Today is August 15 – and in the it’s-a-small-world department, let’s roll with today’s stream-of-conscious blog.

August 15, 1965 marked what many refer to as the origins of the stadium rock concerts when the Beatles played to an estimated crowd of 60,000 at Shea Stadium. Two of the songs in their set were “Help!” and “I’m Down”, which, ironically, often are emotions felt during and after races at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Anyway, on with the date. It was just four years, that’s right, four years after the Beatles played Shea that the music world turned its eyes back to New York, but a little further upstate, to a farm owned by a guy named Max Yasgur for what officially was listed on the posters as: Woodstock Music and Art Fair presents an Aquarian Exposition in White Lake, N.Y. It immediately became known simply as Woodstock.

Ironically, one of the artists who did not perform was Bob Dylan, who actually at the time was living in Woodstock, N.Y.

Also ironic, one of the inspirations for Dylan was Jimmie Rodgers, the singing brakeman, whose first commercially successful recordings were made in 1927 in a make-shift studio in, where? Bristol, Tenn. Bet you were wondering how we were going to get back around to Bristol, huh?

Anyway, Rodgers tended to go where he could find work, much like, let’s see, Carl Edwards, who, when he was trying to get hired as a driver in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, went around the garage area handing out business cards with his telephone number.

Of course, we know how that turned out for Edwards. He has won 19 times at NASCAR’s top level, the Sprint Cup Series – including at Bristol Motor Speedway in August 2007 and 2008, when this happened -- and currently sits at the top of the point standings.

Oh, by the way, Edwards was born Aug. 15, 1979.

Less than two weeks remain before we run four races in four days, concluding with the IRWIN Tools Night Race. Join us in the celebration of our 50th Anniversary.

Like that dairy farm in upstate New York, you never know what might happen.