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| Version | User | Scope of changes |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 10 2007, 8:29 AM EST (current) | SYSOP | 22 words added, 3 words deleted |
| Mar 10 2007, 8:18 AM EST | SYSOP | 15 words added, 6 words deleted |
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The world’s fastest half-mile, Bristol Motorspeedway is as good as racing gets. The .533-mile track features an incredible 36 degrees of banking in the turns, allowing drivers to whip around the track and producing some of the best racing on the circuit. Known as Thunder Valley for the amount of noise created in the bowl shaped track, Bristol Motorspeedway is the largest sports arena in the world, with seating for more than 160,000.Drivers and fans love Bristol for the beating and banging that happen every race. It’s rare for a car to leave Bristol without suffering some sort of collision.
The land, upon which Bristol Motor Speedway is built, used to be a dairy farm.
Larry Carrier and Carl Moore traveled to Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1960 to watch a race and it was then that they decided to build a speedway in Northeast Tenn. However, they wanted a smaller model of CMS, something with a more intimate setting and opted to erect a half-mile facility instead of mirroring the 1.5-mile track in Charlotte.
Work began on what was then called Bristol International Speedway in 1960 and it took approximately one year to finish. Track officials scratched many ideas for the track on envelopes and brown paper bags.
The land on which BMS now sits, as well as construction of the track, cost approximately $600,000. The entire layout for BMS covered 100 acres and provided parking for more than 12,000 cars. The track itself was a perfect half-mile, measuring 60 feet wide on the straightaways, 75 feet wide in the turns and the turns were banked at 22 degrees.
Seating capacity for the very first NASCAR race at BMS, held on July 30, 1961, was 18,000. Prior to this race, the speedway had hosted weekly races. The first driver on the track for practice on July 27, 1961 was Tiny Lund in his Pontiac. The second driver out was David Pearson. Fred Lorenzen won the pole for the first race at BMS with a speed of 79.225 mph.
Atlanta's Jack Smith won the inaugural event, The Volunteer 500, at BMS on July 30, 1961.
In the fall of 1969 BMS was reshaped and re-measured. The turns were banked at 36 degrees and it became a .533-mile oval.
The speedway was sold after the 1976 season to Lanny Hester and Gary Baker. In the spring of 1978, the track name was changed to Bristol International Raceway. In August of that year, the first night race was held on the oval.
On July 6, 1983, Warner Hodgdon completed 100 percent purchase of Bristol Motor Speedway. Hodgdon named Larry Carrier as the track's general manager. On January 11, 1985, Warner Hodgdon filed for bankruptcy.
After Hodgdon filed for bankruptcy, Larry Carrier formally took possession of the speedway and covered all outstanding debts.
In Aug. 1992, BMS became the first fully concrete speedway to host a Cup event.
On Jan. 22, 1996, Larry Carrier sold the speedway to Bruton Smith at a purchase price of $26 million. At the time of the sale, the facility seated 71,000.
On May 28, 1996 the track's name was officially changed to Bristol Motor Speedway. By August of that year, 15,000 seats had been added bringing the seating capacity to 86,000.
For the August 1998 Goody's 500 the speedway featured more than 131,000 grandstand seats and 100 skyboxes. On Aug. 26, 2002 work began on the most ambitious construction project since Speedway Motorsports, Inc., purchased BMS in 1996. The new backstretch increased the venue's seating capacity to more than 160,000.
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I was lucky enough to see 3 races at BMS and all were the night time events during the summers of 1991-1993. A friend of mine was going through a nasty divorce the first year, that being the main reason for my going. he sold me his tickets, enough on that but anyone who knows much about BMS will tell you that getting good tickets at Bristol is almost as good as winning at the Daytona 500. The seats we had were on the start/finish line and some 50 rows up, that gave a clear view of the entire track. If you've never been to Bristol and get the chance to go by the gods shining down on you then GO! During the years I went the seating capacity was close to 70,000, to see that many people packed into an area around a 1/2 mile track. It was like being at a coliseum in ancient Rome and the drivers were gladiators getting ready to have a chariot race. But at speeds reaching up to 120-130 mph and the cars are nose to tail for 500 laps.laps, it has also been likened to "flying fighter jets in a gymnasium". Be sure and take some ear plugs or get a good set of sound dampening heading phones. Cause the sound is unbelievably loud, so loud that the only time you talk to others or your partner is during a caution. Otherwise during green flag racing, you can scream or yell as loud as you can and no one can hear you.
At that time our tickets were $65.00 a piece which really isn't bad at all, I hear the same seats today are selling for $95.00 - $110.00 a piece, and they are worth every dollar spent.
Alan Kulwicki won the first race that I saw there, and he finished 13th in the points that year. In 1992 my favorite driverdriver, 12 time DWwinner at Bristol, Darrell Waltrip won that night and Alan Kulwicki won the championship that year. In 1993 driver Mark Martin took the pole and won the race which was a memory that I will never forget. I have some pictures of those races and others from different tracks I went to over the years. I will try to round them up and scan them to post here.
Where to stay:
There are several motels in and around Bristol , now getting a room in one of them is another story. Reservations are booked up years in advance. There are also a few campgrounds nearby that have hookups for motor homes, if you choose to go that route. Most people stay in nearby Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge,TN and others even get rooms in Knoxville,TN. The smartest thing to do would be to check on a place to stay before you even try to get tickets. Go here to see a list of places to stay. http://www.bristolmotorspeedway.com/fan_guide/lodging
Where to eat:
We took a small cooler for our drinks & sandwiches which was a lot cheaper than the food at the track. As with most races you go to the track side eats are rather expensive. Yeah I know call me cheap. :) If want to know more about lodging, food, and directions to the track then check this site out. http://www.bristolmotorspeedway.com/fan_guide/restaurants.Sidetrips:
There are many different things to do and see while in the area. Check it out for yourself here. http://www.bristolmotorspeedway.com/fan_guide/area_attractions.From caving, to the Abingdon Vineyard and Winery to the Birthplace of Country Music Alliance, also 9 different Golf course nearby there is plenty to see and do.
Track Facts:
Banking/Turns: 36Distance: 0.533 miles
Shape: Oval
Photos:
Past Winners:
1972 - Bobby Allison swiped both races that year
- Cale Yarborough swiped the spring race while
- Benny Parsons took the fall race
- Cale Yarborough swept both races that year
- Jeff Gordon took the spring race
- Rusty Wallace took the fall race
- Jeff Gordon spring race
- Dale Jarrett Fall race
- Jeff Gordon spring race
- Mark Martin fall race
- Rusty Wallace spring race
- Dale Earnhardt fall race
- Rusty Wallace swiped both races that year
- Elliott Sadler spring race
- Tony Stewart fall race
- Kurt Busch spring race
- Jeff Gordon fall race
- Kurt Busch swiped both races that year
- Kurt Busch spring race
- Dale Earnhardt Jr fall race
- Kevin Harvick spring race
- Matt Kenseth fall race
- Kurt Busch spring race
