| TOP BRISTOL AREA ATTRACTIONS |
| Bristol Motor Speedway |
| Bristol Motor Speedway, originally known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway is a NASCAR short track located in Bristol, Tennessee. It was constructed in 1960, and held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. One of the most popular tracks in NASCAR, this all-concrete construction is similar to Dover, except far shorter. Although the track still advertises the banking as 36 degrees, which would make it the most steeply banked track used by NASCAR, it is now accepted that the actual banking ranges from 24 to 30 degrees after the track's most recent resurfacing in 2007 (even before the resurfacing, there was some dispute as to the accuracy of the measurement). However, the track is so short that speeds here are far lower than is typical on most NASCAR oval tracks, but very fast compared to other short tracks due to the high banking, making for a considerable amount of "swapping paint". Also, the initial starting grid of 43 vehicles extends almost halfway around the track, meaning that the slower-qualifying cars begin the race almost half a lap down. Another anomaly is that the short overall length means that there are two sets of pits. |
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