Bristol Motor Speedway
Bristol, TN
Forty years ago Larry Carrier, Carl Moore and R.G. Pope gave birth to a dream on what was then a dairy farm in Eastern Tennessee. With an investment of $600,000, the partners purchased 100 acres and within a year construction was completed on what would soon become racing's fastest half-mile, Bristol Motor Speedway.
The partners probably couldn't even imagine at the time that the initial 18,000 seats would give way to 147,000 -- the largest sports arena in the state and the toughest ticket to acquire in NASCAR.
On July 30, 1961, NASCAR made its debut at Bristol International Speedway on the perfect half-mile oval with 22-degree banked turns. Fred Lorenzen won the pole for the inaugural Volunteer 500 with a speed of 79.225 mph., while Jack Smith was credited for winning the race, despite having been relieved by Johnny Allen after the first 290 laps.
The track's configuration and name may have changed over the years, but the action at Thunder Valley has remained the same. Forty-two cars started in the first event and only 19 remained at the end. To this day, Bristol remains a race of attrition in both the Winston Cup and Busch Series.
In 1969, Bristol was reshaped and remeasured to 0.533 mile. Six years later the track was sold to Lanny Hester and Gary Baker and in the spring of 1978 they renamed the venue Bristol International Raceway and showcased the action under the lights that August.
Bruton Smith's Speedway Motorsports Inc. purchased the track for $26 million in 1996 and renamed the track to Bristol Motor Speedway. The following year SMI tore down the existing drag strip that had been in existence since 1965 and invested $15 million to revamp the site. In addition to NHRA, Bristol also hosts the NASCAR Dirt Late Models and World of Outlaws.
