Bristol Pre Race Thread

MRM said:
Fox is the one that wanted a dirt race. They convinced Bristol to cover it with dirt. I'm sure they are footing a big part of the bill.

The thing is if Bristol goes away from doing a dirt race, their spring date will probably go to North Wilkesboro or eventually Nashville Fairgrounds. The last non-dirt, non-covid spring race had 30,000 people in the stands. I don't know if they'll get a good crowd on Sunday. The last time I check, there were a bunch of tickets remaining.
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30k only seems bad because of how many seats they put in the place. That's more than a lot of MLB teams average per game and almost twice as much as most NHL and NBA teams. At a location in the middle of nowhere with nowhere to stay I wouldn't stick my nose up at that figure no matter how many they used to pull in. The 500 is the only race pulling in ridiculous numbers.
 
I’m a little surprised at ticket prices. I get it’s the top form of stock car racing but they could come down a bit.
 
Jorge De Guzman said:
I'm not a professional driver of the big rigs but I drive a box truck 16 foot long and that hill is giving me hella anxiety. I cant imagine taking that with a rig full of very very expensive racing equipment.
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I have ridden our pit scooter and our golf cart down it and it is steep. It reminds me of the hill we have to go up and back down to get to and from the pit area at the drag strip in Denver on the NHRA tour.
 
Nitro Dude said:
I have ridden our pit scooter and our golf cart down it and it is steep. It reminds me of the hill we have to go up and back down to get to and from the pit area at the drag strip in Denver on the NHRA tour.
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I preferred the tunnel versus the steep climb...
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MRM said:
Fox is the one that wanted a dirt race. They convinced Bristol to cover it with dirt. I'm sure they are footing a big part of the bill.

The thing is if Bristol goes away from doing a dirt race, their spring date will probably go to North Wilkesboro or eventually Nashville Fairgrounds. The last non-dirt, non-covid spring race had 30,000 people in the stands. I don't know if they'll get a good crowd on Sunday. The last time I check, there were a bunch of tickets remaining.
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Brilliant and insightful post on all accounts. If Bristol is reduced to the fall night race, the attendance goes up, and the optics are better.
 
The tunnel is a nice gradual walk, but that walk back out up the track was interesting as far as the grade goes. Hauler drivers have my respect.
 
I like the Bristol dirt race. I wouldn’t be opposed to see it move around to Eldora and what not as long as it’s once a year, but last years Truck race put on a good show.
 
AdoubleU24 said:
30k only seems bad because of how many seats they put in the place. That's more than a lot of MLB teams average per game and almost twice as much as most NHL and NBA teams. At a location in the middle of nowhere with nowhere to stay I wouldn't stick my nose up at that figure no matter how many they used to pull in. The 500 is the only race pulling in ridiculous numbers.
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if you've ever been there, Bristol is gigantic. its like the biggest NFL Stadium you can think of but bigger than that was built around a track, I couldnt get over how many seats there were. They just seemed to go up and up, I think sitting at the highest point there would not be for me. As for if it stays dirt or not, I prefer they go back to the OG Food City 500 but I can appreciate them thinking outside of the box for this spring date. I dont like the dirt race but I watch and its cool to see the dirt fellas work their talents in a cup car on a cup track that is on dirt. I have to say if they do go back to the Food City 500 and no one shows up..... does that matter as much as before? I think TV ratings are most important when judging if these races are a success for some, but I cant care much about that or attendance. I’m of the mind Bristol should always have two races on the schedule. Period. End of story.
 
Jorge De Guzman said:
if you've ever been there, Bristol is gigantic. its like the biggest NFL Stadium you can think of but bigger than that was built around a track, I couldnt get over how many seats there were. They just seemed to go up and up, I think sitting at the highest point there would not be for me. As for if it stays dirt or not, I prefer they go back to the OG Food City 500 but I can appreciate them thinking outside of the box for this spring date. I dont like the dirt race but I watch and its cool to see the dirt fellas work their talents in a cup car on a cup track that is on dirt. I have to say if they do go back to the Food City 500 and no one shows up..... does that matter as much as before? I think TV ratings are most important when judging if these races are a success for some, but I cant care much about that or attendance. I’m of the mind Bristol should always have two races on the schedule. Period. End of story.
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i got to go with steve park and be in the pits for the nite race,it was crazy looking up. best time ever.
 
I hope one day the crowds will return and each of you is able to attend a Bristol race in a packed house of 160,000 of your closest friends. The sound, the colors, the smell of tire smoke and fuel, the flashbulbs popping, ... and then they start the race. If there is a god of racing, Bristol is the temple, with services twice a year.
 
