Date: Saturday, March 16
Start Time: 2 p.m. ET
Site: Bristol Motor Speedway (1960) -- Bristol, Tenn.
Track: 0.533-mile - 650 feet (Frontstretch); 650 feet (Backstretch)
Laps: 300
Miles: 159.9
Capacity: 160,000
Total purse:
Payouts:
Year: 30th
On TV: ESPN2
Announcers:
On Radio: Performance Racing Network (PRN)/SIRIUS NASCAR Radio
Race record: Elliott Sadler, 2012 (94.740 mph)
Qualifying record: Greg Biffle, 2004 (127.132 mph)
2012 Finish
Defending champion: Elliott Sadler
Runner up: Kasey Kahne
Pole winner: Joey Logano (124.210 mph)
Top 10:
1. Elliott Sadler (Start: 4)
2. Kasey Kahne (12)
3. Brad Keselowski (7)
4. Joey Logano (1)
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (16)
6. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (3)
7. Justin Allgaier (10)
8. Trevor Bayne (2)
9. Kevin Harvick (6)
10. Ryan Truex (15)
Average speed: 94.740 mph
Time of race: 1 hr., 41 mins., 16 secs.
Margin of victory: 1.159 secs.
Caution flags: 4 for 30 laps
Lead changes: 5 among 5 drivers
Past winners
2012 Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 94.740 mph (race record)
2011 Kyle Busch, Toyota, 85.166 mph
2010 Justin Allgaier, Dodge, 76.609 mph
2009 Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 79.717 mph
2008 Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 78.874 mph
2007 Carl Edwards, Ford, 64.038 mph
2006 Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 71.606 mph
2005 Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 59.534 mph
2004 Martin Truex Jr, Chevrolet, 78.114 mph
2003 Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 68.304 mph
2002 Jeff Green, Chevrolet, 66.093 mph
2001 Matt Kenseth, Chevrolet, 72.103 mph
2000 Sterling Marlin, Chevrolet, 74.813 mph
1999 Jason Keller, Chevrolet, 73.014 mph
1998 Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 75.484 mph
1997 Jeff Burton, Ford, 74.743 mph
1996 Mark Martin, Ford, 85.783 mph
1995 Steve Grissom, Chevrolet, 89.664 mph
1994 David Green, Chevrolet, 81.085 mph
1993 Michael Waltrip, Pontiac, 77.911 mph
1992 Harry Gant, Buick, 92.929 mph
1991 Bobby Labonte, Oldsmobile, 92.839 mph
1990 L.D. Ottinger, Oldsmobile, 79.936 mph
1989 Rick Wilson, Oldsmobile, 85.776 mph
1988 Dale Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 76.162 mph
1987 Morgan Shepherd, Buick, 75.032 mph
1986 Morgan Shepherd, Buick, 71.511 mph
1985 Darrell Waltrip, Chevrolet, 74.372 mph
1984 , , ot Held
1983 Morgan Shepherd, Oldsmobile, 85.255 mph
1982 Phil Parsons, Pontiac, 80.048 mph
Last race
Race: Sam's Town 300 (March 9)
Site: Las Vegas Motor Speedway -- Las Vegas, Nev.
Miles: 300
Laps: 200
Finish line order: Sam Hornish Jr., Kyle Busch, Brian Vickers, Trevor Bayne, Elliott Sadler
Time of Race: 2 hrs., 23 mins., 54 secs.
Average speed: 125.087 mph
Margin of victory: 1.100 secs.
Caution flags: 8 for 37 laps
Lead changes: 19 among 9 drivers
Lap leaders: B. Vickers 1-7; A. Dillon 8; B. Vickers 9-19; B. Keselowski B. Vickers 1-7; A. Dillon 8; B. Vickers 9-19; B. Keselowski 20-37; T. Bayne 38-56; R. Smith 57-60; S. Hornish Jr. 61-82; B. Vickers 83; J. Earnhardt 84; T. Bayne 85-86; K. Larson 87; B. Vickers 88-93; S. Hornish Jr. 94-138; B. Vickers 139; K. Busch 140-144; B. Vickers 145; K. Busch 146-152; S. Hornish Jr. 153-193; K. Busch 194; S. Hornish Jr. 195-200.
