In NASCAR, there are certain races that carry a bit more weight than others.
The Daytona 500. The Southern 500. The Coke 600.
All of these are dubbed as Crown Jewels by fans and members of the sport alike. However, there is much needed discussion to be had on the rest of that coronation set, and a key piece of that conversation is whether or not the Bristol Motor Speedway night race even belongs in it.
The term “Crown Jewels” truthfully comes from several different sources, but back in the mid-’80’s, then-Cup Series sponsor Winston began a sponsorship deal for whoever could win three out of four specific races in a season.
The prize? One million dollars (yes, you read that in the correct voice).
The Daytona 500, Winston 500 (Talladega Superspeedway), Coca-Cola 600 and the Southern 500 all got thrown into the mix and were referred to as the Grand Slam. From 1985-1997, only two drivers were able to complete the grand slam and win three out of the four – Bill Elliott in 1985 and Jeff Gordon in 1997.
Elliott’s nickname, Million Dollar Bill, stemmed from the win.
Thus, NASCAR’s crown jewels were born, excavated, discovered or whatever any fan wants to call it. That doesn’t mean that changes haven’t taken place, though. Many consider Talladega to be out of the crown jewel conversation now, and the Brickyard 400 has been viewed as a crown jewel by many, especially with the race making its return to the schedule this year.
That leaves the Bristol night race – one that has seen so much chaos that it’s almost unbelievable. But does chaos make a jewel? There lies the debate. Sure, Bristol has had its fun moments, but it’s also had some let downs.
Firstly, there’s the surface. The concrete that was redone in 2007 is just bad. There’s no way around it. And that’s not just some media member saying so – just ask Dale Earnhardt Jr., the most popular driver in NASCAR.
With that being said, the great moments at Bristol are aplenty.
From Junior’s own sweep of the 2004 weekend where Bristol’s long-time marketing phrase “It’s Bristol Baby!” originated and Dale Earnhardt Sr.‘s dust up with Rusty Wallace, to Tony Stewart‘s helmet toss and Terry Labonte‘s spin to the win, Bristol has provided fans with some of the sport’s wildest moments.
While those moments were great, what about in the past few seasons? In what has to be the opposite of recency bias, fans seem to forget just how bad some of the past few Bristol races have been, whether it was during the day or not. Just earlier this season, drivers couldn’t keep tires under their cars. As with quite literally anything that happens in the sport, some fans loved it while some detested it.
But that’s the beauty of it though, isn’t it?
Thinking about it, isn’t that why fans do love Bristol? Tempers flare, emotions are high and the stakes are higher than ever. Some playoff drivers are coming into the race knowing that if they don’t have the best run of their career, their shot at a championship is gone.
Bristol calls itself The Last Great Colosseum, and any fan that’s been to a race there will tell you that’s exactly what it feels like. The walls shake with the noise, the fans are as rowdy of a crowd as can be found throughout the sport and the environment somehow feels entirely unique.
There is no other environment on the NASCAR schedule quite like Bristol.
Whatever slogan it takes on and whatever foam parties get thrown, the track has its own personality. The pressure is always through the roof, and it doesn’t take a jeweler to know that pressure makes diamonds.
That sounds like a jewel to me.
Tanner Marlar is a staff writer for Sports Illustrated’s OnSI Network, a contributor for TopSpeed.com, an AP Wire reporter, an award-winning sports columnist and talk show host and master's student at Mississippi State University. Soon, Tanner will be pursuing a PhD. in Mass Media Studies. Tanner began working with Frontstretch as an Xfinity Series columnist in 2022.