Food City 500 expected to be covered with Irish green as race will be contested on St. Patrick's Day for fourth time

It’s only happened three previous times during Bristol Motor Speedway’s tenure as one of the top tracks in the NASCAR Cup Series. In 1968, 1974 and 2013 the track held Cup races on St. Patrick’s Day. This year, it will happen for the fourth time on Sunday, March 17, during the famed Food City 500.

The iconic Speedway is going to take full advantage of having a well-known big party day like St. Patrick’s Day surrounding its race day.

Track officials are encouraging fans to wear green and the old proverbial saying also kind of requires it, or else you could get pinched. Officials are also asking fans to dig into their closets to find something from the early 1990s as well. So, if you have a dark green Members Only jacket with light green parachute pants, that is definitely what you should wear to the track on Sunday afternoon to enjoy some throwback racing on concrete.

While you are at the track you are also going to need some green refreshments. Track concessionaire Levy has several options for you.

First, Levy is introducing two signature drinks (one is green and the other is gold) for the weekend to quench your thirst. These two beverages will be sold at the Sugarland’s Shine 360 Bar near Gate 6 on the backstretch as well as at the AG13 stand on the frontstretch concourse.

     * Pot of Gold – Sugarland’s Shine American Peach Moonshine mixed with margarita mix and orange juice

    * Leprechaun Lemonade – Sugarland’s Shine Blue Raspberry Moonshine, High Rock vodka, lemonade and pineapple juice

If beer is your drink of choice at the track, don’t worry, Levy has you covered with a specialty green beer from Michael Waltrip’s Brewery called the Leprechaun Brew.

If you prefer a quick warmup, Levy will keep you in the spirit of the Irish by using a shot of Sugarland’s Shine liquor to add to your coffee or hot chocolate to give it that pep of the Leprechaun.

Levy will also have cold-activated drinking cups available at select draught beer locations (one on the frontstretch and another on the backstretch) that will magically turn green as the cold beer is poured into the cup. Trust us, it works!

Track officials also will be handing out special St. Patrick’s Day decals to fans that will show their Irish pride and confirm that they are a part of the daylong celebration. In addition, there are a few other fun things gearing up for St. Patrick’s Day.

            * BMS Acts of Kindness – Since last week, BMS employees have been placing four leaf clover envelopes around town that contain ticket vouchers for two guests to redeem two reserved tickets to Sunday’s Food City 500. You should keep an eye out for those Bristol envelopes with the green clover decals. They can make someone’s day.

            * Green Food City 500 T-shirt – Thanks to our friends at SMIP, the official souvenir and merchandise partner to Bristol Motor Speedway and Speedway Motorsports, you will want to grab your green Food City 500 t-shirt so you can remember all the fun and wow moments you had will attending this weekend’s races.

            *Lucky Leprechauns bringing magic – We have it on good authority that there will be a few lucky Leprechauns roaming about the Bristol Motor Speedway property during the Food City 500 weekend partaking in mischief but also working their Irish magic. Legend has it around these parts that if a Leprechaun crosses a stream or river it will turn that body of water green. Everyone will have to wait and see if our beloved Beaver Creek turns green. If it does, it will probably lead to a rainbow and a pot of gold.  

Speaking of good luck charms, which driver is going to join David Pearson, Cale Yarborough and Kasey Kahne to complete the Bristol Motor Speedway St. Patrick’s Day Four Leaf Clover? That will be the big question as action gets underway in the NASCAR Cup Series with the tradition-rich Food City 500 on Sunday afternoon, March 17 (3:30 p.m., FOX and PRN Radio) with current champ Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Daytona 500 winner William Byron, Joey Logano, Atlanta winner Daniel Suarez, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin leading the list of favorites to become Bristol’s fourth St. Patrick’s Day winner.

Saturday afternoon’s (March 16) Bush’s Beans Practice and Bush’s Beans Qualifying for both the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will set the starting lineups for each race and precede Saturday night’s WEATHER GUARD® Truck Race. NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series stars Ben Rhodes, Grant Enfinger, Nick Sanchez, Las Vegas winner Rajah Caruth, Corey Heim, Ty Dillon and Christian Eckes, among others, are scheduled to take the green flag at 8 p.m. ET for the 250-lap thriller (FS1, MRN Radio).

To purchase tickets for the Food City 500 or the WEATHER GUARD® Truck Race, please visit the BMS website, or call the BMS Ticket Sales Center at (866) 415-4158.