Jorge De Guzman said:
if you've ever been there, Bristol is gigantic. its like the biggest NFL Stadium you can think of but bigger than that was built around a track, I couldnt get over how many seats there were. They just seemed to go up and up, I think sitting at the highest point there would not be for me. As for if it stays dirt or not, I prefer they go back to the OG Food City 500 but I can appreciate them thinking outside of the box for this spring date. I dont like the dirt race but I watch and its cool to see the dirt fellas work their talents in a cup car on a cup track that is on dirt. I have to say if they do go back to the Food City 500 and no one shows up..... does that matter as much as before? I think TV ratings are most important when judging if these races are a success for some, but I cant care much about that or attendance. I’m of the mind Bristol should always have two races on the schedule. Period. End of story.
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Yeah I've been, it's awesome.

I just think NASCAR is being unrealistic if they're expecting 80-100k fans every week. Those days are long gone and aren't ever returning. Very few sports have that draw consistently, in fact European soccer may be the only one that comes close.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
I hope one day the crowds will return and each of you is able to attend a Bristol race in a packed house of 160,000 of your closest friends. The sound, the colors, the smell of tire smoke and fuel, the flashbulbs popping, ... and then they start the race. If there is a god of racing, Bristol is the temple, with services twice a year.
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I think so too but Eldora is pretty impressive for dirt racing. Nice concessions, lots of trailers, good atmosphere, the track was usually prepped very well for NASCAR.
 
AdoubleU24 said:
Yeah I've been, it's awesome.

I just think NASCAR is being unrealistic if they're expecting 80-100k fans every week. Those days are long gone and aren't ever returning. Very few sports have that draw consistently, in fact European soccer may be the only one that comes close.
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sure my long winded post was agreeing with you and that may have gotten lost in all that. say 30,000 fans at Bristol might look bad to some because of all the seats but put that in perspective, thats more than your common NBA, NHL and MLB teams. If Bristol was right sized into how it looked say back in the late 80's to early 90's this talk about attendance and doing away with the spring race because no one shows up wouldnt even be a discussion.
 
Jorge De Guzman said:
30,000 fans at Bristol might look bad to some because of all the seats but put that in perspective, thats more than your common NBA, NHL and MLB teams.
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Okay, since you repeated it, I'll go there.

NFL facilities have 8 games a season. NBA and NHL have 41. MLB , 81. Each facility has other facilities hosting competing games on the same day. Each expects to draw attendees from a relatively small region. Excluding the NFL recently, they're accustomed to not being full every event.

Most NASCAR tracks have one or two races a year (excluding Daytona). There are no other major stock car races the same day, and often no other competing national 4-wheeled series. They're trying to draw fans from large swaths of the country, not just a couple of hours travel time.

I realize your talking about how it looks on TV but Bristol has twice the capacity of the largest US stick-and-ball venue. Removing seats from Bristol is a lot more complicated and expensive than other tracks. These aren't just grandstands on framework. The 'Coliseum' design has become an iconic part of the track's PR and brand value. 'Right-sizing' would require removing at least two thirds of the building.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
I hope one day the crowds will return and each of you is able to attend a Bristol race in a packed house of 160,000 of your closest friends. The sound, the colors, the smell of tire smoke and fuel, the flashbulbs popping, ... and then they start the race. If there is a god of racing, Bristol is the temple, with services twice a year.
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I thought you said the sound doesn't matter:p
Charlie Spencer said:
Removing seats from Bristol is a lot more complicated and expensive than other tracks. These aren't just grandstands on framework. The 'Coliseum' design has become an iconic part of the track's PR and brand value. 'Right-sizing' would require removing at least two thirds of the building.
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I agree. This gigantic stadium is unique in the world of racing, if they reduce capacity they're hopefully not going to take out entire sections of the grandstand, they might take out every other row of seats in a few sections or install wider seats.
 
I am excited for this weekend. I have grown to be okay with this race even though my preference would be asphalt. I have been studying, and I am beginning to understand what it means to be good on dirt.
 
Bring back the Battle at Bristol to recoup costs once in a while and maybe do a one time thing at Eldora or something. Sometimes less is more.
 
Statement from Rick Ware Racing

Cody Ware will step away from racing this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway to focus on a personal matter. Matt Crafton will drive the No. 51 Ford Mustang for Rick Ware Racing. Crafton has more than 500 overall-starts in his NASCAR career, winning back-to-back
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championships in 2013 and 2014.

The Ware family asks that their privacy be respected during this time.
 
Been raining here in Raleigh NC for last 3 days. Can't imagine that place won't be rough as hell after all that rain. Dirt tends to respond like you rolling out a carpet. Just can't get it rolled in.
 
KTMLew01 said:
Been raining here in Raleigh NC for last 3 days. Can't imagine that place won't be rough as hell after all that rain. Dirt tends to respond like you rolling out a carpet. Just can't get it rolled in.
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They say it's fine. It's clay. I posted a photo of it this morning in the post above.
 
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