th

2010 August Race Winner: #18-Kyle Busch, 99.071mph, started 19th

Track Race Record 1st Race: Cale Yarborough, Apr 1977, 100.989

Track Race Record 2nd Race: Charlie Glotzbach, July 1971, 101.074

Slowest Race Record: Ned Jarrett, July 1965, 61.826mph

Oldest Race Winner: Dale Earnhardt, 48 years, 3 months, 30 days, 8/28/1999

Youngest Race Winner: Kyle Busch, 21 years, 10 months, 23 days, 3/25/2007

Worst Starting Spot to Win: Elliott Sadler, March 2001, started 38th

2010 March Pole Sitter: #20-Joey Logano, 124.630, finished 27th

2010 August Pole Sitter: #48-Jimmie Johnson, 123.475mph, finished 35th

Track Qualifying Record: #12-Ryan Newman, March 2003, 128.709mph, 14.908 secs

Oldest Pole Winner: Harry Gant, 54 years, 7 months, 17 days, 8/27/1994

Youngest Pole Winner: Joey Logano, 19 years, 9 months, 23 days, 3/19/2010

Some Notes: The first open week of the season gives drivers a chance to cool off. Some will. Some won't. & Kasey Kahne and Travis Kvapil will both run in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Darlington on Saturday. & Kurt Busch will be attempting to make the field for the GatorNationals NHRA race in Gainesville, Fla. Busch will be out to snare one of the 16 qualifying spots in the Pro Stock class. He will have four qualifying passes to break into the field. & Marcos Ambrose started his own late model team and this weekend will be the first race in which that team competes, at Hickory Motor Speedway. He will also spend some time in the next week panning for gold, a hobby of his. & AJ Allmendinger will be traveling to a karting event this weekend at Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, S.C. & Juan Pablo Montoya and his wife, Connie, traveled to his native Colombia. & Kevin Harvick will use this weekend as an opportunity to get stronger: "I think for us, it is more about just looking at the Cup teams and the Nationwide teams and all the parts and pieces that go with it and making sure they are all headed in the right direction. We will use [the open weeks] as wisely as we can. No big plans, just making sure all the racing stuff is heading in the right direction." Click here for audio from Harvick, regarding the open week. & Dave Blaney will head to Anderson, S.C. to watch his son, Ryan, race in a super late model race. & David Reutimann will help rebuild dirt cars with his father Buzzie.(NASCAR)(3-12-2011)

The Numbers for the Jeff Byrd 500 presented by Food City Bristol Motor Speedway:
0 fewest cautions for a race at Bristol Motor Speedway (7/11/71)
0 fewest lead changes for a race (3/25/73)
1 fewest laps led by race winner (7/26/64  Fred Lorenzen)
4 number of jet dryers available for track drying during race weekend
7 number of consecutive wins by Darrell Waltrip at BMS (1981  1984)
16 most wins by a car owner (Junior Johnson)
20 most cautions for a race at BMS (three times, most recent 8/23/03)
31  cautions in the first three Sprint Cup races of 2011
34 races won from the front row (22 from the pole)
38 different winners at BMS in 100 Sprint Cup races
40 most lead changes (4/14/91)
42 number of cars that started first race at Bristol in 1961
60 minutes, the minimum amount of time it takes to dry the .533-mile track after a significant rainfall
100 number of Sprint Cup races at BMS (first race in1961)
138 of 787laps completed in first three races have been under caution
167 most caution laps (7/25/65)
245.500 of 1,232.500miles completed this season have been under caution
1962 year the track was reshaped and the banking increased which led to designated as the "World's Fastest Half-Mile Track"
1978 first night race at Bristol
1992 year track surface was changed from asphalt to concrete
1996 year Bruton Smith purchased track from Larry Carrier (January 22, 1996)
2007 year banking was reconfigured and track resurfaced (current concrete surface)
157,574 number of fans that established the Guinness World Record for the world's largest audience wave at BMS (August 23, 2008)(Dodge Motorsports)(3-17-2011)

Some Notes after Three Sprint Cup races:
" Three different winners  first time since 2007 there hasn't been a repeat winner in the first three races.
" Two of the first three races (Daytona and Phoenix) broke records for lead changes. Las Vegas featured 21 lead changes, the most since 2007's track record of 28.
" Two of the three races (Phoenix and Las Vegas) had qualifying records fall.
" There has been an average of 16 leaders per race  most ever through three races.
" There has been an average of 41 lead changes  most ever through three races.
" There has been an average of 4,609 passes and 55 passes for the lead all around the track, second-most through three races since the inception of Loop Data in 2005.
" The average margin of victory is 0.834 seconds, the closest in three years.(NASCAR)(3-9-2011)

