The Virginia Tech Hokies and Tennessee Volunteers are set to square off on Sept. 10, but the gridiron they play on will be a place that normally has a starting grid.
For the first time ever, the two football rivals will play against each other at Bristol Motor Speedway, which normally hosts NASCAR races.
The .533-mile short track has a 160,000 person capacity, making it a perfect place to host a football game. But with just a three-week gap between hosting a NASCAR race and the football game, that meant crews were working hard this past week to transform the infield into a football field in time.
Since 2007, the track had a giant scoring pylon attached to the ground, which track officials realized would be a pretty hazardous to have during a football game. As a result, the track built the world’s largest outdoor, permanent center-hung digital display, known as “Colossus.”
On Monday, crew members finished laying down the last piece of Astro Turf for the field.
With the turf down, we’re one step closer to the “Battle At Bristol.”
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