NASCAR Pre-Race: Fox - 12:30pm/et

Television Race Coverage: FoxSports, 1:00pm/et

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

Pit Reporters: Steve Byrnes, Matt Yocum, Krista Voda

Hollywood Hotel: Chris Myers and Michael Waltrip

Virtual Garage: Jeff Hammond

SPEED's NASCAR Raceday Pre-Race Show: 10:30 am/et with John Roberts, Kyle Petty, Kenny Wallace

Scheduled Race Re-Air Dates/Times:
Wednesday, March 20 at 12:00pm/et on SPEED

TV Listings, Links and Info:
Jayski's TV Listings Page
ESPN Network Schedules
SPEED TV Schedule
TV Racer

Performance Racing Network (PRN) and SiriusXM Satellite NASCAR Channel 90

goprn.com

PRN Live Streaming - Race and Qualifying

Practices:
Friday, March 15, 12:00 - 1:30 pm/et, TV-SPEED
Saturday, March 16, 9:00 - 10:00 am/et, TV-SPEED

Happy Hour 'Final' practice: Saturday, March 16, 12:00 - 1:00pm/et, TV-SPEED

Qualifying: 2 laps for positions 1-2, Friday, March 15 at 3:40 pm/et, TV-SPEED, re-air scheduled at 10:30pm/et and 12:30am/et.

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: University of Tennessee head football coach Butch Jones
Command to start engines: Butch Jones
Honorary Starter/Wave Green Flag: Daniel Kilgore
Invocation: Mike Rife, Vansant Church of Christ, Vansant, VA
National Anthem: Specialist Mary Potts, 129th Army Band and Tennessee National Guard
Military Flyover: 4 unidentified planes