At Bristol Motor Speedway:
· 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.
· 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.
· There have been 100 NASCAR Sprint Cup races since the first race there in 1961, two races each season.
· All races have been scheduled for 500 laps, except for both races in 1976 and the second in 1977, which were 400 laps.
· Fred Lorenzen won the first pole.
· The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was won by Jack Smith (with relief from Johnny Allen).
· There have been 44 different pole winners, led by Cale Yarborough and Mark Martin (nine). Martin swept both poles at Bristol in 1995, 1996 and 2009.
· 38 different drivers have won, led by Darrell Waltrip (12).
· Kurt Busch and Jeff Gordon each have five wins, most among active drivers.
· The race winner has started from the pole 22 times, the most productive starting position. The last driver to win from the pole was Carl Edwards in the night race of 2008.
· 80 of 100 races have been won from a top-10 starting position, including 52 from the first four spots.
· The deepest in the field that a race winner has started is 38th, by Elliott Sadler in 2001. Prior to this year's Daytona 500, that race was the last win by legendary owners, the Wood Brothers.
· Only one active driver averages a top-10 finish: Kyle Busch with a 9.3 average finish in 12 starts.
· Five of the last six Bristol races had a margin of victory under one second.(NASCAR)

For more track records, past starting spots that have won and more on Jayski's Bristol Motor Speedway Track News/Stats/Links page

Practices:
Friday, March 18, 12:00 - 1:30pm/et, TV-SPEED
Saturday, March 19, 10:45 - 11:30am/et, TV-SPEED

Happy Hour 'Final' practice: Saturday, March 19, 12:00 - 12:45pm/et, TV-SPEED

Qualifying Draw: none, order by drivers fastest speed in practices

Qualifying: 2 laps for positions 1-42, Friday, March 18th at 3:40 pm/et, TV-SPEED, re-air on SPEED at 8:30pm/et and 12:00am/et;
AND live via radio at PRN Radio only on NASCAR.com.

Kyle Busch wins at Bristol: #18-Kyle Busch won the Jeff Byrd 500 presented at Food City Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway for his 1st win of 2010, 20th win of his career and 5th stright at Bristol [2 Cup, 2 NNS & 1 Truck race]. Busch has now won at least one race a season for seven straight seasons.
#99-Edwards [the pole sitter] finished second followed by #48-Johnson, #17-Kenseth, #27-Menard, #29-Harvick, #22-Busch, #16-Biffle, #4-Kahne and #39-Newman. Points leader going in to the race, #14-Stewart finished 19th.
There were 17 lead changes among 8 drivers; 10 cautions for 57 yellow flag laps and the attendance is listed as 120,000 down from last years 138,000.
Scheduled Race Re-Air on SPEED, Wednesday, March 23 at 12:00pm/et.
See race results, awards, laps led and more on Jayski's Bristol Race Results/Awards page.(3-20-2011)

Race Fast Facts - Bristol:
#18-Kyle Busch won the Jeff Byrd 500 presented by Food City, his 20th victory in 226 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
This is his first victory and third top-10 finish in 2011. His last win also came at Bristol, on Aug. 21, 2010, 15 races ago.
This is his fifth victory and 10th top-10 finish in 13 races at Bristol Motor Speedway. He ties Kurt Busch and Jeff Gordon for the Bristol wins lead among active drivers.
He has now won five consecutive NASCAR national series races at Bristol.
Busch is the fourth different winners in the first four races this season, first time that time has happened since 2005.
#99-Carl Edwards (second) posted his sixth top-10 finish in 14 races at Bristol Motor Speedway. It is his third top-10 finish in 2011.
#48-Jimmie Johnson (third) posted his 10th top-10 finish in 19 races at Bristol Motor Speedway.(NASCAR Statistics)(3-20-2011)

