Bristol I Event Info:
Date: Sunday, April 13
Time: 3 p.m. ET
Series: NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Location: Bristol, Tennessee
Format: 500 Laps, 266.5 miles, Stages: 125-250-500
TV: FS1
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90)
Weekend Schedule:
Saturday: 2 p.m. ET, Cup Practice (Prime, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Saturday: 3:05 p.m. ET, Cup Qualifying (Prime, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Sunday: 3 p.m. ET, Cup Race (FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Pace Laps:
- Bristol on concrete returns to its historical spring slot on the schedule this weekend for the 126th time, as NASCAR visits ‘The Last Great Colosseum’ for its first of two race weekends this season.
- Outside of Michigan International Speedway, Bristol is the site of the most wins for Jack Roush in the Cup Series – 12 of them – spanning from 1993 to most recently 2022 with Chris Buescher.
- Buescher’s 11.6 average starting position across the first eight races is the sixth highest of any driver in the NASCAR Cup Series this season.
- The No. 17 team also has five top-10 finishes this season, which are tied for the most by any driver in the NASCAR Cup Series.
- Brad Keselowski is one of three active drivers with 3+ victories at Bristol Motor Speedway in the Cup Series, alongside Kyle Busch (8) and Denny Hamlin (4).
- According to NASCAR Insights research, Ryan Preece ranks sixth this season in terms of driving defense, while Buescher’s pit crew ranks as the fifth best in the Cup Series.
6 Team Info:
Driver: Brad Keselowski
Crew Chief: Jeremy Bullins
Partner: Kroger / Oscar Meyer / Rustik Oven
17 Team Info:
Driver: Chris Buescher
Crew Chief: Scott Graves
Partner: BuildSubmarines.com
60 Team Info:
Driver: Ryan Preece
Crew Chief: Derrick Finley
Partner: Boost by Kroger
Keselowski at Bristol
Starts: 27
Wins: 3 (2011, 2012, 2020)
Top-10s: 10
Poles: 2 (2x, 2020)
- Keselowski makes his 28th Cup start on the concrete at Bristol this weekend, a track where he has a 16.2 average finish with three wins and 10 top-10 finishes.
- Last spring, Keselowski led one lap and finished third after starting 17th. He earned a 23rd-place result in the fall.
- Keselowski’s three wins at BMS came back in 2011-12, and most recently in 2020. He’s finished 13th or better in six of the last eight races overall at Bristol.
- Keselowski has led laps in 15 different Bristol races totaling 1,014 laps, his best total of any track on the circuit outside of Martinsville (1,068) and Richmond (1,280).
- Keselowski has started top-10 in five of the last seven Bristol races, including a pair of poles in 2020. Overall, he has a 10.2 average starting position – his best of any track outside of Loudon (10.2). He has 16 starts inside the top-10 in 27 Bristol events.
- Keselowski also made 14 Xfinity starts at Bristol with one win and eight top-10s, and seven Truck starts with one win and three top-10s.
Buescher at Bristol
Starts: 16
Wins: 1 (2022)
Top-10s: 5
Poles: —
- Buescher enters Bristol for the 17th time on Sunday after leading 17 laps and finishing 7th in the spring race last season.
- Overall, Buescher has five Cup top-10s at Bristol, including in three of his last four races at the ‘The Last Great Colosseum’.
- Buescher has an average starting position of 23.4 with a career-best starting position of 12th (2016).
- Buescher made five Xfinity Series starts at Bristol with three top-10s and a best finish of third (2015).
Preece at Bristol
Starts: 8
Wins: —
Top-10s: 2
Poles: —
- Preece is set for his 9th Cup start at Bristol this weekend, and is coming off of his best career finish at the track in the fall race last season (7th).
- He has two top-10s at Bristol, with a ninth-place finish in the 2020 fall race. Overall, Preece has a 14.3 average finish which is his highest mark of any track in the Cup Series.
- Preece posted his best career qualifying effort last fall, 14th, and holds an average starting position of 23.9.
- Preece made three Xfinity Series starts at Bristol, highlighted by a win in 2018 for JGR after leading 39 laps.
RFK Historically at Bristol
Cup Wins: 12 (Mark Martin, 1993, 1998; Kurt Busch, 2002, 2003, 2003, 2004; Matt Kenseth, 2005, 2006; Carl Edwards, 2007, 2008, 2014; Chris Buescher, 2022)
- Runner Up: RFK’s storied history at Bristol began on April 10, 1988 with the No. 6 NCS car earning a second-place finish. Since that time, in addition to the organization’s 12 NCS wins at the track, RFK Fords have finished second at Bristol on 15 occasions (7 NCS, 4 NXS, 4 NCTS).
- History and Hot Streaks at “Thunder Valley”: RFK’s history at Bristol has been one of hot streaks, including trips to victory lane in 10 of the last 22 seasons at the famed short track. RFK swept the track in 2003 and put a NCS car in victory lane at least once in every season from 2002-2008.
- Tale of the Tape: RFK has started 225 NCS races at Bristol, recording 12 total wins with 53 top-five and 93 top-10 finishes. RFK Fords have an average finish of 15.8 with 3693 laps led all-time.
RFK Bristol Wins
1993-2 Martin Cup
1996-1 Martin NXS
1997-1 Burton NXS
1998-2 Martin Cup
2002-1 Busch Cup
2003-1 Busch Cup
2003-2 Busch Cup
2004-1 Busch Cup
2004 Edwards Truck
2005-2 Kenseth Cup
2006-2 Kenseth Cup
2006 Martin Truck
2006-2 Kenseth NXS
2007-1 Edwards NXS
2007-2 Edwards Cup
2008-2 Edwards Cup
2009-2 Ragan NXS
2014 -1 Edwards Cup
2022-2 Buescher Cup
Last Time Out & Where They Stand
Darlington: Buescher led all RFK drivers with a 6th-place finish at the track ‘Too Tough Too Tame’. Preece had his streak of three straight top-10s snapped with a 26th-place result, while Keselowski placed 33rd.
Points Standings (17: 11th, 60: 13th, 6: 31st): All three RFK drivers earned stage points, as Buescher remained in 11th while Preece climbed a spot up to 13th. Keselowski fell one position to 31st in the Cup standings.
