NASCAR reopens gates to fans at Bristol for All-Star race

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Chase Elliott put his face mask on and went into the grandstands at Bristol Motor Speedway to watch the qualifying event before NASCAR’s All-Star race, briefly becoming a part of the largest group of spectators at a U.S. sporting event since March.

Tennessee officials permitted Bristol to sell up to 30,000 tickets — less than 20% of its capacity of 140,000-plus — as NASCAR slowly begins to reopen the gates.

Texas Motor Speedway has the green light to admit up to 67,500 spectators on Sunday, but soaring summer temperatures are an expected deterrent to the track reaching 50% capacity. Iowa Speedway, which is owned by NASCAR, will allow up to 6,000 into its facility for IndyCar racing this weekend.

Elliott on Wednesday night won the $1 million All-Star race and celebrated by fist-bumping one of the many fans that surged to the fence as he collected the checkered flag. He’d been energized earlier in the evening as he discreetly sat in the stands along the back straightaway before the main event.

“I’m looking around, seeing all these kids and families, people wearing their respective drivers (merchandise),” Elliott said. “You don’t realize how much impact you have on people you never met, you never will meet, who genuinely want to see me do well and they don’t even know me. It’s pretty dang cool to experience that.

“I felt like I had a special night sitting up there with them watching that Open from the grandstands, really seeing and getting back to the roots of what this sport is built on. Then to engage with them after the race, to me it made it mean that much more.”

Speedway Motorsports, which owns Bristol, moved the All-Star race to Tennessee from Charlotte Motor Speedway because North Carolina would not permit spectators. The All-Star race debuted at Charlotte in 1985 and this year marked just the second time it was not held at that track.

Allowing the largest group of fans since the coronavirus pandemic shut down sports meant implementing health protocols for admission. There were no paper tickets given so fans used their phones for scanning at the gates. Tickets were still avaialble at the Tuesday evening deadline.

Masks were required to nter and suggested for high-traffic areas, but fans could remove them once in their seats. Sanitizer stations were located throughout the facility, as well as markers to indicate six feet of distance.

Because “The Last Great Colosseum” is shaped as a massive bowl, Bristol had the ability to socially distance spectators throughout the stands.

“Limiting capacity certainly didn’t limit a good time,” Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said in a statement. “NASCAR and Bristol Motor Speedway showed the future of safe, live sporting events with an electric night.”