Things have always happened fast in NASCAR and news that Bristol Motor Speedway was going to do something after fan reaction and empty seats in the Last Great Colosseum still caught me off guard. I like Bristol and I liked the old style of Bump & Run but I also liked the much fewer Caution Flags letting the Drivers race so, I could argue either side of that. What it got me thinking was how important we Fans are to NASCAR and it's Tracks that our input quickly acted on.
For example I think the greatest changes we have seen were after the Crash that took the life of the late great Dale Earnhardt Sr. That struck a deep nerve with Fans that the sport we all love so very much was still capable of killing. What do you know very quickly NASCAR came up with the HAANS Device and Safer Barriers and modifications to the cars. Now we've seen Drivers walk away from terrible crashes that before would have killed or maimed them.
The Two Car Tandem at Daytona and Talladega was another thing Fans hated and became very vocal about and low and behold NASCAR started working on breaking them up. Fans didn't like how the cars could stay together so long making for such boring races and Big Daddy NASCAR took away Air and Water which did the trick. With smaller Radiators and the Air Intakes moved to the middle of the nose made the cars will overheat in just a few laps which for all intent and purposes did the trick and we saw much better racing already ay Daytona.
Let's not forget recently after the explosion from the Colombian Car Bomber plowing into a Track Jet Dryer we all learned TIDE can be used on Fuel Spills. And what change did we quickly get after this you ask? Track Jet Dryer Crews now get full Fire Suits and Helmets which honestly I thought they already had.
So it was no wonder after watching the Food City 500 and seeing so many empty seats that Bristol Motor Speedway would quickly react and they sure did. Within days of the race we heard from Mr Bruton Smith that came out and set up ways to gather Fan input about what Fans wanted him to do to fix things and bring them back. We Fans talked and he surely listen because he said "something will be done" and would let us know in the coming weeks what that would be to have it in place for the Irwin Tools Night Race. That's impressive.
But why would they do it to me is very clear "It's Personal" to Bristol Motor Speedway which is Track Operations but it's also Family. From the very first race I attended at BMS they from the Top down made me feel not just like a welcome fan but family. The Fans that come from all over the World make friends that become Life Long Friendships and extended Families. When I say "It's Personal" I don't just mean for the Race Fans but heck all the great folks that work at the Track. Take a minute and read what Director of Brand Management Drew Bedard has to say about it: http://www.bristolmotorspeedway.com/handler.cfm/article,blog/art_id,606145/cat_id,47046/
Let me wrap this up with a High Five and a thank you to Bristol Motor Speedway. I don't know exactly what they will do but I do know a few things and they are Bristol Cares, I Will be there to support them in August for the Irwins Tools Night Race and though Bristol is in another State and Seven Hours away from me "Bristol is MY Home Track!" See ya in August BMS!
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