BASEBALL FANS FILL BRISTOL SPEEDWAY, SELLING OVER 91,000 TICKETS
Kyles Bush, Johnny Bench, Chase Elliott and Chipper Jones were on hand to throw out the first pitch.
While NASCAR is racing in corn country this weekend at Iowa Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway is on deck to host a Field of Dreams-caliber event of its own.
In a matchup where baseball meets motorsports, the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds will clash inside the confines of the “Last Great Colosseum” this Saturday, Aug. 2, in the MLB Speedway Classic presented by BuildSubmarines.com, the first MLB game ever played in the state of Tennessee.
With the event, Bristol continues to expand its non-racing resume. In addition to hosting a National Football League exhibition between Philadelphia and Washington in 1961, the “World’s Fastest Half Mile” laid the gridiron for the University of Tennessee and Virginia Tech during the “Battle at Bristol” in 2016, which drew 156,990 spectators, an NCAA football record.
Bristol’s attendance muscle will again be flexed this weekend, with MLB announcing that more than 91,000 tickets were sold for the event, surpassing the previous record of 84,587 set on Sept. 12, 1954, when Cleveland Stadium hosted the New York Yankees.
While NASCAR drivers continue their regular season push at Iowa, they, too, recognize just how significant an event like this can be in getting more eyeballs on Bristol and NASCAR as a whole.
The rain delays that plagued the MLB Speedway Classic on Saturday night were discouraging to anyone who was there for the spectacle. Tim McGraw had finished his pregame concert. The F/A-18 Super Hornets had flown over during the national anthem.
Players from both teams had been driven around the track, and the starting lineups had been introduced, with each player running onto the field to fireworks. Chipper Jones and Johnny Bench, along with NASCAR drivers Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott, had even thrown out the ceremonial first pitch.
The Fan Zone reminded me of what MLB sets up for the All-Star Game. It was said that in order to access the Fan Zone, you had to have a ticket…but again, there were over 91,000 tickets sold. Exclusivity doesn’t exist. That meant that there was even a line just to take a picture of the “It’s Bristol Baby!” sign.
Eli White became the first player to homer not just once but twice at a NASCAR track and Hurston Waldrep earned his first MLB win pitching at the famed venue where Darrell Waltrip tasted so much success. With each homerun, the NASCAR Pace Car took a trip around the track.
Needless to say, the 2025 MLB Speedway Classic created some lifelong memories for the Braves, who used the contributions of White and Waldrep to claim a 4-2 win over the Reds on Sunday afternoon at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Photos courtesy of Bristol Motor Speedway.
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