Since 1999 my family has had an allocation for a pair of race tickets for the August NASCAR night races at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee, USA. The tickets are for the Friday night Nationwide series race and for the Saturday night Nextel / Sprint Cup Series race.
Once again due to alternative holiday plans next year, both my father and I have decided to skip another year of attending the races in 2012. However we also don't want to give up our annual allocation for the tickets as they are very hard to come by and we probably wouldn't get them again if we gave up the allocation this year.
In order to keep the allocation on the tickets for future years we need to renew the allocation on 17th November, so only a few days off.
So I have decided to post on the forums to see if there is anybody who would like to purchase the tickets from us and attend the best NASCAR race on the circuit in August. If anyone is interested, we can renew and keep the allocation for future years and then post on the tickets to whoever wants them as and when Bristol sends them out to us or pass them on in person at a meeting during the season.
Details
Nascar Nationwide Series , Food City 250 – Friday 24th August 2012, Allison grandstand, Section E, Row 24, Seats 1 & 2
Nascar Sprint Cup Series, IRWIN Tools 500, (Night race) – Saturday 25th August 2012, Allison grandstand, Section E, Row 26, Seats 1 & 2
These seats are isle seats, right on the end of the row so you have easy access to the steps to go and visit the concession stands and toilets etc. They are located at a great level that affords a fantastic view of all the action on the track and are located 2 blocks past the start / finish flag stand on the front straight.
The cost of the tickets (which is face value plus a couple of quid to cover credit card exchange rates) is $345 in total. That's for two tickets for the 250 lap Nationwide race and two tickets for the 500 lap Cup race. Both are night races, but there is also Cup and Nationwide qualifying during the day on the Friday.
There is also a double header race on Wednesday 22nd August if you fancy more racing, which features a late afternoon 150 lap Whelen Modified race followed by a 200 Lap Nascar Camping World Truck series race under the lights in the evening. These tickets aren't included but can be purchased on the day at the track for a very reasonable $35 each.
There is nothing on at the track on the Thursday in between, but there is a Family Race Night on the streets of downtown Bristol which is well worth attending which has show cars, live bands, driver appearances and autograph sessions and free food sampling, although you do have to pay about $6 admission which goes to local charities. In the evening all the Cup team transporters parade through the town in convoy on the way down to the speedway.
We can certainly advise or help anyone with accommodation for the trip and can recommend staying at a local home for the event with race lodgings which is what we do each year. If you wish to stay in a local home which is only 8 miles from the track (about 15 min drive after the race) we can put you in touch with the family that we always stay with, who are very friendly and have a very nice large outdoor heated swimming pool which you can also use during your stay.
Flights, you really have two options for which airport to fly into for Bristol, either Knoxville TN, which is the closest major airport about 2 hours away or Charlotte NC, which is about a 4 – 5 hour drive away from Bristol but is a better option as there are plenty of racing related places to visit in the area and most teams welcome visitors to their race shops.
So there it is, if anyone is interested, please PM me or e mail me at
csc24@blueyonder.co.uk, but we need to know by Thursday 17th November if anyone would like to use the tickets this year so that my dad can accept or decline the tickets by the deadline. If you want more information or help in order to make a decision, please don't hesitate to ask.
In order to make an informed decision below are a few ideas of costs involved for a week, as flights are quite expensive as its during summer holiday time in the UK.
Flights from Manchester - Charlotte , NC are at present around £588 - £730 depending on the airline you choose.
Flights from London - Charlotte are around £565 - £630 return.
Race lodging accomodation is roughly $150 a night at the place we stay and this is about the average rate for accomodation in the area for race weekend. You can pay this and more for hotels and still be 40 miles away from the track. So budget on around $450 for a 3 night stay, or $600 for 4 nights.
Car rental and other hotels for the rest of the trip are of course going to be extra but at normal prices.
Regards
Chris Clark
Also happy to sell to any overseas members,.