2011 Sprint Cup Driver Championship Points Standings:
[after Bristol, race 4 of 36]:
rank, car#, driver, points, behind
1) #22-Kurt Busch 150
2) #99-Carl Edwards [1 win] 149 -1
3) #14-Tony Stewart 138 -12
4) #39-Ryan Newman 138 -12
5) #27-Paul Menard 136 -14
6) #18-Kyle Busch [1 win] 133 -17
7) #48-Jimmie Johnson 130 -20
8) #42-Juan Pablo Montoya 126 -24
9) #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. 124 -26
10) #56-Martin Truex Jr. 123 -27
11) #5-Mark Martin 123 -27
12) #4-Kasey Kahne 122 -28
See drivers championship points standings on Jayski's Drivers Points Standings page.(3-20-2011)

Top-35 in Owner Points with one race to go before 2011 points are used, currently 2010 owners points are used thru the 5th race of the season:
30) #31-Burton/RCR, 74, +23
31) #20-Logano/JGR, 74, +23
32) #83-Vickers/Red Bull, 69, +18
33) #32-Schrader/FAS Lane, 66, +15
34) #7-RGordon/RGM, 59, +8
35) #13-Mears/Germain, 52, 1 point ahead of 36th
these teams / drivers would need to qualify by speed after race 5:
36) #36-Blaney/TBR, 51, -1 out of top 35
37) #37-Raines/Front Row, 50, -2
38) #71-Lally/TRG, 49, -3
39) #38-Kvapil/Front Row, 46, -6
For the first five races of 2011, team are locked in their owners points position by the 2010 final owners points
For the owner points standings, see my Owners Points Standings page.(3-20-2011)

Lucky Dogs - Who got a lap back on each caution at Bristol: (and their finish)
Caution 1: #09-Elliott, 29th
Caution 2: #11-Hamlin, 33rd
Caution 3: #88-Earnhardt Jr., 11th
Caution 4: #36-Blaney, 25th
Caution 5: #33-Bowyer, 35th
Caution 6: #56-Truex Jr., 17th
Caution 7: #14-Stewart, 19th
Caution 8: #56-Truex Jr.(2), 17th
Caution 9: #6-Ragan, 16th
Caution 10: #14-Stewart(2), 8th
(3-20-2011)

Penalty Report - Bristol:
Car#, Lap, Reason, Penalty
#36, Pre-Race to the rear, Tail of Field, Engine
#13, Pre-Race to the rear, Tail of Field, Transmission
#1, 29, Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field
#83, 29, Pitting before pit road is open, Garage
#11, 29, Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field
#2, 30, Speed-Entering pits, Tail of Field
#2, 30, Speed-Exiting pits, Tail of Field
#87, 31, Refueling car/truck before the affected car/truck receives the green flag on the race track or does not complete the designated race distance (competition yellow), Held 1 Lap
#00, 54, Too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area, Tail of Field
#34, 130, Pitting out of order, Tail of Field
#1, 131, Pitting out of order, Tail of Field
#2, 131, Pitting out of order, Tail of Field
#2, 141, Pitting out of order, Tail of Field
#92, 247, Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field
#83, 348, Outside half of the pit box tire violation/Team member not in contact with the outside tires, Tail of Field
#88, 430, Speed-Entering pits, Tail of Field
#21, 437, Commitment Line Violation, Garage
#21, 437, Pitting before pit road is open, Garage
#13, 440, Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field
#42, 441, Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field
#00, 441, Pitting out of order, Tail of Field
#33, 458, Pitting before pit road is open
(NASCAR Statistics)(3-20-2011)

Pit Road Times
Bristol Motor Speedway
NSCS Jeff Byrd 500
Provided by NASCAR Statistics
Sun, March 20, 2011 @ 04:29 PM Eastern

Race Coverage of the Jeff Byrd 500 presented by Food City Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway is scheduled for Sunday, March 20, 2011.
Television (TV): FOX at 1:00 pm/et; pre-race show at 12:30 pm/et; green flag approx 1:13pm/et
Radio: Performance Racing Network (PRN) and Sirius XM Satellite NASCAR Radio 128
Scheduled Race Re-Airs:
SPEED, Wednesday, March 23 at 12:00pm/et

Pit Stall Selections - Bristol: The selections of pit stalls for the Jeff Byrd 500 presented by Food City Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway have been made. Bristol has two pit roads, so choices are a little different.
Pole sitter #99-Edwards chose pit stall 1 on the front stretch pit road [as do most pole sitters].
Outside pole sitter #16-Biffle took pit stall 23, the first stall on the backstretch pit road.
#78-Smith, who starts 3rd took the 22nd pit stall, the final stall on the front stretch pit road.
The 43rd and final pit stall was taken by #27-Menard, who starts 4th, the stall is the last on on the back stretch pit road.
To see where the drivers and all the other drivers/teams pit stall is, see the pit selection chart on the Pit Stall Selection chart.(3-19-2011)

