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Post by Clipper on Sept 17, 2022 22:42:52 GMT -5
It was encouraging to see that there was over 100,000 fans in the stands for the Bass Pro Fall Night Race for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic. Bristol's merchants, hotels, and restaurants depend on the spring and fall races to bring people and tourist dollars to town and the last couple of years have been a bit slim. Do any of you watch NASCAR? I used to be a real fan but now I only watch the Bristol Race and Daytona 500.
I have been to Pocono, Dover, and New Hampshire Speedway in Loudon NH, but in the 20 yrs we have lived here in Bristol I have never bought tickets or attended a race at Bristol Motor Speedway. I am too old now to even think of walking 1/2 mile or more from a parking lot to the gate, too old to deal with the crowds or spend hours sitting on a grandstand seat. The speedway is on the other side of town and on race weekend locals try to get anything they need from that side of town ahead of time so they can avoid the traffic and chaos. When Kathy's nephew comes down for the race it takes them 1/2 to 3/4 of an hour to get from their seats back to their car. I don't need that aggravation.
Some people will be leaving town tonight but most of the campers will start trickling out of the campgrounds tomorrow and some won't leave until Monday or so. There are plenty of things to see and do around the area so some people take a few days extra to relax, camp, and enjoy the sites and attractions.
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Post by Clipper on Sept 18, 2022 10:15:14 GMT -5
I went to Food City for milk this morning and there were several motorhomes in line to get gas and diesel fuel. The hotels, campgrounds, and restaurants have had their shot at the wallets of race fans and now it is the gas station's turn to benefit. Most motorhomes have tanks that hold at least 50 gallons or more and the pickups pulling trailers probably have at least 20 gallon tanks. Smart people probably filled on their arrival so they could hit the road and go. The traffic on the four lane in front of the store was heavy with campers of all types. By tonight things will be pretty much back to normal. Then comes the clean up. Vendor tents come down, trash is collected, and a few die-hard souvenir vendors will stay another day to try and dump their Bristol merchandise. Last year I bought 3 T-shirts to wear in the shop and around the yard, 3 for $10. Before and during the race the shirts sell for anywhere from 10 to 15 bucks. This week they will probably announce the date for the dirt race. It will take place sometime in October or early November. They will start trucking in the 2300 truck loads of dirt to cover the track. They store that 30,000 tons of dirt for re-use from one year to the next. When that dirt race weekend is over the process reverses and they haul all that dirt back out so they can prepare for the transition from racing to "Speedway in Lights," a four mile drive-thru light display with a Christmas village set up in the infield of the track with carnival rides, and food. www.bristolmotorspeedway.com/media/news/pinnacle-speedway-lights-returns-for-milestone-25th-season-bms.htmlPeople come from all over the Southeast to see the lights and there is also an ice skating rink under a tent that is open for much of the winter. People also come from all around to ice skate, an activity not available in many places here in the South. |
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Post by BHU on Sept 19, 2022 14:56:48 GMT -5
Not a big fan of crowds either. When we went to Saratoga last summer the place was packed. We had tickets to sit in the grandstand which was packed. We hung out in front of the track because of Covid concerns etc. The parking lot was probably a 10 minute walk & we left after the 8 th race to avoid the departing mob. And don't you know it, some clown blocked my truck in so we couldn't leave. We waited about 10 minutes when another couple came along & when they drove out I was able to squeeze by the jerk who blocked me in. The guy was lucky because in my younger days I would have let the air out of one of his tires without hesitating. The thought crossed my mind again but I let him off easy & didn't do it. Ahhh, the good old days!
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Post by Clipper on Sept 19, 2022 17:47:33 GMT -5
Not a big fan of crowds either. When we went to Saratoga last summer the place was packed. We had tickets to sit in the grandstand which was packed. We hung out in front of the track because of Covid concerns etc. The parking lot was probably a 10 minute walk & we left after the 8 th race to avoid the departing mob. And don't you know it, some clown blocked my truck in so we couldn't leave. We waited about 10 minutes when another couple came along & when they drove out I was able to squeeze by the jerk who blocked me in. The guy was lucky because in my younger days I would have let the air out of one of his tires without hesitating. The thought crossed my mind again but I let him off easy & didn't do it. Ahhh, the good old days! LOL! If ya let the air out of his tire you would have to wait while he changed it if not for the couple leaving and giving you room to squeeze out, and if you were going to do that you need to let the air out at least TWO tires in hopes that he only has ONE spare, lol. It was good to see all the traffic and the shots of the stands during the race. That grandstand holds 168,000. It use to be sold out before covid. 100,000+ is a good comeback. It used to be one of the hottest tickets in NASCAR. |
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Post by BHU on Sept 20, 2022 14:42:42 GMT -5
Not a big fan of crowds either. When we went to Saratoga last summer the place was packed. We had tickets to sit in the grandstand which was packed. We hung out in front of the track because of Covid concerns etc. The parking lot was probably a 10 minute walk & we left after the 8 th race to avoid the departing mob. And don't you know it, some clown blocked my truck in so we couldn't leave. We waited about 10 minutes when another couple came along & when they drove out I was able to squeeze by the jerk who blocked me in. The guy was lucky because in my younger days I would have let the air out of one of his tires without hesitating. The thought crossed my mind again but I let him off easy & didn't do it. Ahhh, the good old days! LOL! If ya let the air out of his tire you would have to wait while he changed it if not for the couple leaving and giving you room to squeeze out, and if you were going to do that you need to let the air out at least TWO tires in hopes that he only has ONE spare, lol. It was good to see all the traffic and the shots of the stands during the race. That grandstand holds 168,000. It use to be sold out before covid. 100,000+ is a good comeback. It used to be one of the hottest tickets in NASCAR. It would have served him right to wait & watch. He would have had fun changing tires on his F-150. Lol |
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