Marcus Smith reveals 'big dream' of wanting to put a roof on Bristol Motor Speedway

The MLB Speedway Classic is approaching. With that in mind, what is the future of Bristol Motor Speedway outside of NASCAR? The gargantuan stadium has hosted a college football game in the past. Of course, racing is what it is made for. But could we see new innovations and events at the track in the near future?

Marcus Smith has worked outside the box a few times in recent years. The Charlotte Roval was his doing, and while it has been lackluster lately, it was deemed a success when it was first used. The reconfiguration at Atlanta Motor Speedway EchoPark Speedway has been the best reconfiguration, maybe ever?

Speedway Motorsports and the Smith family are not afraid of bold, new ideas. However, it is shocking to hear that Marcus Smith wants to put a roof on Bristol Motor Speedway. He told Kevin Harvick as much this week on the Happy Hour podcast.

“Yeah, I think I learned from my dad that taking risks is how you can achieve things. So, I have a high risk tolerance level that I’m willing to do things that could make a difference. I’m not afraid to fail. But the dream, I think the thing that would be awesome to do, and we could do it, is to put a roof on Bristol one day. I would love that,” Smith said about Bristol Motor Speedway. “Then, the things you could do there, it would be – you know, we’ve got a baseball game coming up next month in Bristol. We’ve done a football game. We could do WrestleMania. You could have, who knows what, the biggest UFC fight in the world.

“Anything you do at Bristol is going to be the biggest at any stadium because it’s the biggest stadium, you know? In terms of a place you can have a field and be able to see it. If you put a football field at Charlotte, it would be a postage stamp. But at Bristol, you know, everybody can see it, and this baseball game will kind of have that same feel. But yeah, a roof on Bristol would be a big dream. It’s doable. If we can hang the biggest TV in the world over the top of Bristol, we can put a roof on it.”

If they can put dirt on Bristol Motor Speedway and race there, then what’s a roof? Though it would make things problematic whenever NASCAR comes to town. Those fumes are going to add up quickly in an enclosed environment. So, maybe make that roof at least partially retractable?