SORSN.com Special Coverage
Sharpie 500
Bristol Motor Speedway
Michael Rose, Special Correspondent and VP of Brand Development and Marketing
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In our ongoing search to provide the absolute best coverage of all things sporting to the fine folks South of the River and to Roane County in general, my and JR Rose’s assignment this weekend was to dedicate most of the day Saturday and part of the early morning hours of Sunday by covering the fall night Winston Cup race (sorry, this race fan will never refer to it as Nextel, Sprint or otherwise Cup, ever, ever, ever ) at Bristol Motor Speedway. In most years this is the toughest ticket in NASCAR, with 160,000 fans packing the Tennessee/Virginia state line to see a little bull in the ring after dark racing action on a .5 mile oval. Bristol rarely disappoints.
The afternoon started with the scoot up I 40 to 81. Departure time from West Knoxville was around 1 pm, which is about perfect timing to grab a bite to eat and still have plenty time to take in the prerace festivities (outside the track and inside). If you have ever been to a NASCAR race the prerace and outside activities are usually as entertaining as the race itself. Give yourself plenty of time to soak in the fun before heading into the track. If you have never been to Bristol it is a sight to see. The track is largely surrounded on all four sides by RV/campgrounds, which sets up for some interesting and entertaining scenery. Some say NASCAR is the last great American sport (in spite of Toyotas involvement) and I would have to agree. NASCAR also sets up haulers, booths, demos, etc on one corner of the facility (outside of approximately turn one). Check it out, it’s a great time. The prerace highlights include the following:
1. Souvenir village—Listen up folks, just outside the track at Bristol is some of the best “non official” T-shirt and souvenir shopping known to man. Think the Sweetwater flea market guy in the back with the Jimmy Buffett T-shirts before they sold out. Officially licensed, 30 dollar NASCAR sanctioned t shirts this ain’t. 2 for $20 shirts, old Terry Labonte Kellogg’s hats, Davey Allison photos, you name it, you can find it at this souvenir villager outside Bristol. Two big hits of the night include the following spotted bootlegged T shirts:
–An AMP shirt design (Dale Earnhardt Junior sponsor if you didn’t know). However the AMP was notated as “Another Missed Pitstop” which is quite amusing if you have followed little E’s pit problems this year.
–A T shirt that simply said “I smoked meth with Jeremy”
2. People watching-NASCAR fans are like none other on earth, and in particular Bristol NASCAR fans. The pregame campground and demo areas are some of the best people watching ever. You will see things that you probably (and most of the time hopefully) will never see elsewhere (on second hand maybe the Tennessee Valley Fair might run a close second). See photo of ‘Super Fan’.
3. Giveaways-The NASCAR village outside the track is chocked full of photo ops, celebrity watching and giveaways. Where else can you pick up trial packets of the following ( I kid you not):
a. A small jar of Dukes Mayonnaise
b. Skoal
c. Amp-Sugar Free (what’s the point?)
d. The new retractable tip Sharpie
e. Deodorant (comes in handy later)
f. Dental Floss (oddest one of the night, seriously dental floss at a NASCAR race??)
g. Martha White cornbread packets
h. Home Depot fake hardhats
i. Goodys headache tablets (priceless)
j. Tums (also comes in handy later)
k. Tons of bumper stickers
Also the brother and I scored the following without really trying that hard
–Photos with Richard Petty, Joey Lagono and Kyle Busch (see photos)
–Autographed photo and bass fishing conversation with Janet Parker, BASSMASTER fisherwoman.
OK enough of that, now onto the race. Only two more races remain until the race for the Cup begins and Mark Martin, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth and Juan Pablo Montoya (among a handful of others) are on the in/out line for the 10 race season ending race for the chase. Very important race tonight.
The weather is perfect, mid 80s low humidity, perfect night for a race. Crowd is a little thin with many tickets on the street out front for half face value. Driver introductions are announced with each driver announcing himself over the PA then loading into the back of a pickup with the other driver that he qualified next to in the truck with him. Interesting though, Brian Vickers and Kyle Busch almost got into a fight last weekend in the Michigan race and qualified next to each other, so they end up in the back of the same truck. The fans wanted to see them duke it out Yarborough/Allison style, but the ESPN reporter stood between them the whole way around the track. The drivers pick their own music to self introduce. Some good ones include Michael Waltrip coming into Toby Keiths “I ain’t as good as I once was”.
First fifty laps, Greg Biffle is in control and checks out on the field. Bristol reworked the track surface and along with the car of tomorrow, has really changed the racing here. The track really doesn’t have one groove anymore (which generated most of the wrecks) and the cars can run an inside and an outside line, much like the larger tracks. Good two wide racing, not as much bent sheet metal. The outside line looks a little faster coming off the banking (which used to be no mans land). Tony Stewart is having a miserable night and has been in pit lane many times.
Mark Martin controls the middle section of the race. Long green flag runs, track is cooling off and the low line is working. Martins car sticks to the bottom and Martin is patient on passes, waiting on the other driver to bobble. The crowd wants a Martin win tonight.
Jimmy Johnson takes control late and really has a strong car that looks like the winner. With around 20 laps to go disaster strikes the Lowes team as the jack man drops the car without the left rear tire being completely on. Johnson has to pit a second time, giving up valuable track position this late in the race. Johnson’s crew chief goes Mike Hayes ape nuts ballistic on his pit team. Also light rain is falling and some cars stay out (Michael Waltrip) betting on rain washing the rest of the race away. This will cause problems later.
Restart with about 20 to go and Waltrip sinks like a rock, causing a backup in the pack, which causes a wreck. Waltrip wrecks again with 10 to go, setting up a Kyle Busch, Mark Martin shootout for the win. Waltrip sucks and needs to retire. Jimmy Johnson is coming hard but too much traffic in front of him.
One to go and Martin gets to the inside, could have wrecked Busch for the win Dale Earnhardt Senior style but races him clean. Busch is your winner. Good finish.
Final thoughts and hints if you are going to Bristol
–Park a long way away from the track and walk. Bristol traffic is legendary, but thanks to a tip from a SORSN.com loyal reader, Jimmy Sparkman, parking far away from the track and hitting the exit when the checkered flag drops will save you hours of sitting still in traffic
–NASCAR needs a villain. Yes there is Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart (who is becoming a fan favorite) and the loudest boos were for the race winner Kyle Busch, but NASCAR misses the love him or hate him of Dale Earnhardt Senior.
–Get a scanner and bring earplugs. It’s loud, really loud, 2 days deaf in one ear loud. The scanner is pretty cool which lets you hear the conversations between drivers and crew chiefs
–Double file restarts are good, but difficult to get the drivers to shake out the starting order in one caution lap at Bristol.
–It’s a show and a spectacle. Definitely worth the trip, although I think NASCAR has to lower ticket prices shortly to keep its fan base. The racing at Bristol is different now than it used to be and not as much bumping and banging, but that may change as the track surface ages and a groove develops.
–2 AM return time to Knoxville is about as good as it gets. 