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

March 2012: see my Bristol Race Info page

August 2012: see my Bristol Night Race Info page

Bristol Motor Speedway Notes & Facts:
• 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; Jack Smith won the event (with relief from Johnny Allen).
• 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, and the turns were ground down last season to eliminate part of the progressive banking.
• There have been 104 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Bristol Motor Speedway since the first race 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.
• 421 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Bristol; 293 in more than one.
• Terry Labonte has participated in the most Bristol NASCAR Sprint Cup races among active drivers with 57 starts.
• Fred Lorenzen won the inaugural pole with a speed of 79.225 mph.
• 45 different drivers have poles at Bristol, led by Mark Martin and Cale Yarborough with nine each. Martin swept both poles at Bristol in 2009.
• 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.
• Four drivers have won from the pole position more than once: Bobby Allison (1972 twice), Cale Yarborough (1973, 1977 twice, 1980), Darrell Waltrip (1981 twice, 1982) and Rusty Wallace (1991, 1993, 1999, 2000).
• 10 different drivers have posted consecutive poles at Bristol Motor Speedway; Mark Martin is the only driver of the 10 to win four consecutive poles at Bristol: Fireball Roberts (swept 1962), Fred Lorenzen (swept 1963), Richard Petty (1967-'68), Bobby Allison (swept 1972), Cale Yarborough (swept 1973; swept 1977; swept 1980), Darrell Waltrip (swept 1981), Geoff Bodine (swept 1986), Mark Martin (swept 1995-1996 all four races; and swept 2009); Rusty Wallace (swept 1998) and Jeff Gordon (swept 2002).
• Jeff Gordon leads (active drivers) the series in average starting position at Bristol with a 6.775.
• Youngest Bristol pole winner: Joey Logano (3/21/2010  19 years, 9 months, 25 days)  his first series career pole.
• Oldest Bristol pole winner: Harry Gant (8/27/1994  54 years, 7 months, 17 days).
• 40 different drivers have won at Bristol, led by Darrell Waltrip (12). Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch each have five wins, the most among active drivers. • Junior Johnson leads the series in car owner wins at Bristol with seven; Roger Penske and Jack Roush are tied among active car owners for the most wins at Bristol with 10 each.
• 83 of the 104 races have been won from a top-10 starting position; including 53 from the first four spots.
• 34 of the 104 races at Bristol have been won from the front row: Pole position (22 wins); Second-place (12 wins).
• Five of the 104 races have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.
• The deepest in the field that a race winner has started was 38th, by Elliott Sadler; in 2001.
• Youngest Bristol winner: Kyle Busch (3/25/2007  21 years, 10 months, 23 days).
• Oldest Bristol winner: Dale Earnhardt (8/28/1999  48 years, 3 months, 30 days).
• Mark Martin leads the series (among active drivers) in runner-up finishes at Bristol (six); followed by Kevin Harvick and Terry Labonte with four.
• Darrell Waltrip and Richard Petty lead the series in top-five finishes at Bristol with 26 each. Terry Labonte leads the series among active drivers with 19 followed by Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin (16).
• Richard Petty has 37 top-10 finishes, more than any other driver. Terry Labonte leads the series among active drivers in top-10 finishes with 33; followed by Mark Martin with 23.
• Kyle Busch leads the series (active drivers) in average finish at Bristol with a 10.313.
• Seven of the last eight races have ended with a margin of victory of less than a second.
• There has been three green-white-checkered finishes at Bristol  all three were the spring race: 2007 (500/504); 2008 (500/506); 2009 (500/503).
• Kurt Busch posted his first series career win at Bristol (2002), and Joey Logano won his first pole at Bristol (2010).
• 12 drivers have won consecutive races at Bristol led by Darrell Waltrip with seven consecutive victories from 1981-1984. The other 11 are Fred Lorenzen (1963-1964 sweep), David Pearson (1968 sweep), Bobby Allison (1972 sweep), Cale Yarborough did it twice (1974 sweep and four straight from 1976-1977), Richard Petty (1975 sweep), Dale Earnhardt also twice (1985 sweep and 1987 sweep), Alan Kulwicki (1992 sweep), Rusty Wallace (2000 sweep), Kurt Busch (2003 sweep and 2004 spring race), Kyle Busch (2009 sweep) and Brad Keselowski (2011 fall-2012 spring).
• All 14 active NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers who have won at Bristol Motor Speedway participated in at least two or more races before visiting Victory Lane  among the active winners Kurt Busch won in the fewest starts (third) at Bristol.
• Jeff Burton competed at Bristol Motor Speedway 28 times before winning (2008 spring race); the longest span of any of the 14 active winners. Burton is the only active driver to have made 20 or more attempts before his first win at BMS.
• Bobby Labonte leads the series (active drivers) with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup starts at Bristol without visiting Victory Lane with 40.
• Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Bristol was the 3/25/2007 race won by Kyle Busch with a MOV of 0.064 second.
• Two female drivers have made NASCAR Sprint Cup starts at Bristol: Janet Guthrie and Danica Patrick.
(NASCAR)(3-12-2013)

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

Kahne wins at Bristol: #5-Kasey Kahne won the Food City 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway for his 1st win of 2013, 1st win at Bristol and 15th career win. Pole sitter #18-Busch finished second followed by #2-Keselowski, #78-Busch, #15-Bowyer, #88-Earnhardt, Jr., #39-Newman, #55-Vickers, #27Menard, and #1-McMurray.
#48-Johnson, who started the race as the points leader, blew a tire late and hit the wall. He finished 22nd.
There were 17 lead changes among 10 drivers and 10 cautions for 66 yellow flag laps. The average speed was 92.206mph. Starting this season, NASCAR doesn't release the track attendance.
See race results, awards, money won, laps led, cautions and more on the Las Vegas Race Results page (pdf) and check out the Bristol Penalty Report (pdf).

