I have to get one thing out of the way first. I was a season ticket holder at Bristol Motor Speedway before it was changed to what it became in 2007. I am a TAD bit biased when it comes to this historical coliseum of Motor Sports.
What I witnessed back in March of this year, on television thank God, was what I would call an abortion of racing. This is by and large what has become of this track since 2007. I was hoping for something to change and to my surprise Bruton Smith (Owner of BMS and many other tracks including Charlotte Motor Speedway) decided to do something about it.
What came next can be seen by some as a decision made in haste or a decision based in reality. The racing at this once hallowed place had become just the same as so many other tracks in NASCAR. That is to say the "cookie-cutter" racing of tracks that usually keep themselves to the 1.5 mile ovals.
The track had become a bore to many and and attendance figure that was widely seen by what could only be described as an embarrassment for all of Motor Sports. The attendance was announced as 102,000 at a 158,000 capacity track (anyone who saw it on TV or in person can attest to the fact that actual attendance was maybe half this amount). Now while this race in spring has ALWAYS been known to be sparsely attended compared to its bigger brother (the Fall Night Race) it had never gotten to these lows. Some may say that the repave of the track in 2007 didn't affect the attendance (as the two races had announced sellouts of 160,000 through 2009) it is without question the reason for the drop off of excitement surrounding this track.
Once a massive backlog of wait list members to even have the opportunity to purchase season tickets, the speedway now has to beg people to buy them.
After the horrendously attended Spring race completed, Bruton Smith announced that changes were afoot. The decision was made weeks later to grind down the top groove of the track to remove one of three grooves in the racing surface which made for three wide racing in some instances. For a track which was know for its one lane stature prior to the 2007 redo this was a welcome sign from many fans who don't believe in seeing the same "type" of racing every week.
This change prompted a test by three prominent members of the Sprint Cup Series after the grind down was complete. Many reviews stated the top groove was now unusable. Last week also provided further statements of "dread" from team owners such as Jack Roush who went so far as to say this week in Bristol would be a "wreck fest".
This brings me to tonight's races at BMS. I did not have the fortune to be in attendance as I am leaving for the track in the morning. It began with reports this afternoon from attending media members of no ability to race in more than one groove. Upon watching tonight's Whelan Modified Race it was evident that this afternoon the teams may have laid down enough rubber to make the top groove usable.
The Whelan Modified race was a fabulous mix of side-by-side racing mixed with numerous errors causing wrecks. This was FAR from what would be seen in the final race of the night.
The Camping World Trucks took to the track for the finale and to say that what was prayed to be a fix turned into a nightmare for those looking for something other than the norm. It was obvious that the second lane wore in and that a third was getting possible in some locations. This made for an ability to go side-by-side but it was also evident that much like the Spring the bottom groove was slower than the top, preferred line.
It was basically a race of follow the leader with the occasional exciting moment on the rare number of restarts. The race ended with its fair share of wrecks, as seen all season. The racing didn't bother to start until there was about 50 laps remaining in the race. It was evident there was one car that stood out from the rest. Timothy Peters led all 204 laps (race went extras due to a G-W-C finish) and fully deserved the win. The fact that there was limited "racing" showed once again tot he fans of the "Old" Bristol that the changes did nothing.
Of course the worst thing in this entire race came during the last caution during the yellow flag laps prior to the G-W-C. In Car radio was broadcast on the radio from the Red Horse team telling Timothy Peters that his teammate and currently running 2nd Parker Kligerman would "help him to the win". Now if there is anything I hate more than "ruining race tracks" it is the garbage that is "Team Orders".
Hopefully this is not a predecessor to what we are in store for the rest of the weekend. It may take, in this race fans opinion, the removal of the progressive banking to get this track to be something special.
Suffice to say....A Track that was once hailed by drivers and fans alike as "Its Bristol baby...of course this will be exciting" seems to have lost its luster. Perhaps we will get it back....Perhaps Not.