Bristol Pit Rules: Bristol Motor Speedway operates under a plan where one-pit road will be used during pit stops under caution. Currently, Bristol remains the only track in the Sprint Cup Series that utilizes two pit roads with 22 pit stalls on the frontstrect and 21 on the backstretch. Teams that pit on the backstretch used to be at a competitive disadvantage. Since the spring 2002 race at Bristol, teams will enter pit road in Turn 2 (the current backstretch pit entrance) drive around down the backstretch and around Turns 3 and 4 and exit in Turn 1. Under green-flag conditions teams will enter and exit pit road under the current two-pit-road scheme.

Driver Introduction Songs at Bristol: The 43 drivers who race in the Jeff Byrd 500 Presented by Food City at Bristol Motor Speedway, will be intorduced with a song each driver chose, some of the drivers and songs:
#00-David Reutimann: "Pretty Fly For A White Guy" by The Offpring
#09-Bill Elliott - TBA
#1-Jamie McMurray: "Burn It To The Ground" by Nickelback
#2-Brad Keselowski - "Friends in low places" by Garth Brooks
#4-Kasey Kahne: "A Country Boy Can Survive" by Hank Williams Jr.
#5-Mark Martin - TBA
#6-David Ragan: "No More Mr. Nice Guy" by Alice Cooper
#7-Robby Gordon: TBA
#9-Marcos Ambrose: "Fuel" by Metallica
#11-Denny Hamlin: "Shipping Up To Boston" by Dropkick Murphys
#13-Casey Mears: "Regulate" by Warren G
#14-Tony Stewart: "Bawataba" by Kid Rock
#16-Greg Biffle: "Tonight's Gonna Be A Good Night" by Black Eyed Peas
#17-Matt Kenseth: "Nightmare" by Avenged Sevenhold
#18-Kyle Busch: "Rowdy Busch" by 2012 featuring Raytona500
#20-Joey Logano: "Opposite of Adults" by Chiddy Bang
#21-Trevor Bayne: TBA
#22-Kurt Busch: "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer" by George Thorogood
#24-Jeff Gordon: "I Won't Back Down" by Tom Petty
#27-Paul Menard: "Concrete Jungle" by Black Label Society
#29-Kevin Harvick: "Back In Black" by AC/DC
#31-Jeff Burton: "Welcome To The Jungle" by Guns N' Roses
#32-Ken Schrader: TBA
#33-Clint Bowyer: theme music from the movie "The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
#34-David Gilliland: "Wild Side" by Motley Crue
#36-Dave Blaney: Ohio State University fight song
#37-Tony Raines: TBA
#38-Travis Kvapil: "Song 2" by Blur
#39-Ryan Newman: "Good Ol' Boys" by Waylon Jennings
#42-Juan Pablo Montoya: "Ladies and Gentleman" by Saliva
#43-A.J. Allmendinger: "Turn Around" by Flo Rida
#46-J.J. Yeley: "Tricky" by Run DMC
#47-Bobby Labonte: "God Bless Texas" by Little Texas
#48-Jimmie Johnson: "The Thong Song'' selected by Vickers
#56-Martin Truex Jr.: "Homeboy" by Eric Church
#60-Landon Cassill: "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley
#66-Michael McDowell: "I Saw The Light" by David Crowder Band
#71-Andy Lally: "Beat You Down" by Downstait
#78-Regan Smith: "Welcome To The Family" by Avenged Sevenhold
#83-Brian Vickers: "Man! I Feel Like a Woman" by Shania Twain; selected by Johnson
#87-Joe Nemechek: TBA
#88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. - TBA
#92-Dennis Setzer: TBA
#99-Carl Edwards: "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" from the TV sitcom Cheers
Fans at BMS can hear all the songs during driver introductions, which begin at 12:30 p.m. Sunday.
For more information concerning tickets, please visit www.bristoltix.com or call the BMS ticket office at 423-BRISTOL (274-7865).(3-18-2011)