Race Fast Facts - Bristol:
Kasey Kahne won the 53rd Annual Food City 500, his 15th victory in 328 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
This is his first victory and second top-10 finish in 2013.
This is his first victory and eighth top-10 finish in 19 races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Kyle Busch (second) posted his 12th top-10 finish in 17 races at Bristol Motor Speedway. It is his second top-10 finish in 2013.
Brad Keselowski (third) posted his third top-10 finish in seven races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Brad Keselowski leads the point standings by 9 points over Dale Earnhardt Jr.
This is Kahne's second short-track victory. He won previously at Richmond in 2005.
(NASCAR Integrated Sports Marketing)(3-17-2013)

2013 Sprint Cup Driver Championship Points Standings:
[after Bristol, race 4 of 36]
1) #2-Brad Keselowski, 166
2) #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr., 157, -9
3) #48-Jimmie Johnson [1 win], 151, -15
4) #15-Clint Bowyer, 128, -38
5) #16-Greg Biffle, 126, -40
6) #11-Denny Hamlin, 125, -41
7) #5-Kasey Kahne [1 win], 124, -42
8) #99-Carl Edwards [1 win], 124, -42
9) #27-Paul Menard, 118, -48
10) #18-Kyle Busch, 115, -51
11) #17-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., 115, -51
12) #22-Joey Logano, 104, -62
2012 Chase drivers out of top 12
#20-Matt Kenseth [1 win], 13th in points
#29-Kevin Harvick, 17th
#56-Martin Truex Jr., 18th
#24-Jeff Gordon, 21st
#14-Tony Stewart, 24th
(ties broken by 1sts, 2nds, 3rd, etc)
See drivers championship points standings on the Drivers Points Standings (pdf) and the owner points standings on the Owners Points Standings page (pdf).

Lucky Dogs - Who got a lap back on each caution at Bristol: (and their finish)
Caution 1: none, no one on track a lap or more down
Caution 2: #10-Patrick, 28th
Caution 3: #32-Labonte, 25th
Caution 4: #34-Ragan, 21st
Caution 5: #1-McMurray, 10th
Caution 6: #55-Vickers, 8th
Caution 7: #17-Stenhouse, Jr., 16th
Caution 8: #55-Vickers (2), 8th
Caution 9: #13-Mears, 15th
Caution 10: #17-Stenhouse, Jr. (2), 17th
(3-17-2013)

Race Coverage of the Food City 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway is scheduled for Sunday, March 17, 2013.
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 90
Scheduled Race Re-Airs: SPEED, Wednesday, March 20 at 12:00pm/et

Pit Stall Selections: The selections of pit stalls for the Food City 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway have been made.
Pole sitter #18-Busch chose pit stall 1 [as do most pole sitters].
Outside pole sitter #5-Kahne took pit stall 23, the last pitstall on the backstretch.
#11-Hamlin, who starts 3rd took the 22nd pit stall, the last stall on the frontstretch.
The 43rd and final pit stall (the first pistall on the backstretch) was taken by #55-Vickers, who starts 4th.
To see where the drivers/teams pit stall is, see the pit selection chart on the Pit Stall Selection chart.(3-16-2013)

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.

Links to results, practices, qualifying PDF's:
Official Race Report
Race Results
Drivers Points
Owners Points
Penalty Resport
Happy Hour Practice Speeds
Pitstalls
Practice 2 Speeds
Starting Lineup
Qualifying Results
Practice 1 Speeds
Qualifying Order
Entry List

NASCAR Green-White-Checkered Race Procedure: NASCAR allows 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 procedure applies to all three national series. See rule and notes on the Green-White-Checker rule page.

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

See Jayski's - 2013 Sprint Cup Race Results Page for pole winner, 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

Final practice at Bristol Motor Speedway is over after 60 scheduled minutes, the top five, slowest and any notes:
#18-Busch 124.824
#5-Kahne 124.638
#38-Gilliland 124.638
#20-Kenseth 124.622
#11-Hamlin 124.605
slowest: #98-McDowell 121.336 & #87-Nemechek 121.052. No speed: #34-Ragan.
#34-Ragan's team will change the engine on his car. He will start in the back tomorrow.
See fastest laps, laps run, best 10-lap averages on the Bristol Practice 3 Speeds page (pdf).(3-16-2013)

