Sharpie 500 Information

The Sharpie is a NASCAR (the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) stock car race. It takes place at the Bristol Motor Speedway, in Tennessee. It is the second race held here (the other one is the Food City 500 race). The race is held at the end of August, on a Saturday night. This race is one of the most famous and attended American races. The tickets are difficult to obtain, and the waiting lists are usually very long.

The Bristol Motorway is a short track. It was opened in 1960. The first race took place on the 30th of July, in 1961. The overall track length is .533 miles (or .858 km). The track shape is oval. The seating capacity is 165 thousand spectators. The owner of the track is the Speedway Motorsports Inc.

Originally, the track was called Volunteer 500, then Volunteer 400, and then again Volunteer 500. In 1980 it changed its name to the Busch Volunteer 500, and in 1981 to simply Busch 500. Since 1991 it was known as the Bud 500. From 1994 it was renamed into the Goodys 500. Since 1996 till 1999 it was called the Goodys Headache Powder. The penultimate tracks name was goracing.com 500.

The first driver to practice on the track was Tiny Lund. And the first Sharpie 500 winner was Jack Smith (in 1961). He first appeared in the 1949 NASCAR race. Ten years later he was awarded with the NASCARs Most Popular Driver title. Jack Smith was twice inducted in the Hall of Fame (the National Motorsports Press Hall of Fame and the Daytona Beach Hall of Fame).

On the 26th of August 2006 Matt Kenseth became the 46th winner of the Sharpie 500 race. He began his racing career at the age of sixteen. He became the winner of the track championships at Wisconsin International Raceway in 1994 and 1995. In 200 he was nominated the Winston Cup Rookie of the Year, and later, in 2003 Matt Kensen became the Winston Cup champion. The following year he took the IROC (the International Race of Champions) prize. At present he is the second in the 2006 Nextel Cup Position. He is currently driving Ford.

In 2007 there will be a special television program, dedicated to this sports event. Presently theres a conflict with the Little League World Series, as their race dates coincide with the date the Sharpie 500 is held. Maybe it will be broadcast tape-delayed, because the NASCAR is not likely to remove the date. It will be televised by the ABC (the American Broadcasting Company) or the ESPN2 (the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network). Currently no decision was taken.

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