I was in Bristol last week and decided to sketch a couple of landmarks while in town (I'll post the other later this week). I thought I'd start with the most popular landmark, the Bristol Motor Speedway.

It was a short, easy drive out Volunteer Parkway to get to the Speedway, and I enjoyed parking myself in front of this amazing structure and sketching all the fantastic stairs, risers and giant vinyl billboards on the exterior.

While sitting there, I could easily imagine 160,000 race-day fans packing the near-by fields, roads and campgrounds before the race -- tailgates, food, beer and all the super fun that comes before a major sporting event. Then the racin', which is some of the best in the world.

I'm looking forward to returning here some day for the ever-famous Bristol night race. Until then, I'll just enjoy my sketch and proudly say that southwest Virginia has a world-class landmark just a couple of hours away. :)

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