Bristol Motor Speedway

Bristol Motor Speedway (0.533 miles, short track, 2x 180-degree turns) in Bristol, Tennessee

The Bristol Motor Speedway is one of the oldest and most traditional routes in the current NASCAR calendar, because in "Thunder Valley" two races per season are already held since 1961. The short track is a few miles outside of Bristol, whose main street is curiously the same time the state line between Tennessee and Virginia. The oval is located in the Tennessee section and was initially built in 1960-1961 with a superelevation of 22 ° and an asphalt surface. 1969, was the first conversion, which gave the course a banking of 36 °, which has often been provided by teams and drivers in question. So once could only measure 26 °, the crew of Ryan Newman during a test.

In 2007, which also saw the premiere of the "Car of Tomorrow", the speedway was a complete renovation of the pavement, including a banking variable between 24 ° and 30 ° donated. Five years later there was a further change to the superelevation, because the fans complained about the loss of the popular bump-and-run maneuvers, because yes, there were suddenly two equal lanes. The top lane was so unceremoniously planed for late summer race of 2012. 0.533 miles is a long round in Bristol, which is about 858 meters, which has the characteristic of short track speed skating track surface concrete way since 1992. Thus, although Bristol is 11m longer than Martinsville and thus not the shortest half-mile in the calendar, but the fastest, which also advertises the speedway for years. The banking allows cornering speeds between 110 and 120mph, which at "full throttle" the launch of a catapult, like in the corner exit.

Two other things are also quite typical of the Bristol Motor Speedway. First, there was so far no race there since 1961, which was not completely sold out, was due to the economic crisis of 2008, but unfortunately this series to an end. The seating capacity was expanded from 18,000 to 160,000 seats over the years, which one behind Indy, Texas, Daytona and Lowe's Motor Speedway is the fifth in the Sprint Cup. Secondly, the track is placed on suicide moderately small space, which not all three national racing series can be accommodated in the infield during the race in late summer. The trucks then drive already in the night from Wednesday to Thursday.

The space is so limited that the transporters of the Cup and the Nationwide Series by the tunnel entrance drive into the infield and there are lined by a sophisticated system. In addition, the pit lane is divided into two, so what also no longer exists in the Sprint Cup, which results in a special regulation for pit stops. By the year 2002, less qualified teams were given only one place in the pit lane of the back straight. Later there was a rule change so that today we have the following procedure: Under yellow both parts form a single unit and the entrance to the pit lane is located in the output of Turn 2, while the exit Turn 1 is the introduction. Thus, the course must be circumnavigated once in the boxes, so no one has an advantage or disadvantage. Green comes under the two-part scheme to fruition. You drive practically right on the part of the pit lane, where the Pitstall own lies. The input is therefore in Turn 2 or Turn 4, the output in Turn 1 or Turn 3