Last weekend's Sharpie 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at the Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee was an absolute spectacle for several reasons. To start with, the race signified the 1,000th career national-series start for the No. 5 Pop-Tarts/CARQUEST Chevrolet driver Mark Martin. The race also marked Bristol's 55th consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup race sellout and was one of the final three races remaining in this year's Race to the Chase, but those aren't even the only reasons that the Bristol Motor Speedway was on fire last Saturday, August 22. The racetrack was also alive with the sound of music, as racing fans with NASCAR tickets got the chance to witness an all-new display at the Tennessee racetrack.
Perhaps sparking a brand new tradition within the NASCAR realm, all Sprint Cup drivers in last weekend's Bristol race got to choose their own introductory song to walk out on the track to, igniting all kinds of gasps and laughs from the crowd.
Among the most notable selections from Sprint Cup Drivers was the aging Michael Waltrip's pick: Toby Keith's "As Good As I Once Was." Claiming that he wasn't as good as he once was, but he's as good once as he ever was, Waltrip scored some laughs for his introduction song, while (of course) it was Kyle Busch who took an edgier stance with his intro song, opting to go with Kanye West's "Amazing" as his theme song for the day ("It's amazing, I'm the reason everybody fired up this evening," go the opening words of the pompous tune.)
Kasey Kahne also provided a memorable intro and perspective into the life of a racecar driver with his signature tune, using pal Dierks Bentley's "Life on the Run" as his intro song. "That's what we do," Kahne said while explaining his use of the song. "Life on the run. We just love to race, and to race, we have to travel, and Dierks is one of my favorites." Other noteworthy intro songs chosen among the musical gamut prior to the Bristol race include Jeff Gordon with the Rolling Stones' "Start Me Up," Jeff Burton with Guns N Roses' "Welcome to the Jungle," Australia native Marcos Ambrose appropriately choosing Men at Work's "Land Down Under," Carl Edwards with House of Pain's "Jump Around" and Reed Sorenson's tribute to the King of Pop with Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean." AC/DC was the ultimate driver favorite with the Bristol introductions, however, with Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson and David Ragan all choosing "Thunderstruck," Jamie McMurray using AC/DC's "Shook Me All Night Long" and Mark Martin with "For Those About to Rock."
While these outrageous theme songs provided some of the most notable entertainment for the day at Bristol, Kyle Busch backed up his intro and proved that he really was "amazing" during the Sharpie 500, outlasting Mark Martin to win the race and marking his first Sprint Cup victory since May 2, when he zoomed to a win at Richmond. Marcos Ambrose, Greg Biffle and Denny Hamlin (respectively) filled the top five slots at the Sharpie 500, and now the Race for the Chase is on, as the next two races will decide whether drivers on the cusp including Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Brian Vickers and Clint Bowyer will make the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Tickets to upcoming races are available online, and perhaps ticketholders will get to see the Sprint Cup drivers make a repeat with their theme songs in another 2009 race!
This article is sponsored by StubHub.com. StubHub is a leader in the business of selling NASCAR tickets, sports tickets, concert tickets, theater tickets and special events tickets.
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