Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS) has long been synonymous with racing, most notably NASCAR. The high-banked oval has played host to regular NASCAR races, imported more than 100 trucks that contained soil to build a temporary dirt track several times, and has also hosted several college football games.
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Soon, the .533-mile short track will be transformed again into one of its most unique athletic experiments, as on August 2, the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds will take part in BMS’s first-ever Major League Baseball game.
The game will be part of the regular season and count in the MLB standings for both teams.
NASCAR stars and big baseball fans Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin were both asked Saturday about BMS playing host to its first Major League Baseball game – and potentially the first of many times if it’s successful, which it should be.
“You have this incredible facility with a ridiculous amount of seats (roughly 160,000),” Logano said. “I think everybody wants to compete in the Last Great Coliseum. Everybody wants to do it, and it presents an opportunity for something like that.
“I couldn’t understand how big of a task it is to create a baseball field in the middle of a racetrack. But if anyone is gonna do it, Bristol will do it. They put dirt on a half-mile, and I thought that was impossible, so nothing will surprise me at this point.”
Along with Joey Logano, Hamlin was equally complimentary of BMS’s task at hand.
Hamlin enjoys numerous types of sporting activities away from the racetrack, including playing basketball, golf, and softball. And he loves to watch MLB games on TV, so it’s a no-brainer that he supports the Speedway Classic.
“I think it is great for the facility, and they’ve hosted a few sports as well,” Hamlin said. “This is a big area for sports. When you think how close Knoxville is and some other college football teams around this area, so to bring a major league baseball game is big.
“I don’t know that there is a lot of teams that are condensed into this area, so bringing in baseball – to me, it’s very similar to what we did in Chicago, right? You are bringing the game to the people.”
Meanwhile, NASCAR’s 2025 Food City 500 goes live from the venue this Sunday at 3:00 pm ET, with drivers aiming to visit victory lane at one of the sport’s most revered tracks.