First Saturday practice at Bristol Motor Speedway is over after 60 scheduled minutes, the top five, slowest and any notes:
#18-Busch 125.831
#20-Kenseth 125.749
#11-Hamlin 125.658
#31-Burton 125.601
#5-Kahne 125.584
slowest: #32-Labonte 121.290 & #33-Cassill 119.084
notes: #1-McMurray's team forgot to put the pins in the hood of his car and the hood flew up whie he was practicing. The team repaired it.
See fastest laps, laps run, best 10-lap averages on the Bristol Practice 2 Speeds page (pdf).(3-16-2013)

Kyle Busch wins Bristol pole: #18-Kyle Busch won the pole for the Food City 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway with speed of 129.535mph for his 1st pole of 2013, his 1st at Bristol, and 11th of his career.The pole speed is a new track record, breaking the old record set by Ryan Neman in March 2003. The top 3 drivers broke the old record. #5-Kahne will start 2nd, followed by #11-Hamlin, #55-Vickers, #27-Menard, #1-McMurray. #2-Keselowski, #14-Stewart, #56-Truex, Jr., and #22-Logano. Missing the race was: #44-Riggs.
See the starting lineup, pole progression, qualifying results, qualifying order, qualifying rules on the Bristol Starting Lineup / Qualifying Page.(3-15-2013)

Qualifying Fast Facts - Bristol:
Kyle Busch won the Coors Light Pole Award for the 53rd Annual Food City 500 with a track record qualifying lap of 14.813 seconds, 129.535 mph.
This is his 11th pole in 297 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
This is his first pole and third top-10 start in 2013.
This is his first pole in 17 races at Bristol Motor Speedway. He has five wins at the track.
Kasey Kahne (second) posted his fourth top-10 start of 2013 and his 10th in 19 races at Bristol Motor Speedway. His qualifying speed of 128.995 mph was also above the previous track qualifying record set by Ryan Newman in 2003.
Denny Hamlin (third) posted his fourth top-10 start at Bristol Motor Speedway. It is his third in four races this season.
(NASCAR Statistics)(3-15-2013)

Coverage of Qualifying for the Food City 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway is scheduled for Friday, March 15, 2013 at 3:40pm/et.
Television (TV): SPEED, 3:30pm/et
Radio: PRN online at goprn.com
Scheduled Qualifying Re-Air: on SPEED at 10:30pm/et and 12:30am/et

Friday practice at Bristol Motor Speedway is over after 90 scheduled minutes, the top five, slowest and any notes:
#2-Keselowski 129.047
#20-Kenseth 128.908
#18-Busch 128.900
#15-Bowyer 128.417
#11-Hamlin 128.331
slowest: #35-Wise 123.642 & #47-Labonte 123.000.
#18-Busch hit the splitter coming off turn 2 and slid up into #38-Gilliand and spun, but did no damage.
#17-Stenhouse, Jr. lost an engine. He will have to start in the back on Sunday.
See fastest laps, laps run, best 10-lap averages on the Bristol Practice 1 Speeds page (pdf).(3-15-2013)

Qualifying Order for the Food City 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway is posted. 44 cars/drivers are listed.
The first of the drivers scheduled to go out is #19-Bliss.
The final driver scheduled to go out is #13-Mears.
Fastest in Friday practice, #2-Keselowski, is scheduled to qualify 10th.
Qualifying order is set by a random draw, held about an hour before the first practice.
See the full qualifying order on the Bristol Qualifying Page.(3-15-2013)

Entry List for the Food City 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway is posted, 44 teams/drivers [for 43 spots] are listed, including: #19-Mike Bliss, #32-Terry Labonte, #44-Scott Riggs, #51-A.J. Allmendinger, #55-Brian Vickers, and #98-Michael McDowell.
#44-Riggs needs to make the race by speed and be in the top 36 in speed as the team is too far down the owners points list to use a provisional.
See the full entry list at my Jayski's Bristol Entry List

