Bristol Motor Speedway will grind the top part of the .533 mile track to remove a racing groove, Speedway Motorsports chairman Bruton Smith announced Wednesday.
The change is in response to fan complaints of boring racing, complaints that grew after the tracks most recent event in March. Many of the tracks 160,000 appeared empty during the Food City 500 on March 18. Some critics began to speculate that the racing was at fault for the empty seats. Fans began to complain soon after.
In response, Smith announced in March that the track would be making changes in time for the August race. Wednesday the announcement was made that most of the progressive banking put into the track during the 2007 repaving would be removed via grinding along the top of the track. The grinding process will change the profile of the track. MORE>>>
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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