Bristol Motor Speedway, originally known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway is a NASCAR short track located in Bristol, Tennessee. It was constructed in 1960, and held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Despite its small size, Bristol is among the most popular tracks in NASCAR due to its distinct features that include extraordinarily steep banking, an all concrete surface, two pit roads and amphitheater-like seating.

The track seats 160,000 fans! Is so short that speeds here are far lower than is typical on most NASCAR oval tracks, but very fast compared to other short tracks due to the high banking, making for a considerable amount of "swapping paint". Also, the initial starting grid of 43 vehicles extends almost halfway around the track, meaning that the slower-qualifying cars begin the race almost half a lap down.

The congestion inherent in this facility and the power of the cars has been likened to "flying fighter jets in a gymnasium" (the terms "washing machine" and "toilet" have also been used). The track is one that tends to be either loved or hated by fans and drivers alike—purists who grew up driving or attending races at older short tracks located at fairgrounds and similar places tend to love Bristol while those raised on superspeedway racing tend to chafe at the lower speeds. Source

Bristol has always been one of my favorite tracks to watch on tv, so when I got my tickets I knew it was going to be a great time. Having never been to a short track, I was really looking forward to seeing this place in person for the first time. We got a pair of tickets online for the Sunday March 22 Sprint Cup race. Decided we were driving to Tennessee from Indiana and also made the decision to camp. Now that the main factors when going to a race were decided, it was time to pack and plan our trip.

It took us about 7.5 hours from Indiana once we hit the road. We left around 6 on the Friday before the race. Not knowing if everything booked up around the track we played it safe and stayed in a hotel late Friday night somewhere around 4 hours outside of Bristol ... Read More

Bristol Motor Speedway
P.O. Box 3966 (37625) - mailing address
151 Speedway Blvd. (37620) - shipping address
Bristol, TN
Phone: 423-989-6933
Official Site: Here

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Permanent Seating: 160,000	Shape: Oval
Opened: 1961	Banking: 26-30° Turns
Distance: .533 Miles	Banking: 6-10° Straights
Frontstretch: 3,330 Feet	Construction Cost: $600,000