Contributed/Bristol Motor Speedway

World-class racing, free concerts, fan zones and fun are coming to the Tri-Cities as the Bristol Motor Speedway prepares for its first NASCAR event of the year April 10-12. 

“Whether you’re a college student or whether you’re 80 years old, there is something for everybody at a NASCAR race,” said Drew Bedard, vice president of marketing at Bristol Motor Speedway. “It is fun, you can let your hair down and you can relax for a weekend.”

This weekend’s race is called the Food City 500, and it marks the 35th year of Food City’s sponsorship with the Bristol Motor Speedway. 

“Jerry Caldwell, our president and general manager, talks about it all the time, that they’re like family, and they really are…they’re a family company, and it feels like family when we’re working together,” Bedard said. “We all get along tremendously well, and it’s just a pleasure to work with them.”

The Food City 500 also kicks off Bristol Motor Speedway’s official 2026 season.

“A common misconception is that we only have two NASCAR weekends, an NHRA weekend and the Christmas lights, but really, we’re operating all the time. We have events here 300 days a year,” said Bedard. 

Out of the many other events held at the Bristol Motor Speedway throughout the year, some of the most popular are the local drag races. These are slightly delayed and will begin after the Food City 500 due to repaving of the dragway. 

“[The repaving] was something that the NHRA and the drag racers had asked for for a while, because we had a few bumps on the early parts of the track,” said Bedard. “But it’s being redone, and it’s going to be great.”

Despite the number of community events the Bristol Motor Speedway hosts, the upcoming race is attracting people from all over the world.

“We have people from all 50 states and 12 foreign countries coming this weekend,” said Bedard. “We just get excited every single time we have one of these events, because we’re welcoming people in. We want them to have a great experience so that they’ll come back and bring more friends the next time.” 

Bedard extended the welcome to the ETSU community specifically.

“We want to invite people to come try it out,” he said. “We think that you’ll have a blast, and you’ll want to come back again.” 

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