Post race inspection rules change a tad: In 2011, NASCAR will have two random teams selected for post-race inspection, John Darby, Cup series director explained. Last year, NASCAR took the first car out as a random for post-race inspection. That's why you saw cars go to the garage early and go back out at different times in the race to not be the first car out. Darby said that NASCAR is changing how that random will be selected. "There will still be a random inspection from the cars outside the top 35 (in car owner points), but we're going to make it more random,'' Darby said. "We're going to do it very similar to the way we do the (random) for the big group of the cars at the end of the race, drawing a number kind of situation so nobody really knows who that random will be.'' What will happen is that the crew chief of the first car out of the race will be asked by NASCAR to select two numbers. One will represent a car not in the top 35 in car owner points to be selected for post-race inspection. Another number will represent a car in the top 35 in car owner points for post-race inspection (Virginian Pilot)(3-3-2011)

NASCAR Revises Green-White-Checkered Race Procedure: NASCAR announced a revision to one of its race procedures, allowing a maximum of three restart attempts prior to the White Flag under NASCAR's Green-White-Checkered flag finish. If the leader has taken the White Flag and the caution flag is displayed, the field is frozen and the race will not be restarted. Previously, there was only one restart attempt. The new procedure will be implemented beginning with today's running of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' Gatorade Duel at Daytona and will apply to all three national series. NASCAR officials met with drivers and teams Wednesday at Daytona International Speedway to discuss the change and get their input. The announcement was made during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' drivers and crew chiefs meeting Thursday morning. "We want to do all we can to finish our races under green flag conditions  the fans want to see that and so do the competitors," said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition. "We felt that putting a cap at three attempts to finish the race under green is the way to go. It gives the fans what they want and it also gives the teams a better opportunity to prepare for their end of race strategy." The change amends procedure 9-14C of the 2010 NASCAR rulebook.(NASCAR), see rules and notes on the Green-White-Checker rule page.(2-11-2010)

Wave-around rule: The wave-around rule dictates that cars under penalty at the time of the caution are ineligible for the wave around.(10-11-2009)

Jayski's - 2011 Sprint Cup Race Results Page
(pole and race winner with speed and starting/finishing position, links to race results, drivers & owners points, pit stall selections, qualifying results/starting lineup, practice speeds and chase stats as well as link to race track and race information page for each race)

Happy Hour practice for the Jeff Byrd 500 Presented by Food City Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway is over, the top five and some notes:
#5-Martin 124.018
#83-Vickers 123.523
#11-Hamlin 123.475
#20-Logano 123.245
#14-Stewart 123.237
slowest: #09-Elliott 117.293 and #66-McDowell 117.329
no speed listed: #87-Nemechek
the teams practiced the new tires [D4386], each team had one set to use.
See fastest speeds, average speeds, average ranks, laps run on the

Saturday 1st practice for the Jeff Byrd 500 Presented by Food City Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway is being over, the top five and some notes:
#14-Stewart 124.889
#00-Reutimann 124.678
#5-Martin 124.638
#1-McMurray 124.460
#22-Busch 124.452
slowest: #46-Yeley 120.687 and #87-Nemechek 120.786
no speed listed: #92-Setzer
incidents: #38-Kvapil slapped the wall with the right side of the car.
the teams are still practicing the old tires on the right front [D4442], the new tire [4386] will be used in Happy Hour [12-1pm/et]
See fastest speeds, average speeds, laps run on the

Edwards wins Bristol pole: #99-Carl Edwards won the Coors Light pole for the Jeff Byrd 500 present by Food City Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway with a speed of 128.014mph for his 2nd pole of the season and 9th of his career.
#16-Biffle starts 2nd followed by #78-Smith [best career start], #27-Menard, #6-Ragan, #48-Johnson, #24-Gordon, #56-Truex Jr., #5-Martin and #4-Kahne.
The go-or-go homers who made the race (8): #09-Elliott, #60-Cassill, #87-Nemechek, #36-Blaney, #46-Yeley, #66-McDowell, #92-Setzer and #13-Mears.
The go-or-go homers who failed to qualify for the race (1): #32-Schrader.
Qualifying Re-Air: 8:30pm/et & 12:00am/et on SPEED