For the new 2013 qualifying rules and format, see my Qualifying Rules page

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

2013 Sprint Cup Driver Championship Points Standings:
[after Las Vegas, race 3 of 36]
1) #48-Jimmie Johnson [1 win], 129
2) #2-Brad Keselowski, 124, -5
3) #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr., 119, -10
4) #11-Denny Hamlin, 102, -27
5) #99-Carl Edwards [1 win], 98, -31
6) #55-Mark Martin, 95, -34
7) #20-Matt Kenseth [1 win], 93, -36
8) #16-Greg Biffle, 93, -36
9) #15-Clint Bowyer, 89, -40
10) #43-Aric Almirola, 88, -41
11) #17-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., 87, -42
12) #27-Paul Menard, 82, -47
2012 Chase drivers out of top 12
#24-Jeff Gordon is 13th in points
#5-Kasey Kahne, 14th
#14-Tony Stewart, 18th
#29-Kevin Harvick. 19th
#56-Martin Truex Jr. 22nd
(ties broken by 1sts, 2nds, 3rd, etc)
See drivers championship points standings on the Drivers Points Standings (pdf) and the owner points standings on the Owners Points Standings page (pdf).

Chassis selections for Bristol: see the list of many teams and what chassis were selected by the team to run at Bristol Motor Speedway:
MISSING? why are some teams missing? some teams do not report what chassis in the race previews, press releases or websites.
#1-Jamie McMurray: chassis not reported on race preview.
#2-Brad Keselowski: Primary Chassis: PRS-845. Last Raced: New chassis. Backup Chassis: PRS-834. Last Raced: Backup chassis at Phoenix (not used).
#5-Kasey Kahne: Crew chief Kenny Francis will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-769 for Sunday's event at Bristol. Kahne last raced this car March 3 at Phoenix International Raceway, where he recorded his first outside pole position of the 2013 season.
#7-Dave Blaney chassis not reported on race preview.
#9-Marcos Ambrose: The #43 team has prepared chassis No. 784 for Bristol. The team brought the chassis to Kansas Speedway last fall where Ambrose brought home a 12th-place finish.
#10-Danica Patrick Chassis No. 10-579: Chassis No. 10-579 was used by Ryan Newman during the 2010 and 2011 seasons but has since been completely overhauled and transformed into a Gen-6-style Chevrolet SS. This will mark the first race for Chassis 10-579 with Patrick behind the wheel.
#14-Tony Stewart: Chassis No. 14-722: This car debuted in June 2012 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway as Stewart took Chassis No. 14-722 from its 22nd-place starting spot to finish third in the Pocono 400. It returned to Pocono in August for the series' second visit to the quirky, 2.5-mile triangle where it had a similar outing, as Stewart rallied it from its 28th-place starting spot to finish fifth in the rain-shortened race. While Chassis No. 14-722 didn't race again in 2012, it was tested extensively  in the wind tunnel and on the track. It tested at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway Sept. 25-26 and at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., Oct. 17-18. With 2013 Chevrolet SS bodywork covering it, Chassis No. 14-722 returns to racing this weekend at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway for the Food City 500.
#15-Clint Bowyer: Primary chassis No. 740 is the same chassis that Bowyer won with in Charlotte in October. It also finished 10th at Chicago and sixth at Texas in November. The backup chassis (No. 727) raced last season at Fontana, Darlington and both Michigans.
#16-Greg Biffle: Primary Chassis: RK-803. Last ran Homestead  finished 5th. Backup Chassis: RK-809. Last ran Texas  finished 10th.
#17-Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: Primary Chassis: RK- 791  last raced Martinsville  finished 11th. Backup Chassis: RK-801  chassis for the No. 99 in 2012
#18-Kyle Busch: chassis not reported on race preview.
#20-Matt Kenseth: chassis not reported on race preview.
#22-Joey Logano: Primary Chassis: PRS-842. Last Raced: New chassis. Backup Chassis: PRS-836. Last Raced: Backup chassis at Phoenix (not used).
#24-Jeff Gordon: chassis not reported on race preview.
#27-Paul Menard will pilot chassis No. 412 at Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend. This No. 27 Chevrolet SS has never been run under race conditions, but was tested earlier this year at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Darlington Raceway.
#29-Kevin Harvick: will pilot chassis No. 391 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable in the Food City 500. Harvick last drove this RCR Chevrolet to a sixth-place result during the 2012 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
#31-Jeff Burton will race chassis No. 372 this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS). This is a brand new No. 31 Chevrolet seeing its first on-track action during Friday's first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice session.
#34-David Ragan chassis not reported on race preview.
#35-Josh Wise chassis not reported on race preview.
#36-J.J. Yeley chassis not reported on race preview.
#38-David Gilliland chassis not reported on race preview.
#39-Ryan Newman Chassis No. 39-655: Newman will pilot Chassis No. 39-655 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. This chassis debuted at Bristol last August, when a solid run appeared to be shaping up for Newman and the No. 39 team but came to a disappointing end when the left-rear tire went flat on lap 189, sending the No. 39 Chevy spinning off of turn four and contacting the outside retaining wall before being hit by another car, leaving Newman with a 36th-place finish. After extensive repairs that included a new front clip, the No. 39 team brought this chassis to Kansas Speedway in Kansas City in October, where it participated in a two-day test. Since then, Chassis No. 39-655 has been updated for 2013 and will see its first laps of the season this weekend at Bristol.
#42-Juan Pablo Montoya: chassis not reported on race preview.
#43-Aric Almirola::
#47-Bobby Labonte chassis not reported on race preview.
#48-Jimmie Johnson: Johnson chassis No. 714 at Bristol. Chassis No. 689 serves as the backup.
#55-Brian Vickers: drove primary chassis No. 722 to two top-five finishes last season at Bristol Motor Speedway. The backup chassis (No. 732) Mark Martin raced to a sixth-place finish at Charlotte in October.
#56-Martin Truex Jr.: chassis not reported on race preview.
#78-Kurt Busch chassis not reported on race preview.
#88-Dale Earnhardt Jr.: This weekend, crew chief Steve Letarte and the No. 88 team will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-745. Earnhardt most recently raced this chassis to an 11th-place finish at Dover (Del.) International Speedway last September.
#99-Carl Edwards RK - 806: last ran in fall Martinsville. RK  790: backup car for Phoenix and last ran in Spring Martinsville race 2012.
(from team PR's/sites if reported)(3-14-2013)

