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.
Often, Bristol races are the scene of the highest number of yellow-flag caution laps in the NASCAR season; with so many cars in such a small space, contact is almost inevitable. Until the Beneficiary Rule was instituted in 2004 (the rule was instituted after the races at Bristol in 2003), the short lap length and the unpredictable nature of the racing meant that this was one of the few remaining NASCAR tracks at which it was feasible for a driver to come back to win a race from several laps down; at most modern tracks, especially superspeedways, that was almost impossible. The short lap length also cuts the other way; any unscheduled pit stop for reasons such as a cut tire will result in the driver going two or more laps down as it is almost impossible to get anything done to a car during the time taken to complete one circuit, especially under green-flag conditions (approximately 15 seconds). Thus, the disadvantage of losing laps means the chances of earning a free pass under the Beneficiary Rule is harder, since a driver losing two laps under a green-flag pit stop would have to race his way past the leader before the caution waved to regain one of his laps back, unless there are no cars one lap behind.
The drag strip at this facility has long been nicknamed Thunder Valley. Both current Sprint Cup Series races held at Bristol are for 500 laps; the spring race (historically a day race; however, the 2006 race ended under nighttime conditions because Standard Time and the late afternoon start) is sponsored by area grocery chain Food City, and considered one of NASCAR's top ten annual races. The late summer race (the popular night-time race, considered "the toughest ticket in NASCAR" to obtain) has rotated among several sponsors. Since 2001, Newell Rubbermaid has sponsored this race, first under its Sharpie brand (2001–2009) and now its Irwin Tools brand.
Bristol is a very fertile ground for other levels and types of racing; Nationwide Series races here often draw over 100,000 spectators, making it one of the best-drawing Nationwide venues, and resulted in the Fox network televising the race nationally from 2004 to 2006, and ABC doing the same in 2007 and 2008.
In 2004, it was the first Nationwide Series race of the season televised on broadcast network television, and the race, which had been 150 laps in 1982, 200 laps in 1984, and 250 laps since 1990, was a 300-lap race in 2006.
It is also the home of the only midweek (Wednesday) night NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event, held in conjunction with a NASCAR Whelen Modified Series/NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Series combination race.
Many of the fans come from the East Tennessee area, but thousands more come from all parts of the country to experience Bristol's unique brand of racing.Even in the off-season, the complex attracts fans during the Christmas season by facilitating a miles-long holiday lights display that culminates with a lap on the actual speedway track itself.
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