Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol,
Tennessee.Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Despite its short length, Bristol is among the most popular tracks on the NASCAR schedule because of its distinct features, that include extraordinarily steep banking, an all concrete surface, two pit roads and stadium-like seating. Recently it was named one of the loudest Nascar tracks.
Overview:
Bristol Motor Speedway is the 4th largest sports venue in America, and the 8th largest in the
World, housing up to 165,000 people. The track is so short that speeds here are far lower than is typical on most NASCAR oval tracks, but very fast compared to other short tracks due to the high banking, making for a considerable amount of "swapping paint". Also, the initial starting grid of 43 vehicles (in the Cup and Nationwide Series; 36 in the Truck Series) extends almost halfway around the track, meaning that the slower-qualifying cars begin the race almost half a lap down.
The congestion inherent in this facility and the power of the cars has been likened to "flying fighter jets in a gymnasium" (the terms "washing machine" and "toilet" have also been used). The track is one that tends to be either loved or hated by fans and drivers alike—purists who grew up driving or attending races at older short tracks located at fairgrounds and similar places tend to love Bristol while those raised on superspeedway racing tend to chafe at the lower speeds.
Bristol Dragway:
In addition to the speedway, there is a quarter mile dragstrip that hosts an annual NHRA event each year. Prior to its status as an NHRA national event track, the Bristol Dragway was the flagship strip of the rival IHRA organization; the strip's owner Larry Carrier formed the IHRA at the Bristol Dragway in November 1970. The relationship ended when Bruton Smith took over its ownership. The dragstrip has long been nicknamed Thunder Valley due to its location and surrounding scenery.Bristol Dragway hosts all 3 nationally-touring NHRA series, plus the NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Racing Series, NHRA Jr. Drag Racing League, AHDRA, and the Super Chevy Show.
Other Uses Of Bristol Motor Speedway:
In 2005, track owner Bruton Smith made a public offer of $20 million apiece to the University of Tennessee and Virginia Tech to schedule a non-conference college football game between the powerhouse Volunteers and Hokies' programs. Smith suggested that grass could be grown in the infield section of the racetrack. Virginia Tech showed much interest and nearly agreed to the proposal but Tennessee on the other hand showed little or no interest and in fact avoided the offer which made this possibility ultimately fall by the wayside.
Organizers hoped that a game would draw 150,000 spectators, which would break all previous American team sports records for attendance. The track's location near the Virginia/Tennessee state line puts BMS about 125 miles (201 km) from Tech's campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, and about 110 miles (180 km) from the UT campus in
Knoxville, Tennessee. However, holding a football game at the site would now seem highly impractical following the recent construction of the aforementioned scoring pylon and four-sided video screen in the middle of the infield.
The speedway was one of the racing tracks used in the 1990 film Days of Thunder, starring Tom Cruise.The 2006 Disney-Pixar film Cars used Bristol Motor Speedway as the basis for the racetrack seen in the film's opening race, the "Motor Speedway of the South." The size of the track was increased to give it a more stadium-like appearance.In the fall of 2002 students from Sullivan East High School in Bluff City attended the skyboxes at the Speedway as temporary schooling, due to an outbreak of black mold that closed the school for nearly 6 weeks.The track is an easy to find landmark and has a large infield which make it useful for far more than just NASCAR. In 2010, Remote Area Medical held a health clinic on the infield of the track.
Major Events:
- NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
- Food City 500
- Irwin Tools Night Race
- NASCAR Nationwide Series
- Scotts Turf Builder 300
- Food City 250
- NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
- O'Reilly 200 presented by Valvoline
- NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series
- Thunder Valley Nationals
- ASA Late Model Series
- USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series
- NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour
- NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour
Oval:
Surface Concrete
Length 0.533 mi (0.858 km)
Turns 4
Banking Turns: 26-30°
Straights: 6-10°
Lap record 0:12.742 (Brian Gerster, , 2011, Must See Racing X-treme Speed Classic)
Temporary Dirt Oval:
Surface: Clay
Length: 0.533 mi (0.858 km)
Turns: 4
Banking: Turns: 22-24°
Straights: 9°
Lap record: 0:13.86 (Sammy Swindell, Swindell Motorsports, 2000, World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series)
