Bob Pockrass

FOX NASCAR Insider

BRISTOL, Tennessee – Chase Elliott is a huge Atlanta Braves fan and offered Chipper Jones, one of the best players in Braves history, a car ride at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The car had a rev limiter, so Elliott couldn’t drive as fast as he normally does on the 0.868-kilometer steep track (he can do a lap at 200 km/h in qualifying), but it was still a cool experience for Jones.

NASCAR’s most popular driver and the Braves legend know each other through their fandom – the first NASCAR race Jones attended as a fan was the Daytona race in July 1984 when he was just a young boy. Elliott, a Georgia native, has been cheering for the team for as long as he can remember.

The superstars were brought together Friday for what will hopefully be another cool moment where their worlds collide. Major League Baseball announced Friday that Atlanta and Cincinnati would play a regular season game on Aug. 2, 2025, on a field constructed in the infield of the Bristol Racetrack. FOX will broadcast the game in prime time Saturday night.

“Growing up 20 miles from Daytona, racing the Daytona 500 and Firecracker 400 and watching (Elliott’s) dad dominate in the (No.) 9 car back then, you would have thought (this game) would be on the infield at Talladega or Daytona – something big with a big, spacious infield,” Jone said as he sat next to Elliott.

“It’s hard to imagine that it’s as crowded as it is now, but next year it will look very different.”

Elliott believes it will be a cool moment. There is a chance the race will surpass the MLB record of 115,300 spectators for a game. Bristol has not provided any information on potential capacity, but should have at least 125,000 seats available.

“I’m a Braves fan like anybody else,” Elliott said. “To be able to play a small part in this and help promote it is a really cool honor for me because I grew up watching them. … I guarantee that everyone who is here is going to have a really great experience.”

“It’s one of the best facilities we go to every year. I think anyone in the industry would tell you the same. It will serve the needs of everyone involved very well, from MLB to the Braves to the Reds. It’s going to be a great event.”

The field will measure 330 feet along the lines, 375 and 384 feet to the power alleys and 400 feet to the center. Construction will begin July 1 and is expected to be completed in 30 days. After the game, it will then take potentially 15 days to dismantle the field. The current infield surface will be graded somewhat, some of the track’s pit walls will be demolished and at least part of one of the buildings used for tires will be demolished.

The infield of the track had markers indicating the course of the field and foul lines. The surface of the baseball diamond is not on the track itself.

“It looks pretty short — I’m not sure where they had the posts if that’s going to change,” Elliott said, trying to picture what was asphalt and where was a grass field. “It’s going to look very different. And I don’t think the numbers they had put up are quite accurate.”

Jones said he wondered how the temporary field would play.

“It’s going to be really fun to watch the transformation,” Jones said. “One of my questions was how the field would play. That was before I knew there would be only grass and only clay around the bases.”

“I thought they were going to put grass here, and you can’t just cobble together a baseball field in a short amount of time. I was relieved when I heard it was going to be grass. It’s going to be hot. Grass is a lot hotter than natural surface.”

Jones said it will be hot, but it will also be a good way to break the monotony of summer baseball.

“The day-to-day life of a major league baseball player gets pretty monotonous,” Jones said. “You do it all day, every day – you very rarely have a day off. It’s good to have something to break the monotony and this is the perfect example of that.”

“It’s extremely hot down here. The guys are dog-tired. And by the end of July, beginning of August, most guys will tell you that they’ve been pushed to the limit for about a week or 10 days and they’re just not quite themselves. And I really feel like I need a break from the everyday monotony to come here and be part of something as special as this. Every guy on this list is going to sign up for this, I can promise you that.”

Many would also likely sign up for a ride with Elliott on the track. The car Elliott drove was not a NASCAR Cup Series car – it was a ride-along car used for driving experiences. It also had a rev limiter and tires not used in NASCAR racing to comply with NASCAR’s strict testing rules that only allow testing at approved times.

“My pucker factor was 9.5 and it was just him and me out there,” Jones said of the ride on the track. “Can you imagine that with 38-39 other cars in such close proximity? That’s why all professional athletes admire professional athletes in other sports. I’m amazed at what these guys do.”

“This is about the third or fourth time I’ve gone out on the track and sat in a car. It’s quite an adrenaline rush.”

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has covered motorsports for decades, including over 30 Daytona 500s, and has worked for ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene Magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @Subscribe.

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