Qualifying Fast Facts - Bristol:
#99-Carl Edwards won the Coors Light Pole Award for the Jeff Byrd 500 presented by Food City with a lap of 14.989 seconds, 128.014 mph.
This is his ninth pole in 233 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
This is his second pole and third top-10 start in 2011. His first came at Phoenix.
This is his second pole in 14 races at Bristol Motor Speedway. His first came in August of 2008.
#16-Greg Biffle (second) posted his third top-10 start of 2011 and his eighth in 17 races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
This is #78-Regan Smith's best career starting position (third). His previous best start was fourth, three times. He posted his second top-10 start at Bristol Motor Speedway. It is his third in four races this season.(NASCAR Statistics)(3-18-2011)

Coverage of Qualifying for the Jeff Byrd 500 presented by Food City Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway is scheduled for Friday, March 18, 2011 at 3:40pm/et.
Television (TV): SPEED, 3:30pm/et
Radio: Performance Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius XM Satellite NASCAR Radio 128, last season thru nascar.com only
Jayski.com: Jayski's Bristol Qualifying Page
Qualifying Re-Air: 8:30pm/et & 12:00am/et on SPEED

Qualifying Order for the Jeff Byrd 500 presented by Food City Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway is posted. 44 cars/drivers are listed. Go-or-go homers will qualify at the end of the session, once the top-35 drivers are done.
The first of the top-35 drivers scheduled to go out is #71-Lally.
The final top-35 driver scheduled to go out is #99-Edwards.
The first go-or-go homer scheduled to qualify [36th] is #92-Setzer with the final driver scheduled to qualify being #46-Yeley.
Qualifying order is set by practice speeds, with the top 35 drivers going out from slowest to fastest, then the non-top 35 drivers go out, slowest to fastest from practice.
See the full qualifying order on the Bristol Qualifying Page.(3-18-2011)

Friday practice for the Jeff Byrd 500 Presented by Food City Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway is over, the top five and some notes:
#99-Edwards 128.675
#48-Johnson 128.022
#16-Biffle 127.954
#4-Kahne 127.929
#27-Menard 127.826
slowest: #71-Lally 121.605 and #92-Setzer 123.459
incident: #4-Kahne got loose and tapped the wall with the right rear, doing slight damage. Late in practice, #22-Busch scraped the wall on the front stretch
qualifying order: qualifying order will be set how a driver practices, the top 35 first, slowest first to fastest, then the go-or-go homers after, slowest to fastest.
See fastest speeds, average speeds, laps run on the

Practice rank for the non top-35 drivers:
if things stay the same, these eight drivers would make the race:
#46-J.J. Yeley, 33rd fastest overall
#32-Ken Schrader, 34th
#13-Casey Mears, 35th
#36-Dave Blaney, 36th
#09-Bill Elliott [PC], 37th
#60-Landon Cassill, 38th
#87-Joe Nemechek, 40th
#66-Michael McDowell, 42nd
these drivers would miss the race if the order stayed the same:
#92-Dennis Setzer, 43rd
[PC] = [past champion and order, 1 is more recent champ]

The Entry List for the Jeff Byrd 500 presented by Food City Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway is posted, 44 teams/drivers [for 43 spots] are listed, including:
Not in top 35 of owners points:
#09-Bill Elliott (1988 Champ)(23rd in 2011 owners pts/3 attempts)
#13-Casey Mears (35/3)
#32-Ken Schrader (24/3)
#36-Dave Blaney (38/3)
#46-J.J. Yeley (41/3)
#60-Landon Cassill (43/3)
#66-Michael McDowell (44/3)
#87-Joe Nemechek (42/3)
#92-Dennis Setzer in for ailing Brian Keselowski (46/3)
In the event that all practices and qualifying are all rained out or cancelled:
the eight who would make it [8]: #'s 09,32,13,36,46,87,60,66
missing the race would be [1]: #'s 92
See the full entry list at my Jayski's Bristol Entry List.(3-14-2011)

