Used to be, all roads led to Rome. Now, fans from around the world are beating a path to “The Last Great Colosseum” at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Visitor stats for the Irwin Tools Night Race (ITNR), popular for its under-the-lights action, showed that in 2014 the track hosted guests from all 50 states and 25 foreign countries. With two months to go until the August 22, 2015 event, that’s a mark the Speedway expects to exceed.
Ticket sales for the upcoming event are brisk, showing that to date, fans from all 50 states and the District of Columbia will travel to Bristol, located on the border of northeast Tennessee and southwest Virginia. Making that journey along with them will be citizens from 20 foreign countries, among them Australia, Austria, Brazil, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland.
“Our volunteers and staff do their best to exude southern hospitality, making guests feel at home when they visit our racetrack,” said Jerry Caldwell, general manager of Bristol Motor Speedway. “Surrounded by the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, we’re in a great location for family vacations, group getaways and the best short-track racing entertainment the sport has to offer.”
That focus on customer service and the comfort of home has filtered out across the globe, generating loyalty among international guests. Of those with August 2015 ITNR tickets, 22% have been season ticket holders for at least 15 years, and 9.6% of those guests have visited for at least 18 years.
“Love the whole atmosphere of Bristol and the local people of the town,” said Paul and Tracey McMillan of Delhi, Ontario, Canada, who attended the April 19 spring race weekend. “Love Bristol Motor Speedway. Love the camping and the people we have become friends with over the years. There’s no other track like Bristol. We plan on going to Bristol for life!”
BMS’s international guests share a common affinity of beloved drivers with their United States counterparts. Most list Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR’s 12-time Most Popular Driver as voted on NASCAR.com, as their favorite. Close behind? Jeff Gordon.
“We love that fans around the world travel so far to experience racing at Bristol Motor Speedway,” said Caldwell. “This really is a venue like no other and we’re delighted to welcome all our guests.”
If each international ticket holder from last year journeyed from the center of their country to the Speedway, the distance would equal 123,653.61 miles. At Kyle Busch’s Sprint Cup Series record qualifying speed of 129.535 miles per hour, it would take 39 days and seven hours to drive that same distance, which represents 231,995.5 laps around the track.
In 2014, sales show that Bristol’s largest international fan base came from all regions of Canada, with Australia, England, Germany, New Zealand and Norway rounding out the top six. Other countries represented included China, Japan, South Africa, Norway, Scotland, Italy, Russia, Moldova, Argentina and Mexico. Some international consumers purchased tickets as late as the week of the race.
Closer to home, Ohio represents the largest population of attendees outside of the track’s home state. Ohioans drive six or more hours to reach Bristol Motor Speedway.
Tickets to the August 22 IRWIN Tools Night Race are available. Single-day tickets start at just $74, with weekend packages as low as $99.
Additionally, beginning July 1, IRWIN Tools Night Race account holders will be eligible to reserve tickets to the Battle at Bristol, college football’s biggest-ever game. Scheduled for September 10, 2016, the Battle pits border rivals the University of Tennessee and Virginia Tech against each other at Bristol Motor Speedway and is expected to set a new NCAA attendance record. The quantity of tickets each account holder can reserve is based on the customer’s Priority Points, and the only way to guarantee Battle at Bristol tickets is to become a BMS season ticket holder.
BMS PR
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