Can’t wait to see these NHRA racers turn left!

Well, the voting is over and Jack Beckman is the fans’ choice to start from the Pole Position in Saturday night’s NHRA Circle Track Challenge at Bristol Motor Speedway. This special race is part of the Saturday Spectacular, which also features the Thompson Metal 150 UARA-STARS Series late model event, a fireworks show and a monster truck exhibition by War Wizard.

Special thanks to Kyle Long (Digital-Fridge) and Jose Castillo (Think Jose) who shot this promo video, which will air on Motel 6 Vision Friday and Saturday during the O’Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway.

Horsepower Heaven… Baby!

 

OK… or Okay… or O.K.  However you say it… bottom line is that I am freakin’ stoked. If you want the truth of the matter, I’ll level with ya. I’m a horsepower junkie. If it has a motor, and they race it… I’m in. Call me a fan. Better yet, call me a fanatic.

With that being said, I (not that I hold any weight) hereby declare Bristol [May 16-18] the home of Horsepower Heaven! The NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series is in town for the O’Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway (can we say 330 mph?).

And if that isn’t enough, there’s an incredible evening of “racin’ the way it ought’a be” on tap for Saturday night (May 17) at Bristol Motor Speedway – known to my fellow hard-chargin’ junkies as “The World’s Fastest Half-Mile.” It’s the return of the Saturday Spectacular!

Heck-freakin-yeah… We’re racin’ on the quarter-mile and on the legendary concrete oval the same weekend!

And therein lies the perfect day of racin’! 

On Saturday, May 17… you can catch tee-total, balls-to-the-wall Top Fuel Dragsters, Funny Cars and Pro Stock racers at Thunder Valley! Then when the smoke disappears, walk over to Bristol Motor Speedway for five, yep, I said five… that’s 5… races on “The World’s Fastest Half-Mile!”

And… oh yeah (in my Hulk Hogan voice), here’s the beauty of it… Some of NHRA’s biggest stars will see if they can turn left.  Yep, they’re racin’ on an oval! It’s the NHRA Circle Track Challenge. Go Gary Scelzi go!

Throw in the 150-lap UARA-STARS Series Thompson Metal 150, a fireworks show and a Monster Truck exhibition by War Wizard and I’m in heaven… HORSEPOWER HEAVEN!

So to all my fellow motor heads… get on out here! Bristol is the place to be.

 

A word from Jeff Byrd – thanks fans

Hello everyone! I just wanted to take the time to say thanks to all of our outstanding Bristol fans. We are incredibly busy around the Speedway and Dragway this spring with a variety of events. Outside of a little bad weather in March, we had a terrific Food City 500 race weekend. 

Since that time we’ve had a lot of fun with our Frank Kimmel Street Stock race on the oval, along with an assortment of events over on the quarter-mile at Bristol Dragway. And things are just beginning to heat up!

The NHRA rolls into Bristol Dragway, May 16-18 for the O’Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, one of my favorite events of the year. And for the first time ever, we’re going to host a Speedway event the same weekend.

Our Saturday Spectacular returns on May 17, as the UARA-STARS Late Model Series visit Bristol Motor Speedway for the Thompson Metal 150. Also that night, we’ll see if some of NHRA’s biggest stars can turn left, when they race around BMS in the NHRA Circle Track Challenge. Plus we’ll have several other races, fireworks and we’ll even see some Monster Truck action.

Anyway, back to saying thanks.  Last week, NASCAR.com ran a poll which asked fans to choose their favorite short track on the Sprint Cup Series tour. The “World’s Fastest Half-Mile” picked up 30,320 out of the 45,091 votes or 67%. Richmond International Raceway, where NASCAR’s top tour raced last weekend was second with 8,898 votes (20%) and Martinsville Speedway was third with 5,873 (13%).

Thanks to all of you who took the time to vote. I just want you to know that we truly appreciate all of our Bristol fans. We work every event, every day really; to find ways to not only provide you with what we call the Bristol Experience, but we try to find ways to make it better. The fact that many of you choose us as your favorite is humbling, but it also puts us on notice.  I’ve challenged my staff and myself to continue to do all we can to take it to the next level.

Again, thanks to all of you for your wonderful support of Bristol Motor Speedway. We hope to see you soon.

- Jeff