Chassis selections for Bristol: see the list of many teams and what chassis were selected by the team to run at Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend on the Bristol Race Info page - Chassis selection area:
#1-Jamie McMurray: Crew Chief Kevin "Bono" Manion and the #1 Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boat team will bring chassis #1006 to Bristol this weekend. This chassis was last used in the season-finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway last season resulting in a 21st place finish. McMurray has a victory (Charlotte, 2010), three poles (Kansas, Chicago, Darlington) a second and fifth, leading 143 laps with this chassis.
#2-Brad Keselowski: The #2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger team will use chassis PRS-747 during Sunday's Jeff Byrd 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS). This is a brand new chassis to the #2 team.
#6-David Ragan: Primary: RK-711, last ran Homestead  finished 20th; Backup: RK-747 Brand new chassis.
#9-Marcos Ambrose: The #9 RPM team has prepared chassis No. 693 for the 500-lap race at Bristol Motor Speedway. This DEWALT Ford Fusion was previously run last season at Richmond.
#14-Tony Stewart: Chassis No. 14-530 was a brand new racecar for 2009 that, prior to its debut at Richmond in May, had only been tested in the wind tunnel, Stewart used Chassis No. 14-530 to qualify 16th and rally to score his second runner-up effort of the season. It saw action unexpectedly in June at New Hampshire when the team's primary car was crashed in the opening minutes of the weekend's first practice. Chassis No. 14-530 finished fifth after starting from the pole when qualifying was rained out. Rain cut the race 28 laps short of its scheduled 301-lap distance with Stewart finishing 5th. Chassis No. 14-530's third career start came at Richmond in the series' return visit in September. It was a subdued outing, with it qualifying 29th and finishing 17th. Its fourth career start and last of 2009 came at Martinsville in October. There, Stewart qualified 13th and was in contention for a top-five until a late-race caution thwarted his forward drive, forcing him to settle for ninth. The offseason brought about a complete rebuild for Chassis No. 14-530 in preparation for its first start of 2010 at Bristol, where it qualified 11th and finished second. Its sixth career start came in June at Dover. It started 16th and finished ninth. Chassis No. 14-530 returned to Bristol for the track's annual night race in August. It qualified fourth  its best qualifying effort in six attempts  and ran second to leader Johnson for the race's first 125 laps before the .533-mile bullring showed its horns to Stewart, with multiple on-track incidents conspiring for a 27th-place finish. It returned to the concrete at Dover in September, where it qualified 25th and proved quick, but a pit road speeding penalty dropped it to a 21st-place finish. With a new body, Chassis No. 14-530 returns for a third tour of duty in 2011 and a third outing at Bristol with Sunday's Jeff Byrd 500.
#17-Matt Kenseth: Primary: RK-704 last raced at Homestead in 2010, Kenseth will pilot the #17 Crown Royal Black Ford Fusion.
#18-Kyle Busch: Chassis No. 277 will make its fourth-ever start in Sunday's Jeff Byrd 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. No. 277 made its debut at Pocono in August 2010, where Busch started 21st and finished 23rd. Its next start came at Richmond in September 2010, when Busch qualified a distant 32nd but rallied to bring home a second-place finish behind teammate Denny Hamlin. In its most recent start at Martinsville last October, Busch started 26th but brought home a solid fourth-place finish.
#20-Joey Logano: and the #20 Home Depot Team is taking chassis #278 for Logano this weekend in an attempt to turn this 2011 season around. This is the chassis Logano drove to a fourth-place finish at Richmond last fall and to a 17th-place finish at Kansas Speedway. The back-up chassis is #275 that Logano most recently drove to a sixth-place finish at Martinsville Speedway in October.
#22-Kurt Busch and his Steve Addington-led Penske Racing "Double-Deuce" team will be racing their "PRS-739" Shell-Pennzoil Dodge Charger this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. This chassis has been raced only one time prior; in the 2010 season-ending race last November at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Busch started 15th and finished 18th in that race. "We had a really fast car out there until we had the run-in with the #00 car," said crew chief Addington. "This car has been totally redone for this season and should be a great match for the Bristol track."
#27-Paul Menard will pilot Chassis No. 326 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This #27 Chevy is a brand new addition to the RCR fleet, and will see its first laps on the race track during Friday's practice session at the 0.533-mile concrete oval
#29-Kevin Harvick: will pilot chassis No.304 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. He raced this Chevy four times in 2010 and collected three top-10 finishes, including third at Richmond in May, fifth at New Hampshire in June and ninth at Richmond in September.
#31-Jeff Burton will pilot chassis No. 317 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable in this weekend's Jeff Byrd 500. Built new for the 2010 season, Burton drove this Caterpillar Chevy to an eighth-place finish at Pocono in August before piloting this #31 racer to a 24th-place result at Michigan two weeks later. Before going through offseason modifications, this RCR entry last competed at Auto Club in October where Burton was credited with a 23rd-place finish.
#33-Clint Bowyer: will pilot chassis No. 310 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This chassis was utilized during two races last season where Bowyer scored two top-10 finishes - the first at Indianapolis, where he finished fourth, and Atlanta, where he scored a seventh-place finish.
#36-Dave Blaney: will pilot chassis No. 802, which he drove at Phoenix and Vegas. The team also ran this chassis in the 2010 NSCS season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
#39-Ryan Newman Chassis No. 39-516 has been the only chassis to see action on either of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' concrete racetracks  Bristol and Dover  during the past two seasons for the #39 Stewart-Haas Racing team. The chassis has also seen action at one other track on the circuit  Darlington. In five races during the 2009 season, the chassis never finished outside of the top-10. The car finished seventh and sixth at Bristol, fourth at Darlington and eighth and 10th at Dover, respectively. After updates to the chassis following the 2009 season, the car returned to action at the concrete tracks again in 2010. The chassis saw action at Bristol last March and, although Newman flirted with a top-10 result, he finished a disappointing 16th following a late-race lug nut issue on a pit stop. In its most recent outing at Bristol during the night race last August, the chassis scored its first top-10 finish of the 2010 season as Newman started and finished sixth. The chassis also saw action at Dover in 2010, with finishes of 13 and eighth, respectively. During the offseason, the car was updated with a new front clip and a new body for its first outing in 2011.
#42-Juan Pablo Montoya: Brian Pattie and the #42 Target team are bringing chassis #1003 to Bristol this weekend. This chassis was last used in the second Texas race in 2010 where Montoya drove to a 28th-place finish. The #42 team has had success qualifying with this chassis, scoring three top-10 qualifying positions of fourth (Auto Club, Oct.), ninth (Atlanta, Sept.) and 10th (Chicago). Montoya has finishes of ninth (Atlanta), 14th (Auto Club) and 16th (Chicago) with this chassis.
#43-A.J. Allmendinger: The #43 RPM team has prepared chassis No. 710 for this weekend's event at Bristol Motor Speedway. This will be the first time this Best Buy Ford has been run in 2011.
#48-Jimmie Johnson: will pilot chassis No. 592 in Sunday's Sprint Cup Series event at Bristol. He last drove that car to a runner-up finish at Kansas Speedway in Oct. 2010. Backup chassis No. 553 crossed the finish line first at Auto Club Speedway in Feb. 2010.
#99-Carl Edwards: The #99 will have Scotts EZ Seed as the primary sponsor. The crew will unload RK-709 for the weekend. This car first raced at Charlotte in October, and then went on to win at Homestead in November.
(from team PR's/sites if reported)(3-17-2011)

