What’s happening, Daily Downforce readers? We know you’re missing cars out on the track (we certainly are), but we hope that you’re having a very Merry Christmas and/or Happy Holiday season! Rest assured that the 2025 NASCAR season will be here before we know it! In the meantime, though, we hope you get many NASCAR-related goodies in your stockings this year!
Everybody has their own Christmas traditions. One of the more unique ones in my neck of the woods is the annual Speedway in Lights. I’ve lived 15-20 minutes away from the World’s Fastest Half-Mile, Bristol Motor Speedway. And, aside from its two Cup dates every year, BMS, in conjunction with the Bristol Dragway, hosts an annual Christmas Lights show. It’s a really neat event that many others in the area and I attend every year as part of our own holiday traditions. Considering that, we thought it would be neat to do an article showcasing this event. With no further ado, here’s the profile on Speedway in Lights: Bristol Motor Speedway’s Long-Lived Holiday Tradition.
Speedway in Lights at Bristol Motor Speedway is an annual holiday event put on by Speedway Motorsports Incorporated. Essentially, it’s a light show that allows fans to drive around and even on the racetrack. Beyond the light show, a Christmas Village is also set up in the track’s infield. The Christmas Village features many attractions, including rides, food vendors, flea markets, and more. Speedway in Lights at BMS started in December of 1997 and has been a tradition in the Tri-Cities area of Tennessee ever since. It has grown to be a special holiday tradition for families who live in the area and tourists just passing through. The event is special and unique and a great way to spend time with family over the holiday season.
The pricing for Food City Speedway in Lights is determined by the number of cars (or vehicles) in your party rather than by a head count. So, for more bang for your buck, be sure to make it a family affair. The pricing varies depending on the day. Here’s a simple breakdown:
Weekdays (prior to December 25th)
Weekends
December 25-29
December 30-31
January 1-2
January 3-4
The final day for the 2024-25 Speedway in Lights is January 4, 2025. So, if you intend to attend, be sure to get your tickets before then.
The main event of the annual Food City Speedway in Lights at Bristol Motor Speedway is, of course, the light show! To enter, take the exit to the Bristol Dragway and turn into the dragstrip entrance. From there, follow the designated signs that snakes around to the Dragway garage area. This is where tickets are purchased, though they can also be bought online. Once getting through the main gate, the light show begins. It starts on the drag strip. Remember that when enjoying the light show, it is important to turn off your headlights for the consideration of the other visitors. Don’t worry, there are plenty of festive lights to show you the way around the route!
The show on the drag strip continues down to the finish line. As you ease down the Dragway, you will see a Christmas light display racing down the drag strip alongside. The portion of the show ends at the start-finish line where you then turn left and head up behind the Dragway grandstands. Here, you see several newer additions to the show, including various lit-up emojis. Once out of the drag strip entirely, there are several other displays and twinkling tunnels that you go through en route to the Bristol Motor Speedway. Displays include the Twelve Days of Christmas (featuring lights based on the lyrics of the song), Dinosaur Land, Candelabra, the Victorian Village, the Snowman Maker, the Nativity Scene, and the Visit My Smokies Toyland.
Before driving on the Bristol Motor Speedway’s actual concrete service, you take a trip on an underwater adventure. This portion of the light show is displayed beneath the front stretch grandstands and presented by Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies. Presented here are various fish lights, from the infamous Great White Shark to some of the recognizable characters from the Pixar hit movie Finding Nemo. Aquatic blue lights are strung overhead to simulate driving through the Smokey Mountains Aquarium. Once at the end, you pass through the gate and dip down onto the Bristol Motor Speedway track surface. This is the coolest part of the experience as you get to drive on the storied high banks of BMS.
After all of this, you’re directed down into pit road, where you can either continue on and out of the speedway or park at the infield Christmas Village.
Here are some of the sights you can expect to see when driving through the Speedway in Lights route:
Once inside the Bristol Motor Speedway, there are two options: you can either continue back out of the gate for the conclusion of the light show, or you can make a pit stop at the Christmas Village in the infield of the track. The Christmas Village is something of an amusement park. There are 3-4 different rides each ear, including a carousel and a scrambler. For the younger kiddos, there’s also a low-speed train ride that parents are welcome to ride along with their kids.
Beyond the rides, there are also several vendors located in the Christmas Village. There’s a woodworking shop where you can purchase various hand-crafted items, such as Christmas ornaments. In addition, an arts and crafts booth is set up where you can buy any number of hand-made items as well. As far as eats go, various food trucks are set up where you can purchase the nostalgic “schoolhouse” pizza that really takes you back to your younger years. Other eatery items include hot dogs, hamburgers, nachos, funnel cakes, hot pretzels, as well as other typical Appalachian fare. If you’re feeling chilly, pick up a piping hot cup of hot chocolate as well! You can also roast marshmallows by one of the fireplaces designated in the infield garage.
Of course, every kid wants the opportunity to meet Santa Claus himself when attending an event such as this one! At Speedway in Lights, kids can visit with Kris Kringle and tell him what they want for Christmas. This is certainly a highlight for many kids and a great opportunity to spread a little holiday cheer. Santa Clause is located in the infield garage area near the big Goodyear sign.
Once you’ve experienced the Christmas Village, there’s one more special sight to see. On your way out of Speedway in Lights, you’re treated to Santa’s Safari display. This is new this year and shows Santa and his elves interacting with various animals on an African Safari. It’s a neat display and something a little unique this year compared to past years.
Thanks for walking through this Winter Wonderland with us, Daily Downforce readers! What do you think of all this? What are some of your more cherished Christmas/Holiday traditions? Did you put any NASCAR-related products on your lists for Santa this year? Let us know! Have a great Holiday and a very Happy New Year! We here at the Daily Downforce will be back in January to prepare you and yours for the start of the 2025 NASCAR season!
