It's August and we're Bristol baby - so we all know what that means. It's race month at Bristol Motor Speedway!
It was 50 years ago this summer when the one-half mile Bristol International Speedway was opened by Bristol businessmen Carl Moore, Larry Carrier, and R.G. Pope with a seating capacity of 18,000. The first NASCAR race was held on July 30, 1961 with the Volunteer 500 in August 1978 being the first night race.
Over the years the seating capacity grew and grew and grew again and is now pegged at 160,000, making it one of the five largest fixed-seating sporting venues in the world, the second largest behind Indy in the U.S.
It's no wonder that BMS is consistently recognized as the most popular track in NASCAR and has been name one of the 30 most important sporting venues in the world, thanks in large part to Bruton Smith and Speedway Motorsports Inc., that built it to the level of success that is has today.
If you're one of the 160,000 lucky fans to attend the Irwin Tools Sprint Cup Series night race next weekend - congratulations on your good fortune.
Our city will be ready to host your visit - thanks for choosing Bristol.
