Bristol Motor Speedway News
Bristol Motor Speedway Races |
Winner |
| Race #5, 07 |
|
Kyle Busch |
| Race #24, 06 |
Sharpie 500 |
Matt Kenseth |
| Race #5, 06 |
|
Kurt Busch |
| Race #24, 05 |
|
Matt Kenseth |
| Race #5, 05 |
|
Kevin Harvick |
March 8, 2006:
Bristol postpones repaving till '07: Bristol Motor Speedway will require the undivided attention of its paving engineer and contractors when it installs a new concrete racing surface on the World's Fastest Half Mile, and that's why the project has been put off until 2007. The project was very close to being scheduled for this summer. Wayne Estes, BMS vice president of communications and events, said Tuesday that Speedway Motorsports Inc. CEO Bruton Smith left it up to track President Jeff Byrd whether or not to proceed with the resurfacing in 2006 or wait until 2007. Speedway Motorsports also owns Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C., and Las Vegas Motor Speedway, both of which will receive a new surface in 2006. Ultimately it was decided that spreading the attention of Speedway Motorsports' preferred engineer, construction company and developers three ways might not produce the optimum results. (Kingsport Times-News)
Aug 30, 2005
TNT Bristol Ratings up: Bristol ratings rise 15% as TNT sets to roll out exclusive unreleased Rolling Stones single in movie theatre ads nationwide through National CineMedia For the fourth time in as many races this season, Turner Network Television's (TNT) NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series ratings rose, with the Sharpie 500 Bristol night race yielding a 15-percent increase from the previous year. The race, which delivered a 3.9 US rating (4.7 national cable rating), up from a 3.4 in '04 (4.2 cable), also set a new household delivery mark for Bristol for TNT, gaining over half a million homes over last year's 3.72 million to the new high of 4.25 million homes in '05. TNT's three previous NEXTEL Cup Series races in New Hampshire (7/17 - 4.95 million homes), Pocono (7/24 - 5.14 million homes) and Michigan (8/21 - 4.89 million homes) also saw marked increases and delivered record-setting viewership. (Turner Sports PR)
Aug 25, 2005
Vols and Tech to play at Bristol? Maybe $20 million would make the University of Tennessee change its mind about turning down a chance to play Virginia Tech at Bristol Motor Speedway. Bruton Smith, chairman and CEO of Speedway Motorsports, which owns the half-mile track with steep, stadium-style seating, says he will offer $20 million to both schools to play on turf he will install on the infield. The idea of the game at the track, which is about 120 miles from both campuses, has been kicked around for many years because of the allure of drawing 160,000 or more fans that the track can hold. But Tennessee athletic director Doug Dickey said no. Now Mike Hamilton, who succeeded Dickey in 2003, hasn't said never. "Twenty million dollars is a bunch of cash," said Hamilton, who plans to attend this weekend's NASCAR races at Bristol. "If he's talking about $20 million, obviously, I'm listening." Smith has said Virginia Tech officials support the idea, but they did not have an immediate comment on Thursday. The idea seemed to dissipate when new buildings were added in turns three and four, but Smith said he'd just tear them down. "We've level the whole place. We'll put in the Astroturf, and we'll do it all," he said. It is unclear when the game could be played. (WVEC)
July 12, 2005
SI names Bristol one of Summers top events: The Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway is "horsepower heaven" and one of the summer’s 25 essential sporting events, according to Sports Illustrated magazine. The magazine, which claims a weekly circulation of more than 3 million readers, included the track’s August Nextel Cup race among 25 events or locations that sports fans should experience this summer. The article appears in the magazine’s July 11 issue. BMS is the only motorsports venue on a list that also includes horse racing at Saratoga, N.Y., the U.S. rowing championships in Indianapolis, training camp for the NFL’s Green Bay Packers, New York and Los Angeles playground basketball featuring NBA professionals and a New England running event that attracts 10,000 participants and 60,000 spectators. "To have the summer’s most roaring time, head to a little Appalachian valley off Highway 11 in northeastern Tennessee," magazine staff writer Lars Anderson wrote. "There, rising out of a grass field, is NASCAR’s most spectacular short track, Bristol Motor Speedway, site of the Sharpie 500 on Aug. 27." (TriCities)
June 8 2005
