Analyzing The PittLite125 At Bristol Motor Speedway
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East heads to Tennessee’s Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend for the PittLite 125. Below is a look at the performance of the series and selected drivers at the track, as well as some other statistical trends.
PittLite 125 Race Setup:
• Spencer Davis heads into Bristol with a three point lead over his Ranier Racing with MDM teammate Kyle Benjamin (125-122).
• Benjamin, the defending race winner, will seek to become the first NASCAR K&N Pro Series drivers to earn two victories at Thunder Valley.
• Eddie MacDonald, 2014 race winner, will be making his season debut this weekend.
At Bristol Motor Speedway:
History
• Bristol Motor Speedway opened in 1961 and hosted its first NASCAR Sprint Cup race on July 30 of that year. Jack Smith picked up the win and led 243 of the 500 laps.
• To Date, the track has hosted 110 Sprint Cup Series races, 67 NASCAR XFINITY Series races and 18 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events.
• Kyle Busch leads all drivers with 16 Bristol victories, while Darrell Waltrip tops the Sprint Cup charts with 12 Thunder Valley triumphs.
• The .533-mile concrete oval hosted its first NASCAR K&N Pro Series East event in March 2012 with Nelson Piquet Jr. collecting the win.
Notebook
• This is the series’ fifth visit to the legendary Tennessee track.
• The PittLite 125 will air on NBCSN Friday, March 22 at 1:00 a.m. ET
• For three previous Bristol winners – Nelson Piquet Jr. (2012), Dylan Kwasniewski (2013) and Kyle Benjamin (2015) – it marked their first K&N East victory.
• The most cautions for a K&N East race at Thunder Valley is eight (2013) while the fewest is six (2012 and 2015). The most caution laps were 40 in 2014 and the fewest were 31 in 2012.
• In four races, the lead has changed hands an average of 1.75 times with a high of four changes in 2012.
• The average starting position for the winner is 6.75 while the pole sitter has an average finish of 8.25.
• Bristol is one of four half-mile tracks on the series’ schedule joining South Carolina’s Greenville Pickens Speedway, Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway and Alabama’s Mobile International Speedway.
Bristol Data
Race: #4 of 14 overall
Race Date: Saturday, April 16 at 4:30 p.m. ET
Track Layout: .533-mile concrete oval
Race Length: 125 laps (66.625 miles)
Banking/Corners: Variable (24-28 degrees)
Qualifying/Race Data
2015 Race Winner: Kyle Benjamin
2015 Pole Sitter: Jesse Little
1-Lap Qualifying Record: Jesse Little, Toyota, 15.891 seconds, 120.748 mph, April 18, 2015
125-Lap Race Record: Nelson Piquet Jr., Toyota, one hour, two minutes and six seconds, 65.402 mph, March 17, 2012.
Bristol Leaders:
Wins
Kyle Benjamin … 1
Dylan Kwasniewski … 1
Eddie MacDonald … 1
Nelson Piquet Jr. …. 1
Poles
Jesse Little … 1
Michael McGuire … 1
Nelson Piquet Jr. …. 1
Ben Rhodes … 1
Laps Completed
Eddie MacDonald … 409
Michael McGuire … 384
Brandon Gdovic … 362
Jesse Little … 320
Ryan Gifford … 270
Laps Led
Ben Rhodes … 130
Dylan Kwasniewski … 96
Kyle Benjamin … 81
Nelson Piquet Jr. … 62
Selected Driver Highlights:
Ronnie Bassett Jr. (No. 02 Bassett Gutters Ford)
• Is ranked fifth in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East standings with two top fives and three top 10s.
• In his two starts at Bristol, he’s finished 23rd (2014) and 15th (2015).
• Has an average start of 21.0 and an average finish of 19.0 at the track.
Kyle Benjamin (No. 40 FEVR Chevrolet)
• Heads into this weekend second in the point standings with two top-five and three top-10 finishes.
• Won the PittLite125 last year in his Thunder Valley debut to earn his first series victory.
• At the three previous half-mile tracks this season, New Smyrna, Mobile and Greenville Pickens, he’s finished fourth, sixth and second, respectively.
• Is a member of the 2015-16 NASCAR Next class.
Harrison Burton (No. 12 DEX Imagining/Konica Minolta Toyota)
• Is eighth in the series standings with one top 10 finish.
• This is will be his first series’ start at the Tennessee oval.
• In his first three starts of the season (all at half-mile ovals), he’s finished 13th (New Smyrna), seventh (Mobile) and 15th (Greenville).
Collin Cabre (No. 2 UTI/NTI Toyota)
• Heads into this weekend ranked 10th in the standings with a best finish of 11th at both New Smyrna and Greenville.
• In his Bristol debut last season he finished 24th after experiencing a crash on Lap 100.
• Is a member of the Drive for Diversity (D4D) and Rev Racing.
Spencer Davis (No. 41 Ruud.com Chevrolet)
• Sits a top of the series standings with three top-five finishes.
• In his first K&N East seven starts, he hasn’t finished worse than sixth.
• At the previous half-mile ovals this season he’s finished second (New Smyrna, Mobile) and fourth (Greenville).
• This will be his first series appearance at Thunder Valley.
Tyler Dippel (No. 38 East West Marine/TyCar Chevrolet)
• Heads into Bristol ranked fourth in the standings after earning one win and three top-10 finishes.
• Earned his first K&N East victory at Mobile in just his second start.
• In his first three starts he’s finished first and eighth (New Smyrna, Greenville).
Justin Haley (No. 5 Braun Auto Chevrolet)
• Is third in the standings after with one win, two top fives and three top 10s.
• Heads into Bristol on a high note after earning his first series win at Greenville.
• Finished ninth in last year’s PittLite125 and 14th in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at the track.
Noah Gragson (No. 55 AlertID/Speed Vegas/Colliers International Ford)
• Heads into this weekend sixth in the standings with two top 10 finishes.
• In the series’ first three starts of 2016, all at half-mile ovals, he’s finished sixth (New Smyrna), 12th (Mobile) and seventh (Greenville).
• This will be his first series’ start at Bristol.
Kaz Grala (No. 3 NETTTS Toyota)
• Is ranked seventh in the K&N East standings with one top five and two top 10s.
• In his two Bristol appearances, he’s finished 20th (2014) and fourth (2015).
• Has an average start of 15.5 and an average finish of 12.0 at Thunder Valley.
Austin Theriault (No. 1 Otics USA Toyota)
• Is ninth in the standings headed into Bristol with one top five finish.
• In his first three starts, he’s finished 24th (New Smyrna), fourth (Mobile) and 14th (Greenville).
• This will be his first NASCAR-sanctioned start at Bristol.
Other Driver Notes:
• Todd Gilliland heads into the Bristol looking to become the first driver in NASCAR K&N Pro Series history to win his first five career starts.
• Jesse Little looks to redeem himself from last year’s PittLite125, he finished 25th after winning the pole, where he broke the series’ qualifying record.
• Eddie MacDonald will make his first start of 2016. In his four starts at Bristol he’s collected one win (2014) and three top 10s.
Up To Speed:
• The 2016 season is the 30th for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East.
• The 2016 schedule features 14 races at 13 different tracks across the United States.
• Third-generation driver Todd Gilliland, earned his first NASCAR K&N Pro Series East victory in his series debut at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway.
• Tyler Dippel collected his first series win in just his second series start at Mobile (Ala.) International Speedway.
• Justin Haley recorded his first K&N East win at Greenville (S.C.) Pickens Speedway after leading a total of 28 laps.
