A family-favorite holiday spectacle that showcases dazzling Christmas lights returns to Bristol Motor Speedway with the 22nd edition of The Pinnacle Speedway in Lights.
The Pinnacle Speedway in Lights serves as the premiere holiday display in east Tennessee spread across a five-mile route illuminated by more than 2 million lights among 250 displays. The popular event serves as the main fundraiser for SCC-Bristol. A trip through the display sends guests down alongside the famed Bristol Dragway quarter-mile and all throughout the property, culminating with a lap around the historic Bristol half-mile oval.
"The Pinnacle Speedway in Lights started out as a simple fundraiser for children and has turned into so much more," said Claudia Byrd, executive director of the Bristol chapter of Speedway Children's Charities. "It's a place for loved ones to gather together and enjoy the Christmas spirit. While you enjoy the millions of lights and displays, you also help those children in need in this region. Nothing could be better than that."
Many of the popular displays are back this year to fill the route with cheer. The Symphony in Lights presented by Grand Home Furnishings, located in the Darrell Waltrip Grandstand, features approximately 300,000 lights - 10 times more than the average number on the Rockefeller Plaza Christmas Tree in New York. The lights flash and flicker to the beat of popular Holiday music.
Race to Space presented by Mycroft Signs, a galaxy themed tunnel, is back to provide guests with an out of this world experience. Other guest favorite displays that are returning include: Dueling Dragsters, The Twelve Days of Christmas, Dinosaur Village, Ripley's Penguin Playhouse, and Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies.
At the end of the route, guests can visit the Appalachian country-themed Christmas Village presented by Eastman Credit Union. The Christmas Village is filled with holiday vendors, family-friendly midway rides (including a merry-go-round, pirate ship, bumper cars and more), arts and crafts, hot chocolate with marshmallows and as always, the kids will get to visit with Santa Claus.
On five special nights this year guests can take "Santa's Shortcut" for direct access to Christmas Village without having to tour the full light display. Those nights are Nov. 29, Dec. 6, Dec. 13, Dec. 27 and Jan. 3. "Santa's Shortcut" is $5 per car and those guests will enter at the North Entrance and proceed to ticket booth #9.
The Pinnacle Speedway in Lights runs through Saturday, Jan. 5. The event costs $15 for cars from Sunday through Thursday and $20 on Friday and Saturday nights. For $45, guests can take advantage of Jingle Bell Lane, the "fast pass" option that offers a shorter wait time to enter the attraction on select nights.
Two other fun options for enjoying Speedway in Lights are "The BMS Express," which transforms a local school bus into the Polar Express, and "Santa's Speedway Sleigh" sponsored by Tri-Cities Airport, an open-air tram ride decked with cozy blankets and a BMS staff member along for the ride who serves as host and tour guide. Each attraction runs on select evenings. For reservations, guests can call 423-989-6900.
For those who love ice skating, the Ice Rink at Bristol Motor Speedway presented by HVAC will open Thursday, Nov. 15. Skating costs only $6 per session with skate rentals available for $2.
For more information, visit www.speedwayinlights.org. As always, all proceeds for The Pinnacle Speedway in Lights will be used by SCC to give to numerous organizations that serve children in the 18-county area surrounding BMS.
