Going to Bristol Motor Speedway

For the first time, my friends and I made the pilgrimage to Bristol, TN for the running of the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.  To say the least, we were very impressed!

We decided to drive down from northern NJ, and stay for several days, and make a real vacation out of it.   We stayed in Blowing Rock, NC.  Blowing Rock is about 60 miles from the track, and within an hour of several race shops and local racetracks such as Hickory Motor Speedway and Wilkesboro Drag way.  When I first made the plans, I figured it would be a 45 minute drive to Bristol.  Due to the mountainous, single lane pass we had to take, to get to the track, the drive was more like an hour and ten minutes.  We got a favorable rate of 99 per night for a suite that slept 6.  I had reservations at a hotel near the track, but they were for 200 per night, per room.  Needless to say, we opted to stay further from the track.

We arrived at the track early Friday, and quickly learned why this track is a fan favorite.  There was not a bad seat anywhere.  For practice and qualifying, we sat in turn 1 about 12 rows up.  The smells and sounds of the track engulfed us.  We could actually see into the cars, and see drivers shifting gears.

For the Cheeze-It 250 (Busch Race), we sat 30 rows above the start / finish line.  These were 55.00 seats.  Again, great views of all the front stretch pit action, and all the action on the race track.

On Sunday, we sat in the Junior Johnson section on the back stretch.  Although the views were good, the seats were awful.  They consisted of concrete steps.  There was no place to put your cooler or bag, and getting up to visit concessions or restrooms was a major chore.  Additionally, with no seat backs, these seats became quite uncomfortable after a period of time.

The one thing this track lacked was restrooms.  Lines for the restrooms reached back to the stands, and wrapped around and through lines for other concessions.  I had to actually leave the speedway, and get a pass out ticket. I found a port-o-john with a smaller line, but still managed to miss over 30 laps of racing.

Aside from restrooms, we found the track to be very fan friendly.  Parking was plentiful, but not necessarily nearby.  We had to park about 1 mile from the track and walk.  Also, the track itself seems to sit on a hill.  To enter the track, you have to walk up a fairly steep grade.   There were shuttles going up and down, but on race day, it seemed nearly impossible to get a ride.

Traffic was brutal, as we expected.  It took us over an hour to just get out of our parking lot, and another hour to make it to the interstate.   This gave us the opportunity to see the speedway at night, and lit up.  Once we made it to the interstate, we flew. 

Overall, Bristol is perhaps the best venue I have attended for a race.  Its reputation for fender banging, furious racing remains intact.  If you are a race fan, make some time for Bristol…you wont be disappointed!

A.D.

New Jersey