Wednesday

Food City 500 NASCAR HotPass Lineup

Filed under Press Releases, Sprint Cup Series

Ride Along with Martin, Kahne, Hamlin and Earnhardt at Bristol on DIRECTV

Event: Food City 500
Previous Winner: Kyle Busch (beat Denny Hamlin by .391 of a second on March 22, 2009)
Date / Time: Sunday, March 21, at 1 p.m. EDT
Track: Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway
Configuration: .533-mile oval (500 laps = 266.5 miles)
Banking in Corners: Varies from 26-30 degrees
Banking on Frontstretch: Varies from 5-9 degrees
Banking on Backstretch: Varies from 4-8 degrees
Frontstretch: 650 feet
Backstretch: 650 feet
First Sprint Cup Series Race: July 30, 1961 – Volunteer 500 (Winner – Jack Smith)
Grandstand Seating Capacity: 160,000

NASCAR HOTPASS™ on DIRECTV is back, and it’s FREE to all DIRECTV customers. Four dedicated driver channels offering viewers multiple camera angles, real-time statistics and audio of the network broadcast augmented by live communication between the drivers and their pit crews is available for all 36 point-paying races during the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

The NASCAR HOTPASS lineup for the Food City 500 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway is as follows:

DIRECTV Channel 795:

Mark Martin and the No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet team of Hendrick Motorsports

Mark Martin will make his 763^rd career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start and his 43^rd at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway … The 51-year-old Batesville, Ark., native has scored 40 wins and 419 top-10 finishes in 761 Sprint Cup starts, meaning he has finished 10^th or better in 55 percent of the races he has entered … Has two wins (August 1993 and August 1998), nine poles and 23 top-10 finishes in 42 starts at Bristol … 2010 marks Martin’s 28^th season with at least one Sprint Cup start … Has run a full Sprint Cup schedule 21 times and finished a career-best second in points in 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2009 … Started fourth and finished 33^rd two weeks ago at Atlanta Motor Speedway … Ranks seventh in Sprint Cup points with two top-10 finishes.

DIRECTV Channel 796:

Kasey Kahne and the No. 9 Budweiser Ford team of Richard Petty Motorsports

Kasey Kahne will make his 221^st career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start and his 12^th at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway … Has one pole (August 2007) and four top-10 finishes in 12 career Sprint Cup starts at Bristol … The 29-year-old Enumclaw, Wash., native has won 11 races and has 79 top-10 finishes in 220 Sprint Cup starts … 2010 marks Kahne’s seventh full year in Sprint Cup with a career-best point finish of eighth in 2006 … Started sixth and finished fourth two weeks ago at Atlanta Motor Speedway … Ranks 17^th in Sprint Cup points with two top-10 finishes.

DIRECTV Channel 797:

Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota team of Joe Gibbs Racing

Denny Hamlin will make his 156^th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start and his ninth at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway … The 29-year-old Chesterfield, Va., native has scored eight wins and 79 top-10 finishes in 155 Sprint Cup starts, meaning he has finished 10^th or better in 50.9 percent of the races he has entered … Has five top-10 finishes in eight starts at Bristol … 2010 marks Hamlin’s fifth full year in Sprint Cup with a career-best point finish of third in 2006 … Started 20^th and finished 21^th two weeks ago at Atlanta Motor Speedway … Ranks 22^nd in Sprint Cup points.

DIRECTV Channel 798:

Dale Earnhardt Jr., and the No. 88 National Guard / AMP Energy Chevrolet team of Hendrick Motorsports

Dale Earnhardt Jr., will make his 368^th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start and his 21^st at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway … Has one win (August 2004) and 11 top-10 finishes in 20 career Sprint Cup starts at Atlanta … The 35-year-old Kannapolis, N.C., native has won 18 races and has 143 top-10 finishes in 367 Sprint Cup starts … 2010 marks Earnhardt’s 11^th full year in Sprint Cup with a career-best point finish of third in 2003 … Started first and finished 15^th last week at Atlanta Motor Speedway … Ranks 13^th in Sprint Cup points with one top-10 finish.

About NASCAR HOTPASS on DIRECTV:

NASCAR HOTPASS is available free to all DIRECTV customers. More information is available at www.directv.com/hotpass.

- True Speed Communication for NASCAR HotPass on DIRECTV, Press Release