Bristol Motor Speedway is known for its “racin’ the way it oughta be” slogan, and for good reason. It offers arguably the best short-track racing on the Sprint Cup circuit.
On March 21, it is certain to showcase that and perhaps even “racin’ the way it used to be” with the inaugural running of the Saturday Night Special featuring legendary drivers Darrell Waltrip, Harry Gant, David Pearson, Junior Johnson and others.
According to Jeff Byrd, the president and general manager of Bristol Motor Speedway, the idea for the race came about as a result of the track’s commitment to making what many believe is already the best fan experience in racing even better.
The format calls for each driver to be paired with a celebrity partner in a 50-lap event.
“What an opportunity for the race fans. They will get more for their dollars being at Bristol this coming March than they’ve ever gotten at any race track before.”
Drivers will be competing in late-model stock cars and $25,000 will be donated to the charity of choice of the winning team. The second place team will have $10,000 given to the charity of its choice and $5,000 will go to the designated charities of each of the other entrants.
Besides Gant and Johnson, others expected to compete in the race are Terry Labonte, Sterling Marlin, Jimmy Spencer, and Phil Parsons.
Dale Jarrett, Richard Petty, Rusty Wallace, and Cale Yarborough were extended invitations. Byrd expects to add a few more and even assign high-profile roles to drivers who can no longer race, like Bobby Allison and Ernie Irvan.
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