It needed to be played over two separate days because of inclement weather on Saturday, but the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds completed the first MLB game ever played in the state of Tennessee.
The league announced their intention last August of plans to take over Bristol Motor Speedway for the special event.
The 2025 MLB Speedway Classic joined a long list of special events that have made for groundbreaking MLB games at non-traditional domestic locations, including the 2016 MLB at Fort Bragg game; annual Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pennsylvania since 2017; MLB in Omaha at the NCAA’s Men’s College World Series in 2019; MLB at Field of Dreams in 2021 and 2022; and MLB at Rickwood Field: A Tribute to the Negro Leagues in June 2024.
Interest in the Speedway Classic led to a new MLB attendance record being set. MLB’s official number of tickets sold for the first baseball game played inside Bristol Motor Speedway was 91,032.
The previous MLB attendance record for a regular season game was 84,587 tickets sold for a matchup between the New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians at Cleveland Stadium on Sept. 12, 1954.
While the Braves and Reds played in front of a record audience, it paled in comparison to the largest crowd that ever attended an event at Bristol Motor Speedway.
On Sept. 10, 2016, The Battle at Bristol between the University of Tennessee and Virginia Tech became the most-attended football game in state history, and it also holds the record for NCAA football’s largest single-game attendance at 156,990.
Commonly known as “The Last Great Colosseum,” Bristol Motor Speedway has a long history as a major sports and entertainment destination. Its stadium-like structure serves as a versatile multi-use venue that has hosted major auto races, concerts by musicians, football games and many other events.
Darrell Waltrip has the most NASCAR Cup Series victories at Bristol Motor Speedway with 12, followed by Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace, Cale Yarborough and Kyle Busch at nine each. Dale Earnhardt Jr. coined the catchphrase, “It’s Bristol, Baby!” after his sweep of Cup and Xfinity victories at the 2004 Night Race.
Dodgers part of all-time MLB attendance record
If looking beyond the regular season and playoffs, the largest crowd in MLB history is the 115,300 announced attendance for an exhibition game between the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum on March 29, 2008.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