Bristol Founder Dies: Larry Carrier, who helped start the race track now known as Bristol Motor Speedway, died this morning. He was 82 when he died after a long illness at Bristol nursing home. As developer, carries worked with Carl Moore and R.G. Pope in building the half-mile oval track, which opened in 1961. Carrier bough the track out of bankruptcy in 1986, gave E-S-P-N execlusive rights to broadcast Bristol's night race for years, and built the seating capacity to 71-thousand. He sold the track to Bruton Smith in 1996 for 26 (M) million dollars. (WVLT)
Bristol Council Approves Camping Tax: The City Council gave preliminary approval Tuesday to a tax on race fans who camp near Bristol Motor Speedway but not before hearing some sharp criticism from a campground owner and a speedway official. The council voted 3-0, with two members abstaining, to approve a 5 percent tax on campsites at more than 70 temporary campgrounds surrounding the track. The ordinance must be approved on second reading later this month before becoming final. The tax would generate about $280,000 annually that would help defray the cost of providing police and other services during the track’s twice-yearly NASCAR races. (TriCities)
May 6, 2005
Bristol Wants new Tax on Campers at BMS: Bristol Tennessee leaders want to extend the city’s hotel-motel tax to cover the private campgrounds that fill with race fans twice a year. The extension of the hotel-motel tax would levy a 5 percent charge on each motor home, tent or camper set up on more than 70 private campgrounds. On a $300 campground bill, the tax would be a mere $15 – an amount not likely to keep anyone away from the world’s fastest half-mile. Campground owners who make that argument are being disingenuous. Campground operators would collect the tax for the city, but they would get a small fee for their efforts – two percent of the total amount. That covers whatever small costs are involved. (TriCities)
April 9, 2005
NASCAR Outscores NBA Home teams: How hot is NASCAR Cup racing this spring? Hot enough that Sunday's Bristol 500 on Fox drew higher TV ratings than ABC's coverage of the NBA - in four cities that had home teams playing that day: Boston, Dallas, Philadelphia and Minneapolis. (Winston Salem Journal)
April 8, 2005
Final Bristol Numbers Best Ever: Bristol Motor Speedway says Fox's broadcast of last Sunday's Food City 500 earned a 6.3 final Nielsen Media Research rating as it drew a track record viewership of more than 9.75 million people. The rating is 5.0% higher than the 6.0 the race drew for Fox last year and is also 5.0% higher than the 6.0 earned by the 2004 Samsung/RadioShack 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, which aired the same weekend last year. The track says 6.9 million households viewed the race, a 7% increase from the 2004 spring race. (NASCAR Scene)
April 5, 2005
Ratings up at Bristol: Fox's broadcast of Sunday's Food City 500 from Bristol Motor Speedway drew a 5.6 overnight rating from Nielsen Media Research and a 13 share from the nation's largest markets. The rating represents a 7.9% increase from the overnight rating for the 2004 spring Bristol race, which was contested on the last weekend of March. The numbers match the overnight figures from the spring Texas Motor Speedway race of 2004, when it was run on the first weekend of April, although those Nielsen figures were reported to be incomplete because one market was not included. (SportsBusiness Daily)
April 2, 2005
NASCAR Greats Honored: Legends Plaza, the latest addition to the Bristol Motor Speedway complex, pays homage to some of racing’s biggest names. The permanent display, in front of the Bruton Smith office building, features large brass plaques mounted on pre-cast concrete bases. The display honors former Bristol winners like the late Dale Earnhardt and Alan Kulwicki as well as 12-time winner Darrell Waltrip, Richard Petty, the Allison family, Junior Johnson, Cale Yarborough and David Pearson.(Bristol Herald Courier)
March 31, 2005
No Smoking at Bristol: Bristol Motor Speedway, the state's largest sports facility (160,000 seats), has announced starting with this weekend's races it will be smoke-free. Smoking will be banned from all indoor portions of the track, including the private luxury suites that surround the giant facility. Smokers will be required to go outside the track or on the open-air concourse level.(Tennessean)
March 27, 2005
Bristol Dates Not Going Anywhere: While exponential growth has led NASCAR far from its roots, Bristol Motor Speedway remains a solid part of the Nextel Cup schedule, the track’s president said. With 450,000 people, the Tri-Cities ranks among the smaller markets in which NASCAR’s top division competes. But the Bristol track annually sells out all 160,000 tickets to both of its Nextel Cup races months in advance. And late last year, nearly 100 percent of the track’s season ticket-holders renewed their seats for both races. Those fans come here each year from all 50 states and about a dozen countries. In a series of national polls, Bristol’s August night race ranked ahead of the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis as the overwhelming fan favorite. (TriCities)