Tire changes at Bristol: NASCAR and Goodyear announced a change in tire plans for this weekend's Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Extreme right side tire wear in both Nationwide and Sprint Cup practice on Friday has forced Goodyear to re-evaluate the rubber compound originally planned for the .533-mile track this weekend. Nationwide cars will now run the tires used last year at Bristol and a competition caution will come out on lap 25 of Saturday's race for teams to check tire wear.
Sprint Cup Series teams will now use tires originally designated for Fontana and Michigan with Goodyear expected to bring in 1200-1300 tires from a Charlotte-area warehouse later this evening.(CBS)
MORE: Due to severe wear on right-side tires and their failure to "rubber in" with the track, Goodyear is rushing in a new compound for Saturday's Nationwide Series and Sunday's Sprint Cup Series races at Bristol Motor Speedway. About 1,200 tires are being shipped from the Charlotte, N.C., area. Usually, as drivers run more practice laps, rubber from the tire grounds into the track's surface and that alleviates excessive tire wear. "With the lack of improvement it was obvious we needed to react," Goodyear's Rick Heinrich said Friday. Goodyear officials said the situation was different from what happened at Indianapolis in 2008, when tires wore out so fast that NASCAR had to mandate pit stops every nine laps of green-flag racing. Goodyear changed the compound for the right-side tire in the Nationwide and Cup Series in an attempt to provide more grip. But it became obvious early on Friday that the approach was not working. #11-Denny Hamlin said he was able to run only 30 laps, about 100 laps short of a fuel run, on the right-side tires Goodyear brought to the track. Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's vice president for competition, said tests likely will be scheduled before the August race in Bristol to make sure there is no repeat of what happened to Hamlin. Pemberton said he supported Goodyear's decision to react quickly. "There's tires in the barn ready to race anywhere and everywhere we go," Pemberton said.(ESPN)
See tire notes [before the change], codes, limits, pressures on the Bristol Race Info page - Goodyear section.(3-18-2011)