Entry list
#00 Jason White (Richmond, VA) Toyota/Headrush
#01 Mike Wallace (St. Louis, MO) Chevrolet/TBA
#2 Brian Scott (Boise, ID) Chevrolet/Shore Lodge
#3 Austin Dillon (Welcome, NC) Chevrolet/AdvoCare
#4 Danny Efland (Irmo, SC) Chevrolet/TBA
#5 Brad Sweet (Grass Valley, CA) Chevrolet/Great Clips
#6 Trevor Bayne (Knoxville, TN) Ford/Roush Fenway Racing
#7 Regan Smith (Cato, NY) Chevrolet/taxslayer.com
#10 Jeff Green (Owensboro, KY) Toyota/TriStar Motorsports
#11 * Elliott Sadler (Emporia, VA) Toyota/One Main Financial
#12 Sam Hornish Jr. (Defiance, OH) Ford/Alliance Truck Parts
#14 Eric McClure (Chilhowie, VA) Toyota/Hefty/Reynolds Wrap
#15 Juan Carlos Blum (Guadalajara, Mex.) Ford/TBA
#16 Chris Buescher (Prosper, TX) Ford/Roush Fenway Racing
#19 Mike Bliss (Milwaukie, OR) Toyota/TriStar Motorsports
#20 Brian Vickers (Thomasville, NC) Toyota/Dollar General
#22 Brad Keselowski (Rochester Hills, MI Ford/Discount Tire/SKF
#23 Robert Richardson Jr. (McKinney, TX) Chevrolet/North Texas Pipe
#24 Blake Koch (West Palm Beach, FL) Toyota/Veteran's Lodge
#25 John Wes Townley (Watkinsville, GA) Toyota/Zaxby's
#27 Michael McDowell (Glendale, AZ) Toyota/TBA
#30 Nelson Piquet Jr. (Brasilia, Brazil) Chevrolet/Worx
#31 Justin Allgaier (Riverton, IL) Chevrolet/Brandt
#32 Kyle Larson (Elk Grove, CA) Chevrolet/Cottonelle
#33 Kevin Harvick (Bakersfield, CA) Chevrolet/Armour
#40 Josh Wise (Riverside, CA) Chevrolet/TBA
#42 J.J. Yeley (Phoenix, AZ) Chevrolet/Curtis Key Plumbing
#43 Reed Sorenson (Peachtree City, GA) Ford/Pilot Travel Centers/Flying J
#44 Hal Martin (Galliano, LA) Toyota/American Custom Yachts
#46 Chase Miller (Canton, GA) Chevrolet/Curtis Key Plumbing
#51 To Be Announced Chevrolet/TBA
#52 Joey Gase (Cedar Rapids, IA) Chevrolet/TBA
#54 Kyle Busch (Las Vegas, NV) Toyota/Monster Energy
#55 Jamie Dick (Albuquerque, NM) Chevrolet/Viva Auto Group
#60 Travis Pastrana (Annapolis, MD) Ford/Roush Fenway Racing
#70 Johanna Long (Pensacola, FL) Chevrolet/Foretravel
#74 Mike Harmon (Birmingport, AL) Chevrolet/Mike Harmon Racing
#77 Parker Kligerman (Westport, CT) Toyota/Bandit Chippers
#79 Jeffrey Earnhardt (Mooresville, NC) Ford/UPONOR
#86 Kevin Lepage (Shelburne, VT) Ford/Qello
#87 Joe Nemechek (Lakeland, FL) Toyota/AM FM Energy Wood & Pellet
#92 Dexter Stacey (Kahnawake, Canada) Ford/Maddie's Place
#99 Alex Bowman (Tucson, AZ) Toyota/TBA
Leading contenders
| Name | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elliott Sadler | 4 | Won | |||||||
| Brad Keselowski | 41 | 4 | 12 | 2 | 9 | 3 | |||
| Justin Allgaier | 5 | Won | 15 | 7 | |||||
| Trevor Bayne | 23 | 30 | 19 | 8 | |||||
| Kevin Harvick | 2 | Won | 2 | 8 | 7 | Won | 5 | 6 | 9 |
| Austin Dillon | 12 | ||||||||
| Sam Hornish Jr. | 13 | ||||||||
| Kyle Busch | 3 | Won | 3 | 42 | 6 | 3 | Won | 17 | |
| Regan Smith | 21 | 38 | 36 | ||||||
| Brian Vickers |
Notes
Elliott Sadler won last year's spring race at Bristol. Sadler gambled on tires in the closing stages. He took the lead for the first time with 36 laps remaining when he opted not to pit during a round of stops under caution. He held off Sprint Cup Series regular Kasey Kahne after the final restart with 27 laps to go and then beat Kahne to the finish line by 1.16 seconds. Sadler drove the No. 2 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing last season. He is now behind the wheel of the No. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Bristol has been on the Nationwide schedule each season since the series' inception in 1982. The track has hosted two Nationwide races each year, with the exception of 1984. The August event was the only one for that year.
Phil Parsons won the inaugural Nationwide race at Bristol, the Southeastern 150, on March 13, 1982.
There have been 61 Nationwide races held at Bristol. Kevin Harvick has the most victories there with five, followed by Kyle Busch and Morgan Shepherd with four each.
Eight Nationwide races at Bristol have been won from the pole, which is more than any other starting position there. Kyle Busch most recently did it in August 2011.
Since NASCAR began using electronic timing and scoring in 1993, the closest margin of victory in a Nationwide race at Bristol occurred in August 2011 when Busch beat his then Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Joey Logano, to the finish line by just 0.019 seconds.
Justin Allgaier is the only driver entered in this race that scored his first career Nationwide victory at Bristol. Allgaier won the spring event in 2010.
Trevor Bayne is the lone driver on the entry list that made his first Nationwide start at Bristol. Bayne started 26th and finished 23rd there on March 21, 2009.
The next Nationwide race is the March 23 Royal Purple 300 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. Logano won last year's event there.
Edwards and pit crew roar to All-Star pole
