Gluck: Bristol night race tops NASCAR fan bucket list – USA TODAY
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USA TODAY Sports’ Jeff Gluck gives his picks for the Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
USA TODAY Sports
BRISTOL, Tenn. — If you’re a race fan, there’s no shortage of options for places to watch a NASCAR race. With 23 different racetracks in 20 states and a total of 38 events — including exhibition races — it can be tough to pick the best race to attend.
To simplify your life, we’ve created a NASCAR race bucket list. These are the top five races you need to put on your schedule if you’ve never been:
5) Richmond International Raceway, September
Though the racing at Richmond hasn’t been up to short-track standards at times over the last decade, there’s a lot to like about the event which serves as the Sprint Cup Series regular season finale.
It can vary greatly by year, but the Chase cutoff race often produces drama when it comes to deciding which drivers make the 16-driver playoff and which ones are left out. That means fans can double their chances of seeing a good race; even if the battle for the lead isn’t compelling, there’s still a points situation in play.
As an added bonus, Richmond is building a new tradition — a “post-race party” where all ticketholders can come down to the track for the Chase kickoff ceremonies.
4) Martinsville Speedway, October
Martinsville always delivers — at least it seems that way — and attending a race there is the best bet on the entire NASCAR calendar. Every seat has a good view, and the action is consistently entertaining.
But for the sake of picking just a single event and not a track overall, let’s go with Martinsville’s Chase race. There’s so much more on the line for that race than in the spring, which means the intensity is kicked up a few more notches. That can generate drama and tempers and retaliation — all of which is bad for the drivers but good for the fans.
PHOTOS: 2015 Sprint Cup venues and schedule
3) Homestead-Miami Speedway, November
This race could move up the list in the coming years if the new Chase format continues to succeed. The atmosphere was certainly electrifying last year, and fans who showed up anticipating the four-driver, one-race playoff for the championship couldn’t have been disappointed by how it unfolded.
Homestead is also traditionally the best 1.5-mile track of the season, regardless of the championship scenario. As the Chase format matures, this race could challenge the top two events on the list as the one every fan has to see.
2) Daytona 500, February
How can the sport’s Super Bowl not be tops on this list? For many people, it probably is. After all, every NASCAR fan should attend the Daytona 500 at least once.
Restrictor-plate races are thrilling, plus Daytona has celebrities and pageantry and prestige and the promise of a fresh start that comes with a new season. There really aren’t any negatives about attending the 500, aside from the obvious dangers that come with the Big One.
But the 500 barely gets edged by Bristol on our bucket list for fans.
1) Bristol Motor Speedway night race, August.
Yes, that’s right: Saturday night’s race at Bristol is the greatest must-see spectacle in NASCAR. It’s not just the racing — which admittedly isn’t as good as it used to be before the track was reconfigured — but the atmosphere as a whole.
Just walking into Bristol itself for the first time is an incredible, jaw-dropping experience. It’s like going into the biggest football stadium you’ve ever seen, except way bigger. It’s hard for your brain to imagine the size and scale of it until you’ve seen it in person.
The night race is the superior fan experience of Bristol’s two events. The pre-race ceremonies take place as the sun is starting to set, with the crowd buzzing as it fills the stands. Drivers choose their own walk-up music and have a chance to introduce themselves to the fans — a relatively-new tradition which has produced some memorable moments.
It feels like a big-time sports moment that transcends racing.
“It’s a really unique environment unlike any other one we have,” Matt Kenseth said Friday. “The first time we won a night race, I remember how fired up my guys were. They were almost more fired up than any other win we ever had in a way, which sort of surprised me.
“Pre-race and seeing the crowd and some of the stuff that happens here is certainly one of the more fun environments to be around.”
Follow Gluck on Twitter @jeff_gluck
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