Colossus formally takes center stage at Bristol – Nascar

BRISTOL, Tenn. — The unveiling of Colossus, the world’s largest outdoor, center-hung, four-sided video screen, is the latest addition in amenities race fans can enjoy when attending NASCAR-sanctioned events at Bristol Motor Speedway.

“To be able to unveil Colossus today is a neat experience and definitely one for the history books at Bristol Motor Speedway,” BMS General Manager Jerry Caldwell said Thursday during a private unveiling of the engineering marvel.

The entire piece weighs approximately 700 tons and is suspended by cables attached to towers located outside the track. The screens on each side measure 68 feet wide by 30 feet high. Construction, which began last fall, was completed earlier this month.

Unveiling Colossus at Bristol Motor Speedway. #gamechanger pic.twitter.com/488jeyJCBK

— Jeff Wohlschlaeger (@JeffWohlschlaeg) April 14, 2016

“What Bruton and Marcus (Smith) continue to do with this place and re-invest, I mean look at this, look at the sound system,” Caldwell said. “They didn’t have to do that. But they wanted to do that because it’s the right thing to do for the fans. They want it to be great.”

Officials said there are no concerns outside of those that existed for the previous scoring pylon that was anchored in the center of the .533-mile track’s infield.

“This thing is so over-engineered that … all those questions were asked when we were going through this process,” Caldwell said. “We’ve had engineers from all over the world study this and peer reviews upon peer reviews of that. So we feel good about everything that’s up there and having Colossus is going to be a great experience for all of us.”

Steve Smith, CEO of race sponsor Food City, said the new video screen “is just another of those pillars that Bristol Motor Speedway does for the race fans.”

BMS will host the Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race Saturday (first heat race at 12:30 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN) and the Food City 500 on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

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“What it does even more so than during the races is (enhance) our pre-race shows,” Caldwell said. “Our pre-race shows are amazing. There have been times when it’s been hard for the race fans to hear the pre-race show, to hear from the drivers and what they’re saying. And we’ve heard from the race fans; this sound system came from the race fans. They said they wanted new speakers. Of course Marcus and Bruton answered their call. We’ll see what happens with the races but I know it’s going to enhance the pre-race experience tremendously.”

The idea for Colossus came about as officials began preparations for hosting this year’s inaugural Battle at Bristol college football game between the University of Tennessee and Virginia Tech.

Other similar non-racing events are being considered; Caldwell wouldn’t confirm anything beyond this fall’s football game, scheduled for Sept. 10. “We’ve had some really good conversations,” he said.

“No question, Bristol is already on the map for hosting world-class NASCAR events, but this is for other sporting events and entertainment events. Look at this place; it really is a colosseum. What else can we do? Colossus is the start of that.”