Tire: Goodyear Eagle Speedway Radials

Number of Tires:
Sprint Cup: Left-side -- 1,250, Right-side -- 1,250;
Nationwide: Left-side -- 475, Right-side -- 475

Set limits: Sprint Cup:
5 sets for practice/qualifying and 10 sets for the race;
Nationwide: 6 sets for the event

Tire Codes:
Left-side -- D-4416; Right-side -- D-4526

Tire Circumference:
Left-side -- 87.4 in. (2,220 mm);
Right-side -- 88.5 (2,248 mm)

Technical Inspection Inflation:
Left Front -- 26 psi; Left Rear -- 26 psi;
Right Front -- 42 psi; Right Rear -- 40 psi

Minimum Recommended Inflation:
Left Front -- 20 psi; Left Rear -- 18 psi;
Right Front -- 41 psi; Right Rear -- 38 psi

Notes: Teams in both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series will run the same Goodyear tire codes at Bristol this weekend . . . this is the same combination of left- and right-side tires that Sprint Cup teams ran at Bristol last August . . . this right-side tire code (D-4526) was also run by Cup teams at Bristol last March, and by Nationwide teams at both race weekends at the track in 2012 . . . this left-side tire code (D-4416) has been run by teams in both of these series at Richmond for the past two seasons . . . as a reminder, since the track surface at Bristol was modified after this race weekend last March, Goodyear held a tire test at the track on June 12-13, 2012 . . . drivers participating in that test were Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton and Tony Stewart . . . unlike on most NASCAR ovals one mile or less in length, on which teams generally do not run inner liners in their tires, teams are required to run liners in their right-side tires only at Bristol . . . air pressure in those inner liners should be 12-25 psi greater than that of the outer tire.