CUP: Bristol Update On Schedule

Sprint Cup

CUP: Bristol Update On Schedule

The infield at Bristol Motor Speedway is undergoing a major renovation...

Mike Hembree | Posted June 30, 2010 Orlando, FL

Work continues on the infield at Bristol Motor Speedway. (Photo: Mike Hembree/SPEED.com)

The Bristol Motor Speedway infield is a Black Sea – of asphalt.

A week-old coat of asphalt covers the majority of the flat interior of the Bristol track, and summer afternoon heat radiates above it as construction teams continue work on a multi-million-dollar project that will change the landscape of one of NASCAR’s most popular speedways.

The infield renovation is scheduled to be completed in early August, easily in time for the Aug. 18-21 NASCAR race week.

The compact infield has undergone dramatic changes since the spring. The buildings – with one exception – in the center of the track were demolished, and the surface was dropped five feet, in large part to create better sightlines for fans sitting in the speedway’s lower-level seats. Transporters parked in the infield will be several feet lower, thus opening some view space above their rooflines.

A building inside the third turn formerly used by Goodyear tire personnel during race weekends is the only one still standing. It is being converted into new infield medical center space.

Goodyear’s new tire facility, located in the infield near the first and second turns, is virtually complete.

NASCAR Race Hub airs Monday-Thursday on SPEED. (Image: SPEED)

A new media center, replacing one located behind pit road on the frontstretch, is under construction inside turn four.

The huge scoring tower in the center of the infield remains, although it will have a somewhat different appearance because the infield surface has been lowered. The base of the tower will be surrounded by a small service building.

The track’s pedestrian-golf cart tunnel that goes under the third turn has been modified so that it empties in a different spot in the infield. A pedestrians-only tunnel, located under turn four, will be opened in August and will empty foot traffic near the new media center inside turn four.

“This is long overdue,” said Kevin Triplett, BMS vice president of public affairs. “Since SMI [Speedway Motorsports Inc.] bought the place in 1996, everything has been redone but the infield. And we’re a little ahead of schedule.

“This will give us a new look with the infield. There’s no way to create more space in there, but it gives us better utilization of what we have.”

The changes will create a somewhat improved parking arrangement for the dozens of team transporters that crowd the infield during NASCAR race weeks. The removal of some structures in the area also will give truck drivers more room to maneuver the huge rigs as they enter and leave the track.

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com and has been covering motorsports for 28 years. He has written several books on NASCAR, including "NASCAR: The Definitive History of America's Sport" and "Then Tony Said To Junior: The Best NASCAR Stories Ever Told". He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.

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Mike Hembree

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