Beech Tree News Network

Constructed in 1960, the short-track in Bristol, Tennessee held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961.  Bristol is among the most popular tracks on the NASCAR schedule because of its distinct features, which include extraordinarily steep banking, an all-concrete surface, two pit roads and stadium-like seating. 

Bristol Motor Speedway has been home to many memorable moments in NASCAR.

  July 30, 1961: Jack Smith won the first NASCAR Cup Series(then NASCAR Grand National) race at Bristol Motor Speedway(then Bristol International Speedway), though Johnny Allen was in the driver’s seat when the car passed the start-finish line.  Smith drove the first 290 laps then had to have Allen take over as his relief driver. 

April 1, 1979: There was no fooling when late NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt earned his first premier series win at Bristol Motor Speedway at 27 years old. 

April 8, 1990: It came down to the final 10 laps of the Valleydale Meats 500 as NASCAR veterans the late Davey Allison, Mark Martin, Sterling Marlin and Ricky Rudd ran 1-2-3-4 in a straight line, separated by just inches.  Rudd got too aggressive heading into turn 1, which sent Marlin into the outside wall.  Allison and Martin then charged to the start-finish line as Martin went low and careened back up the track, colliding with Allison just as the two hit the line.  NASCAR declared Allison the winner after reviewing photo and video evidence. 

August 29, 1992: Darrell Waltrip won for the 12th and final time in NASCAR Cup series competition at Bristol Motor Speedway.  Waltrip’s 12 wins at the .533 mile track are the most among all competitors in the top series. 

April 13, 1997: Rusty Wallace led 240 laps, hopeful to close in on another win at the .533-miler.  That was until Jeff Gordon closed in on his fellow /cup series champion.  Gordon made several attempts to pass Wallace and eventually did so by bumping him on the final lap, sending th #2 Ford into traffic.  Wallace later called the incident a “love tap”.

August 28, 1999: Dale Earnhardt was in the lead on old tires and Terry Labonte was running 5th with a fresh set when Labonte charged his #5 to the lead, getting low past “The Intimidator” as the white flag waved.  Earnhardt got bumper to bumper with Labonte, spinning him into the field-collecting several others in the wreck-and the #3 found victory lane.  Earnhardt is remembered for uttering some of the most famous words spoken in NASCAR: “I didn’t mean to turn him around.  I just meant to rattle his cage”.

March 26, 2006: short tracks tend to spark short tempers.  The 2006 Food City 500 was no different.  Battling for position, Jeff Gordon nudged Matt Kenseth out of the way late to better his chances of securing the win.  Kenseth returned the favor, ultimately spinning Gordon out.  The four time champion tracked Kenseth down on pit road after the checkered flag and delivered a hard two-handed shove.

March 21, 2010: On the path to his fifth NASCAR Cup championship, Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson earned his 50th career premier win at Bristol Motor Speedway, celebrating the landmark victory with his #48 team.

August 21, 210: Kyle Busch busted out the broom in victory lane, becoming the first driver in NASCAR history to win all 3 National Series races the same weekend.  This event produced both history and harsh words, as Brad Keselowski grabbed the microphone during driver introductions and yelled “Kyle Busch is an (expletive)” to the delight of the crowd.  Busch then went out and won the race, earning the first triple header sweep.

August 25, 2012: Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth battled for the lead, racing wheel-to-wheel and eventually getting sideways and sliding into the wall.  But that wasn’t where the drama ended.  Stewart took his #14 down pit road and waited for Kenseth to drive past so he could launch his helmet toward the #17, hitting Kenseth’s Ford on the nose.  Stewart later said, “I’m going to run over him every chance I get for the rest of the year”.

March 17, 2013: planting seeds for what would later turn into a larger confrontation, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano got into it after Hamlin made contact with the #22 Ford’s bumper, sending Logano spinning.  Hamlin later said “I meant to run into him.  Didn’t mean to spin him out”.  After the race, Logano greeted Hamlin by sticking his head in the #11 Toyota and lunging at Hamlin before crew members pulled him away.  The dust didn’t settle between the two former teammates, as one week later, the two drivers were involved in a final-lap wreck at Auto Club Speedway, resulting in Hamlin injuring his back. 

August 19, 2017: Kyle Busch completed the season sweep at Bristol for the second time, holding off Erik Jones to win the NASCAR Cup Series race.  Busch is the only driver to have accomplished the weekend sweep. 

August 17, 2019: Denny Hamlin chased down Matt DiBenedetto with 12 laps to go to win the Bristol Night Race.  To date, it’s the closest DiBendedetto has come to victory lane. 

July 15, 2020: Chase Elliot won the All-Star race at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2020-the first time the track hosted the All-Star event.  The cars for this race featured underglow lighting and the numbers pushed back a bit on the side panel.

March 29, 2021: Bristol Motor Speedway transformed into a dirt track for its spring race weekend with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and NASCAR Cup Series slipping and sliding around the ½ mile track.  The Cup race marked the first dit race for the series since 1970.  Joey Logano took the checkered flag in his #22 Team Penske Ford.

September 18, 2021: battling for the lead with 35 laps to go, Chase Elliot and Kevin Harvick made contact that cut Elliot’s left-front tire and took him out of contention.  Ellot later complicated Harvick’s efforts and helped teammate Kyle Larson score the win, leading to a memorable and fiery pit-road confrontation between the two series champions.  (www.nascar.com)

What in the world will this weekend’s slate of Bristol dirt races bring? There’s absolutely no telling.  Best to watch and see for yourself.