No. Not that one. To me it’s the prospect of the “spring” race in the foothills of the Tennessee Blue Ridge range. Granted, most of the memorable Bristol races have been in August, you can now walk up and buy a ticket on race day, and you don’t have to wreck someone to pass, it’s still “Thunder Valley”.
On the plus side of living in the world center of stock car racing, this race is a big deal. On the negative side, NC is also a hotbed of college basketball. Ergo, if you’re not a fan of such shenanigans, the local TV stations muck with your shows.
On the plusser side, I no longer live in the “land of the wind-chill factor” (John Prine) where March Madness has a 3rd definition. Around this time, they dye the Chicago River green. How about painting the Bristol track?
For a long time I’ve been trying to say, but not as eloquently and succinctly, what Carl Edwards and Jim Utter said this week. You can read it here.
And in the Ripley’s (and Nascar‘s) category: There will be no changes to the All-Star Race format. (As of now. Stay tuned.).
3.17.74: At Bristol, despite the energy crisis and snow flurries, 18,000 saw Cale Yarborough win by a lap over Bobby Isaac. Chevy filled the top 10 for the first time in Nascar history. Cale averaged 64.533 mph.
Ref: racing-reference.info, Greg Fielden’s “Forty Years of Stock Car Racing”, Richard Sowers’ “The Complete Statistical History of Stock-Car Racing”.
