Bristol Motor Speedway prepares for race weekend

Lea Johnson
·2 min read

BRISTOL, Tenn. (WJHL) – Race fans are gearing up for a weekend of NASCAR at the Food City 500, and to prepare for the event, Bristol Motor Speedway officials are bringing some new features to the grounds.

“The fact that we’re also following on Saint Patty’s Day, we wanted to be able to celebrate and offer some fun drinks that are in conjunction with that,” said Oberdan Congello, Director of Operations for Levy Restaurants. “One will feature Sugarlands Distillery’s leprechaun lemonade and secondly, we will have what’s called the pot of gold.”

Congello said that those who are not a fan of cocktails can enjoy some “green” beer to celebrate the holiday.

“We will have green beer directly through Michael Waltrip Brewery in this blonde ale,” said Congello. “In addition to that, we have a cold cup which turns green when the beer is poured into it.”

This year will be the first year that fans can attend a spring race on concrete since 2019, the past three years the race has been held on a dirt track.

“Well, I think no matter the surface at Bristol Motor Speedway, whether it be dirt or concrete, the racing is fantastic,” said Congello. “The Bristol Motor Speedway is an iconic facility, people have this on their bucket list to visit.”

Jerry Caldwell, general manager for Bristol Motor Speedway, said the fans will see some new features this year.

“The first thing that’s going to hit the race fans when they get here and walk into the facility is ‘wow’ how clean it is, no more dirt,” said Caldwell. “Then they’re going to see red and white walls where we’ve had black walls for a long time, but we’re really going back to the way the place looked in 1992.”

There will be a lot for fans to enjoy at the speedway including live music, food and merchandise.

“We’ll have lots of drivers making appearances, answering questions, signing autographs,” said Caldwell. “We’ll also have a throwback to the speed stage of many years ago with Kenny Wallace and John Roberts.”

Caldwell told News Channel 11 that this year, they decided to consolidate the fan zones into one location.

Events for the weekend will kick off on Saturday. The gates to the fan zone will open at noon.

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