MCA Nashville recording artist David Nail is celebrating the release of his debut album "I'm About To Come Alive" with a weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Nail will sing the national anthem Friday night before the Food City 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway. The anthem will be televised live on ESPN 2 just prior to the green flag. Also, Nail will entertain the crowd with an acoustic concert prior to the start of the Sharpie 500 Saturday night.
The 30-year-old rising country music star is currently getting a great deal of radio play with "Red Light," which is a Top 25 Country hit. Nail's much-anticipated album "I'm About To Come Alive" is releasing in stores and online Tuesday, Aug. 18.
The Missouri native's album includes several songs co-written with Kenny Chesney and Gary LeVox, the lead singer for Rascal Flatts. Also on the album is a track recorded with friend and artist Miranda Lambert.
Always one of the most popular groups to sing the anthem, the children of NASCAR's drivers, with assistance from Motor Racing Outreach, will sing prior to the start of the Sharpie 500 Saturday night, before the sold-out crowd of nearly 160,000.
The group J4, four youngsters from Bluff City, Tenn., who shot to fame last year after winning the nationally televised CBS Singing Family Face Off contest, will sing the anthem for the O'Reilly 200 on Wednesday. The talented foursome has signed with CBS Records.
Emily Sutton, a meteorologist with local NBC affiliate WCYB, will sing the national anthem for the UNOH Perfect Storm 150 When Modified Series race Wednesday
anthem for the O'Reilly 200 on Wednesday.
Additional August Race Week Notes:
Dale Earnhardt Jr. will make an appearance at Friday evening in the Amp Energy Burnout display area at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Earnhardt Jr. will take part in a question and answer session beginning at approximately 7:05 p.m. Friday. The appearance is schedule to last for about 20 minutes. During Earnhardt's time on stage he will answer questions from fans while several autographed items also will be tossed into the crowd.
The display area at BMS is located in the paved lot between the Speedway and Bristol Dragway.
The Sharpie 500 will be the 98th race held at BMS since the track opened in 1961.
More than half of the Sprint Cup races at the World's Fastest Half-Mile have been sold out as Saturday's event is the 55th consecutive, a NASCAR record. The current streak began with the August Night Race in 1982.
The Food City 250 on Friday evening will be the 21st straight Nationwide race at Bristol Motor Speedway with a crowd of more than 100,000 in attendance.
Of the 12 drivers currently in The Chase, Tony Stewart (1st), Jeff Gordon (2nd), Carl Edwards (4th), Kurt Busch (6th), Matt Kenseth (11th) and Mark Martin (12th) all have Sprint Cup wins at BMS.
Jimmie Johnson (3rd), Denny Hamlin (5th), Juan Pablo Montoya (7th) and Greg Biffle (10th) have never won at Bristol while Kasey Kahne (8th) and Ryan Newman (9th) have won in the Nationwide Series.
What song will be on the lips of nearly the 160,000 fans in attendance at BMS as the Speedway tries to break the mark for Guinness Book of World Records mark for group karaoke?
Fans had 10 songs to choose from at www.bristolmotorspeedway.com and Garth Brooks' "Friends In Low Places" was the big winner, barely edging "Rocky Top," the University of Tennessee's fight song.
The old record for group karaoke is 80,000 set last May in Europe.
Food City Race Night begins at 1 p.m. Thursday on State Street in downtown Bristol with plenty of live entertainment, food, show cars, souvenirs and a number of drivers will be on hand to sign autographs.
Clint Bowyer will sign autographs from 4 p.m.-6 p.m., while Kevin Harvick will sign from 6 p.m.-8 p.m., and Casey Mears will be available from 7 p.m.-9 p.m. for autographs. Other drivers expected to be at Food City Race Night are Jason Keller, Eric McClure, Todd Bodine, Morgan Shepherd, Danny O'Quinn, Brendan Gaughan, Steve Wallace and Kenny Wallace.
Ryan Newman will make history this week by becoming the first driver to compete in NASCAR's top three series, Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck, as well as the NASCAR Whelen Modified event, at the same track in the same week.
Newman will pull double duty on Wednesday by taking part in the UNOH Perfect Storm 150 and the O'Reilly 200, as well as the Food City 250 on Friday and the Sharpie 500 Saturday night.
