NASCAR racing gives towns like Bristol, Tennessee, an economic boost
Bristol Motor Speedway is hosting a race part of the NASCAR Cup Series on Sunday
NASCAR fans love coming here: Bristol Motor Speedway GM
Bristol Motor Speedway General Manager Jerry Caldwell speaks with FOX Business' Max Gorden ahead of NASCAR's 64th Annual Food City 500.
The area around Bristol, Tennessee, gets an economic boost when NASCAR comes to town, FOX Business correspondent Max Gorden reported Friday.
The Bristol Motor Speedway, nicknamed "The World’s Fastest Half-Mile," is hosting the Food City 500 on Sunday. The race is part of the NASCAR Cup Series.
Gorden reported that some 150,000 people come to the Bristol Motor Speedway to watch the NASCAR racing.
After the running of the NASCAR Cup Series Food City 500 on March 17, 2024, at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, TN. (Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images / Getty Images)
While they’re in town, the NASCAR fans spend money on hotels, dining and racing merchandise.
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"Track officials estimate that each race weekend brings around $100 million in economic activity to the area," Gorden reported.
"A lot of sporting events, people will tailgate for three or four hours, and they’ll kind of come in for baseball and football and other wonderful sports," Bristol Motor Speedway General Manager Jerry Caldwell told the FOX Business correspondent. "But for NASCAR, they come in for a week at a time. They’re tailgating for three or four days. They’re visiting the communities around especially a track like Bristol, people love coming here to take in the entire area."
Bristol is located in northeastern Tennessee close to the state’s border with Virginia. More than 27,800 people called the city home as of July 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
In addition to the Food City 500, the weekend includes other racing events like the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Weather Guard Truck Race and the NASCAR Xfinity Series SciAlps 300.
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FS1 will broadcast the Food City 500. The race is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday.
The field takes the green flag during the running of the NASCAR Cup Series Food City 500 on March 17, 2024, at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, TN. (Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images / Getty Images)
"When this place is filled full of fun fans, they’re cheering you on, and we’re driving so hard side by side, sometimes bouncing off of each other, it gets a little rough here, getting in and out of the car, and you’re getting the fans just go crazy, it makes the hair stand up on your skin every time," NASCAR driver Ty Dillon told Gorden.
Bristol Motor Speedway is also slated to host NASCAR racing in mid-September, such as the NASCAR Xfinity Series Food City 300 and the NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race, according to its website.
Last year, Denny Hamlin won the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.