Recent announcements add flair to Bristol Night Race

How do you make the biggest single-day sporting event in Tennessee even larger? Bristol Motor Speedway has done it by adding plenty of star power and more fan experiences during the Bass Pro Shops Night Race weekend. It was announced on Tuesday that Academy Award-winning actor Brad Pitt will serve as Grand Marshal for the race. Pitt, a true A-list star, will take part in pre-race ceremonies and help give the command to fire engines. Pitt starred in F1 the Movie in 2025 where he played a driver who returned to the Formula One circuit after decades following his win in the 24 Hours of Daytona. Fellow A-list star Tom Cruise was in Daytona recently to announce Days of Thunder 2 about fictional NASCAR driver Cole Trickle. However, Pitt will be at Bristol to promote his new motion picture, Heart of the Beast, which premiers Sept. 25. He is also a guest of Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris. Pitt grew up in Springfield, Missouri where Morris founded the outdoor company. It was announced Thursday that a real-life open-wheel racing star, Josef Newgarden, would be driving the pace car at the race opening. Newgarden, who grew up in Hendersonville, is a two-time IndyCar Series champion and two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500. He actually went to the same middle school as Cup Series driver Josh Berry, Newgarden grew up attending races at BMS, which helped fuel his love for motorsports in general. He is tied with Al Unser Jr. for ninth all-time on the IndyCar win list with 34 victories, and only one win behind Unser's uncle Bobby. Ric Flair, widely recognized as the greatest professional wrestler of all-time, will be making an appearance at the BMS Fan Zone on Saturday. Flair is billed as a 16-time World Champion, but a 21-time champion if other title changes are counted. "The jet-flying, limousine-riding, kiss-stealing, wheeling-dealing, son of a gun" will be at the Trackside Live show alongside Kenny Wallace and John Roberts. He's a guest of MBM Motorsports as his brand, Flair Spirits, is sponsoring the No. 66 Ford driven by Josh Bilicki. There is also live professional wrestling on Friday and Saturday. It is headlined by NWA superstar Kerry Morton, a third-generation star from Bristol and the son of former Rock & Roll Express tag team champion Ricky Morton. If music is more your taste, then Lee Greenwood will perform his iconic "God Bless the U.S.A." during pre-race ceremonies. Tim Dugger has a post-race concert Friday at the Food City Fan Zone and Brian Kelley has a pre-race concert on Saturday at 5:30 inside the speedway. Of course, the main events are the racing with the Bush's Beans 200 and UNOH 250 for the ARCA and Truck Series, respectively, on Thursday. NASCAR Cup Series qualifying and the Food City 300 for the O'Reilly Series are slated for Friday. It culminates Saturday with the Bass Pro Shops Night Race, the biggest short track race in the world. There will be a special tribute to the late Kyle Busch, who won a record 23 races at BMS. Fans will receive a commemorative yellow towel upon entry to the race and wave it during lap 18, Busch's former number. Busch remains the only driver in NASCAR history to sweep all three national series — Cup, O'Reilly and Trucks — races during the same weekend. He did it twice in 2010 and 2017.