When you watch a NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway on television, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to observe the fact that the "Last Great Colosseum" is indeed one of the three shortest tracks on the schedule.
Cup cars can circle the four-turn, 0.533-mile (0.858-kilometer) Bristol, Tennessee venue in roughly 15 seconds, and given just how small the track is, that kind of speed can be difficult to comprehend.
But in the grand scheme of things, Bristol is a massive sporting venue.
With a seating capacity of 146,000 (down from 162,000, when there was actually a waitlist for the annual Night Race), it is larger than any other venue actually considered a "stadium" (even though that's pretty much what it is).
And that's why baseball fans are so amazed ahead of this Saturday night's first ever MLB game at the track, featuring the Atlanta Braves and the Cincinnati Reds.
The Bristol event is officially dubbed the Speedway Classic.
Think back to the college football game contested in the track's infield, featuring the Tennessee Volunteers and the Virginia Tech Hokies, back in 2016. College football fans unfamiliar with NASCAR were amazed at just how huge the venue is.
Again, the crazy part is the fact that only two other tracks on the schedule, Martinsville Speedway (0.526 miles) and Bowman Gray Stadium (0.25 miles), are shorter in length.
NASCAR track ➡️ baseball stadium 🏁⚾️
— MLB (@MLB) August 1, 2025
Dive into how Bristol Motor Speedway was turned into a baseball stadium! pic.twitter.com/Jj4rG87M1W
Don't tell them about Daytona International Speedway or Talladega Superspeedway. Or maybe do tell them (by the way, check out how many full-size stadiums can fit inside Daytona. Hint: it's over a dozen). The more race fans this MLB game can generate, the better.
The reality of it is that you could fit multiple full-size MLB stadiums inside Bristol Motor Speedway and have room left over. The dimensions of the field for Saturday's Speedway Classic are pretty typical for an average ballpark: 400 feet to center field from home plate, 330 feet to right and left field, 384 feet to left center, and 375 feet to right center.
It may not be an IndyCar venue, but it might just be the "Greatest Spectacle in Baseball".