Whether you know it or not, you’ve been inundated with the history of Bristol Motor Speedway for as long as you’ve sought out NASCAR content on social media.
Regardless of how close it is to one of Bristol’s two NASCAR Cup Series weekends, you have inevitably seen the clip of Tony Stewart rearing back and launching his helmet at Matt Kenseth in the 2012 night race. You’ve seen both parts of the Dale Earnhardt–Terry Labonte Bristol feud when Labonte won while wrecking in 1995 and Earnhardt triumphed after spinning Labonte in 1999.
Then there’s Jeff Gordon perfectly executing a bump-and-run on Rusty Wallace in both 1997 and 2002. Matt DiBenedetto‘s heartbreaking interview after he lost the 2019 night race in the closing laps. Denny Hamlin taunting fans by telling them he just beat their favorite driver in the 2023 night race. The list goes on.
The tight confines of Bristol — a high-banked, high-speed, half-mile oval that is generally among the favorite venues of fans — lend themselves to all-time classics that often include more than a few tempers flaring.
Bristol is a near-perfect hybrid of short-track racing. Its high banks equal high speeds that force drivers to hunt for the best line on a lap-by-lap basis, and the close quarters mean drivers aren’t afraid to make contact. As Gordon proved in 2002, moving someone out of the way at Bristol isn’t just a viable option when you need to make a pass — it’s the encouraged option.
As opposed to short-track colleague Martinsville Speedway, the high speeds present at Bristol force drivers’ reaction times to be quicker. Even in relatively strung-out races at BMS, there is rarely a dull moment. When leaders start to get into lapped traffic, the complexion of the race changes completely. At a track where things happen fast, qualifying becomes the most important session of the weekend. Five-hundred laps of racing could be doomed by one poor circuit in qualifying.
Things happen fast at Bristol. When Labonte was spun by Earnhardt in 1999, Labonte had just completed an incredible charge through the field after he was spun from the lead by Darrell Waltrip, who was trying to get his lap back. In less than 10 laps, Labonte had gone from spinning to the lead with fresh tires, only to be spun again by Earnhardt.
Jimmie Johnson‘s 2002 dispute with Robby Gordon came after Gordon hit him on a restart following another feud under the previous yellow flag. Chase Elliott‘s flat tire in the 2021 night race was the product of quick contact with Kevin Harvick while racing for the lead. A slight bit of contact killed any chance Elliott had of winning the race in a split second and led to a post-race confrontation on pit road.
One of the reasons Bristol is a challenging track for young drivers — good luck to Jesse Love, who is making his Cup debut at Bristol on Sunday — is due to the high rate of speed at which things happen and how quickly temper can get the best of you. Racing at Bristol is like flying a fighter jet in a gymnasium, and the quickness with which you have to clear your mind and make decisions in the cockpit can be overwhelming.
Bristol puts drivers to the test for 500 agonizing laps, and it’s a race weekend that’s bound to have some extracurricular activities take place on pit road or in the garage should the drivers start losing their cool.
Just like the souls who once battled in the great Colosseum of Rome, the Last Great Colosseum provides drivers with both the thrill of a lifetime and enough stress to last a hundred.
A member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA), Samuel also covers NASCAR for Yardbarker, Field Level Media, and Heavy Sports. He will attend the University of Arkansas in the fall of 2025.