As the area prepares for the upcoming race weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, the folks at Food City are gearing up for the March 22, 2009 Food City 500.
Each year, Food City selects an individual to serve as the event grand marshal. A number of public officials and well-known figures have been privileged to announce the four most popular words in motorsports - gentlemen start your engines. Company officials chose long-time Virginia Tech Head Coach, Frank Beamer as the 2009 Food City 500 Grand Marshal.
"We have always shared a great relationship with Coach Beamer and Virginia Tech. I can't say enough about Frank Beamer. He's a great personal friend of mine and one of the most respected and successful coaches in college football," said Steven C. Smith, Food City president and chief executive officer. "We're honored to have him serve as Grand Marshal of our event."
Under Beamer's direction, Tech football has enjoyed unprecedented success with 15 consecutive bowl appearances, two ACC titles, two ACC Coastal Division crowns, three BIG EAST Conference titles and a trip to the national championship game. Since the beginning of the 1995 season, only Ohio State and Florida have posted more wins than Virginia Tech, and the Hokies have finished in the top 20 in 12 of the past 15 seasons, including five Top 10 finishes during the last 10 years.
He has been named ACC Coach of the Year, Southeast Coach of the Year by Sports Unlimited magazine, Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year, GTE Coach of the Year, Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year, Paul Bear Bryant Coach of the Year, Associated Press Coach of the Year, Walter Camp Football Foundation/Street & Smith's Coach of the Year, Maxwell Football Club Coach of the Year, Woody Hayes Coach of the Year and is a three time BIG EAST Conference Coach of the Year. In 1997, he was inducted into the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame and became Tech's winningest football coach.
Food City is Bristol Motor Speedway's longest running sponsor and the second longest in NASCAR motorsports. In 2007, the company signed a contract extension with the speedway to take their sponsorship through 2010. The Food City 500 gets under way at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 22, 2009. Qualifying for the event takes place on Friday, March 20th at 3:40 p.m. The Scotts Turf Builder 300 is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 21st, with qualifying getting underway at 9:40 a.m.
Tickets are still available for Ford Fan Friday ($5), Scotts Turf Builder 300 (Starting at $45) and Food City 500 (starting at $93) and may be purchased at www.bristoltix.com or by calling the BMS ticket office at 423-989-6900.
