Tony Stewart Takes On New Role As Salesman At Bristol Motor Speedway

BRISTOL, Tenn. – The NASCAR disciples began to gather Thursday morning. From Abingdon to Alabama, they came to Bristol Motor Speedway eager to meet an icon and realize a high-speed dream.
Enter Tony Stewart.

Amid a barrage of flash bulbs and shrieks, the charismatic NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points leader took time from his busy schedule to help to sell tickets for the Aug. 22 Sharpie 500 at BMS.  Stewart even randomly distributed 10 of his personal race tickets to fans.

“This is the hardest ticket to get in racing,” Stewart said. “I made sure that I gave my buddies their tickets right off the bat, then what I had left is going to fans. To be able to do this is pretty cool.”

Bristol Motor Speedway has experienced 54 consecutive sellouts for its Sprint Cup events.
BMS vice-president of public affairs Kevin Triplett expressed confidence Thursday that the streak will continue with the Sharpie 500.

“Tickets do remain, but not many,” Triplett said. “If people want a ticket, they need to get them now because we believe we will be sold out earlier than we were in the spring race.”

Track president Jeff Byrd did not announce a sellout for the March 23 Food City 500 until the day before the race.  BMS can seat more than 160,000 fans.

The night race at Bristol has long been billed as one of the popular events in motorsports. Several fans who gathered at the Bruton Smith building Thursday at BMS had never seen any type of NASCAR event at BMS.

“There are opportunities for fans now that haven’t been here in the past,” Triplett said. “Once folks come here and see the total experience we have, we believe they will be back.”

Stewart said he needed little encouragement to spend time with his colorful followers.

“It doesn’t matter whether the [economic] times are bad or good, you want to be out there with the people that support what you do and have a passion for the sport,” Stewart said. “Seeing all these people come out in the rain means a lot to us.”

Barry Barnett and his six-year-old son, Brody, were among a large group of fans from Alabama attending the American Softball Association national tournament in Johnson City.

“If this is what it takes to meet Tony Stewart, I’ll do it,” said Barnett, before buying his Sharpie 500 ticket.  “Brody is the ultimate Tony Stewart fan, so this is big for him.”

Abingdon resident Karren Ferguson managed to secure the first spot in the ticket line, which snaked through the building. Ferguson even wore a shirt representing the Tony Stewart fan club.

“I love the smell, the sound,  and even the fans that are throwing beer all over us – I just love everything about Bristol,” Ferguson said. 

Standing behind BMS employee Lindsey Holman, Stewart exchanged stories and smiles with the parade of appreciative followers as he sold tickets.

“It’s a great atmosphere,” Holman said. “You can sense it among the fans, they’re all very excited.”

Stewart planned to fly to Kentucky Thursday night for a dirt late model race Thursday night before traveling to Long Pond, Pa., for today’s Pennsylvania 500 qualifying session.

At the beginning of the 2009 season, NASCAR pundits questioned how the fiery Stewart would handle the twin role of owner and driver at Stewart-Haas Racing.  Judging from the point standings and his broad smile, it’s obvious that Stewart is pleased with his adjustment.

“All you’ve got to do to look at the stats, it’s all gone well,” Stewart said. “Everything that we’ve done has exceeded my expectations at this point in the season.”

And Stewart hopes to keep the good times rolling next month at one of his favorite tracks.

“People have always been good to us here. We just feel at home,” said Stewart, referring to BMS. “This is a one-of-a-kind race track that could never be duplicated.”

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