The Chamber staff traveled from all directions to meet up with Debbie and Dale late on Thursday night in Bristol.  Katie and I drove down from DC, listening to country music most of the way; since I had never been to a NASCAR race, Katie helped to prepare me for the number and intensity of fans I would encounter at the Bristol Motor Speedway.  On Friday morning, after grabbing an early breakfast and picking up some last minute supplies, we headed to the track around 11:00.  Much to my surprise, by the time we arrived, people were already lined-up and parked on the entry roads to the Bristol Motor Speedway, preparing for the Food City 250 race that evening.  We found the bus situated right in the middle of the action, next to Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s souvenir trailer and the Coca Cola tent.  Many thanks are in order for Gary Mabrey of the Johnson City Chamber, Miles Burdine of the Kingsport Chamber, and Lisa Meadows of the Bristol Chamber for helping us set-up this location.

The VoteForBusiness Bandwagon left Nashville bright and early in morning for our drive to Bristol. We wanted to arrive by noon to set up for the Food City Family Race Night. If you haven’t been to Bristol TN/VA it is a very unique city. State Street divides the city of Bristol between Virginia and Tennessee. We were positioned on the Virginia side near some vendors selling NASCAR memorabilia and tasty grilled treats – while it was not the 35 types of food on a stick that Iowa had, it came close. State Street was full of race cars and race fans ready for some NASCAR fun!