March 5, 2005
Bristol Mayor Wants NASCAR Hall of Fame: Each year about this time, city leaders head to Nashville to deliver their wish lists to state lawmakers. Better roads and a more equitable way to divvy up state money for schools are key talking points this year, and perennial favorites. The push to open a privately-funded pharmacy school at East Tennessee State University also makes the list. But the projects that top Bristol Tennessee Mayor Jim Messimer’s unofficial list are most interesting – namely, a desire to see the NASCAR Hall of Fame built in Bristol and to develop a regional civic center near Bristol Motor Speedway. Both are long shots, sure, but intriguing ideas, nonetheless. "I DON’T know if we’re late in the ball game or if we just felt like we didn’t have a chance to get (the Hall of Fame) here," Messimer said of the racing hall of fame, which already is the subject of fierce competition among seven cities. "But think what it would do for this region if, somewhere near BMS, you had the NASCAR Hall of Fame and a 15,000-seat arena." (TriCities.com)
Feb. 25, 2005
Politician to Pay Back Money: A Republican state senator whose campaign spending has been under a microscope since he broke GOP ranks has written a personal check to cover the cost of NASCAR season tickets. The check for $790 is reimbursement to his campaign account for two season tickets to Bristol Motor Speedway given to Denise Davenport, a former girlfriend, state Sen. Micheal Williams said. Williams, a lawmaker from Maynardville since 1991, said he does not believe he did anything wrong by purchasing racing tickets for constituents, including Davenport. ''I didn't use the tickets for personal gain,'' Williams said. ''But to remove any question, I personally paid it back.'' The affidavit claimed that Williams' campaign account paid for: Bristol tickets that he later scalped and kept the profits; NASCAR-related die-cast cars and framed photos that he kept for personal use; and trips to Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet in Newton, N.C., for routine maintenance on his vehicles. (Tennessean)
January 28, 2005:
SAFER Barriers going up at Bristol: Construction on the SAFER Barrier System is scheduled to begin on the walls of Bristol Motor Speedway on Tuesday. Supplies have already been delivered to the infield, according to BMS spokesman Wayne Estes. Bristol Motor Speedway is the last circular track on the NASCAR circuit to install the barrier system. The installation was delayed at Bristol while engineers determined how to install the walls over the track’s gates. The road courses at Watkins Glen and Infineon Raceway will not install the barriers. NASCAR mandated that all tracks other than road courses have the barriers installed by this January. Dover International Speedway installed SAFER barriers its inside walls last year and will complete construction this summer. (Bristol Herald Courier)
January 22, 2005:
Bristol hires Triplet: Bristol Motor Speedway has announced the hiring of former NASCAR official Kevin Triplett as vice president of public affairs. Triplett was NASCAR's managing director of business operations before making an unsuccessful run the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia last year. (Scene Plus)
November 17, 2004
Bristol's 2005 Schedule not effected by new rule: Because more than 50,000 fans attend Charter Communications Pole Day at Bristol Motor Speedway each spring, BMS and NASCAR officials today announced that NASCAR's new qualifying procedure will not change the 2005 qualifying schedules for its NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series events. NASCAR on Monday announced changes in qualifying procedures at most tracks on the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series schedule, eliminating the so-called "happy hour" practice after qualifying, but Bristol's popular Charter Communications Pole Day remains on Friday, April 1, before Saturday's Sharpie Professional 250 Busch Series race and Sunday's April 3 Food City 500."We praise NASCAR for its continuing efforts to reduce costs for teams, and eliminating costly qualifying set-ups will do that," said Jeff Byrd, BMS president and general manager. "We also applaud NASCAR for working with us as we recognize the fans and keep popular events like Charter Communications Pole Day on the spring schedule. The adjustment to the August schedule also creates greater value for Food City 250 ticket holders by moving Busch Series qualifying to the same day as the race and opening up Thursday for fan events like Food City Family Race Night."(BMS PR)
