Speedway in Lights - Bristol Motor Speedway - Bristol, TN
Posted by: 
vhasler
N 36° 30.785 W 082° 15.694
17S E 387036 N 4041599
More than quarter million people drive the 4.5 mile loop which features over two million lights across 200+ displays. And yes, you are getting to drive on the dragway and BMS tracks.
Waymark Code: WM7YPK
Location: Tennessee, United States
Date Posted: 12/24/2009
Views: 8
Proceeds from the lights show, ice rink, and tube slide go to support the charitable outreach of the Bristol Chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities. Over 12 years, more than $4.5 million has been distributed to children’s-based non-profit organizations in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia.
Coordinates are for the South Entrance where loop begins. Hours are 6-10PM nightly during the view period given below, including all holidays. Plan on 2-3 hours. Up to four lanes of traffic are woven through three lane in a holding area (if needed) to three ticket booths to one lane through the lights. (A Friday right after Thanksgiving my family waited three hours just getting to the lights, which take an hour themselves.)
Ticket prices are cars ($10 Sun-Thurs, $12 Fri-Sat), activity (12-15 person) vans ($15), and tour (school) buses ($65). Find a $2 discount coupon in many flyers around town for Sun-Thurs cars.
TVA provides electricity to a series of displays including Toyland, candles (family favorite), dragsters, racing cars, dinosaurs (not certain how relates, but there is also a flaming volcano), polar bears, skiers, monster trucks, underwater, etc. Some displays are just ads by the various sponsors.
The path winds around the access roads for the speedway complex to be on the dragstrip and then on the actual Bristol Motor Speedway 0.5 mile track. (Buses do make that sharp turn onto the banked track - without tipping over.) In the middle of the oval, a Christmas village offers (deep fried) snacks, carnival rides, and souvenirs. Funnel cake was $5 each with $1 more for chocolate sauce.
Have now been four times to see how the displays routes have been improved and rearranged over the years. Hopefully the kids can stay awake to enjoy the drive and show.
Holiday: Christmas
When is this viewable?: From: 11/12/2010 To: 01/02/2011
Public or Private?: Private
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