Delta Roadtrip: Bristol Motor Speedway



The pastoral scene at the edge of our camp site in Bristol, Tennesse.

Well I guess it doesn't "technically" count as a Delta roadtrip, since my journey didn't originate in the Delta, but for old times' sake, that's what I am calling it.

This past weekend, I traveled with three classmates through the Blue Ridge Mountains to Bristol, Tennessee, home of the Bristol Motor Speedway and the Sharpie 500. We arrived at the camp site on Friday afternoon and immediately started the party. The family we were camping with had already set up their Beer Pong table and we jumped right in. Re-rack!



The "good folks up the hill" that hosted karaoke on Friday night.

By nightfall, the good folks up the hill from us had cranked up their karaoke machine and we indulged the crowd with some selections from George Strait, the Doobie Brothers, and Alabama. It was either our outstanding performances or the constant flow of Miller High Life through the audience, but one way or the other, the crowd was pleased.

Saturday we woke up bright and early and hung around the camp site. By 3 p.m., we were back in the game, getting geared up for the night race. To get to the race, we hiked about a mile to the bus stop, where the blue-fingernailed purple school bus driver took us to the base of Bristol Motor Speedway.



Paratroopers bring the American flag into the Bristol Motor Speedway.

Once inside the stadium, I joined 150,000 of my closest friends in the singing of the National Anthem as paratroopers landed inside the track with the American flag in tow. Fireworks were set off, patriotic music was played, and we heard those legendary four words, "Gentlemen, start your engines!" The race was off...



2008 Sharpie 500 winner Carl Edwards (#99) behind the white pace car.

We had great seats - third row from the track and about twenty feet from the flag stand. The only problem with our position was that the cars were LOUD and the fumes from the cars made us all a little woozy. Kyle Busch held the #1 spot for the vast majority of the race, but Carl Edwards took the top spot with a risky move toward the end of the race that put him over the finish line first.



Sporting my headphones and a 5 o'clock shadow from the third row.

This was Carl Edwards' second win in a row at Bristol and he performed his trademark "victory flip" from his driver side window. As my Uncle Mike - a life long NASCAR fan - always says, "If you go to a NASCAR race, you will be hooked for life." While I don't consider myself a tried and true NASCAR fan yet, it was definitely a fun weekend!

Comments

Sean B. Halliday said…
Nice 5 o'clock shadow.

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Please feel free to use it to find all that the Tri has to offer.

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2:19 PM
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