Ten years ago, I got up early one Saturday morning, hopped into a car with a friend, her family, and two of their family friends. We drove off toward Bristol Motor Speedway. I was only twelve-years-old at the time, and I barely knew anything about NASCAR. In fact, I had never even been to Bristol for a race until that day. When we arrived, my first thought was "It looks so much bigger on television". I looked at the thousands of people walking the speedway grounds, almost all of them decked out in some sort of driver's gear to proudly display who they cheered for on race day. I had no favorite driver at the time, and I could barely name any driver whose last name wasn't Johnson, Gordon, or Earnhardt.
I was in awe the whole time I was at the track that day, but I can't possibly tell you much about the race itself. Since I didn't know many drivers, I remember pulling for David Green during that race simply because I liked the paint scheme on his car. I honestly had no idea who he even was. My friend, her family, and I all shared laughs throughout the race. We all made jabs at each other for who we were pulling for. In the end, it was Kevin Harvick who got the win in the Chanellock 250 that Saturday. The photo on the right is my friend Jackie (left) and I at the Channellock 250 in March 2003.
Like I said, I don't remember much about the race. But what I do remember is the excitement that seemed to hang in the air. The thousands of fans, most strangers to each other, coming together to cheer on their drivers in a sport can turn fans into friends and those friends can sometimes become like family. I left Bristol that evening in 2003 knowing that I would go back there one day. There was no way that race would be my last race there.
It was August 2007 before I made it back to Bristol. I went to the Nationwide Series race that fall with my grandfather. We sat in turn 3, and watched an exciting battle between Kasey Kahne and Jason Leffler for the win. It was Kahne who got the win that night. That race holds a special place in my heart because it was the first race I ever went to with my grandfather.
In August 2009, I won tickets to all three races from a local radio station. I took my best friend to all three races. That Friday night for the Nationwide Series race, my best friend and I met up with my cousin, my aunt, and my grandparents to watch the race together. It was the first and only race that I got both of my grandparents to come to. It was truly a special night because my grandmother and I are David Ragan fans, and we got to see Ragan go to Victory Lane at the end of that race.
In March 2010, I saw Justin Allgaier get his first career win in the Nationwide Series, and the next day, five-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson got his first Bristol win. Then that August, Kyle Busch became the first driver to win the Truck Series race, the Nationwide Series race, and the Cup Series race all in the same weekend at Bristol.
Since 2009, I have not missed a single race at Bristol. I get to the track before spectator gates even open most of the time. I enjoy just walking around the track, seeing all the fans who have made the trip there. I have gotten to know some of the people who work at Bristol. They have always made me feel welcome there.
I could spend hours talking about the races I've attended and all the exciting action I've seen on the track. However, there is something more than racing that I want to talk about when it comes to Bristol. In August 2011, I was reunited with my friends Brad and Kathy. It had been eight years since I had seen them, and the last place I had even seen them was my first race at Bristol in 2003. In those eight years, I had definitely changed, but it was like it had only been a mere eight minutes since the last time I had seen Brad and Kathy. The moment we were reunited in the Bruton Smith Building is when I had a realization about why I always continue going to Bristol.
I don't go because the track is a mere hour away, and I can easily get there. I don't go only because I love the excitement level the half-mile speedway. I go because it has become the only place I see certain friends. I go because I love meeting people who are there for the first time. I have met so many great friends simply by being at Bristol or arranging a meetup with them when they are going to be there. I go to Bristol because I'm always like a kid on Christmas morning once I arrive there on race day.
The excitement I felt the day I first went to Bristol ten years ago has never dwindled. If anything, my excitement has only grown exponentially. The way I see it, Bristol is not simply "the World's Fastest Half-Mile". It is so much more than a race track. It is where I go to meet new friends and reunite with old friends, and where I go to share my passion for NASCAR with thousands of people two weekends a year. It is the place where my favorite driver Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. actually looks for me because he knows I'm always there. It is--and always will be--my favorite track to see a race. Bristol is where I have made memories that will last a lifetime with people who mean the most to me.
Bristol is... home.
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