Here’s How to Cram an Entire Baseball Field into a NASCAR Infield

• Bristol Motor Speedway is set to host a Major League Baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds next year.

• The game will mark the first time a major league baseball game will be played in Tennessee.

• BMS has a history of hosting special events beyond auto racing, including a 2016 college football game that attracted 156,990 spectators.

The track that turned from asphalt to concrete and built its banking much higher and covered its concrete with dirt and hosted a college football game now is entering the baseball business.

In a Friday presentation attended by former baseball stars and current NASCAR drivers, Major League Baseball announced that the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds are scheduled to play a regular-season game August 2, 2025, on a field built in the Bristol Motor Speedway infield.

Called Speedway Classic ’25, the game is the latest in an MLB initiative known as “special events,” games scheduled at unique locations other than major league parks. The list includes a game at the Field of Dreams park in Dyersville, Iowa, and one at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama.

Former superstars Chipper Jones of the Braves and Eric Davis of the Reds were on hand Friday to assist in the announcement of the game. NASCAR drivers Chase Elliott and Ross Chastain also participated, along with retired driver and racing broadcaster Kevin Harvick. Tennessee governor Bill Lee was among the dignitaries on hand.

BMS has a history of hosting special events beyond auto racing, including a 2016 college football game that attracted 156,990 spectators.

Next year’s game will be the first major league game played in the state of Tennessee. The idea originated with Major League Baseball, which coordinated Friday’s announcement and has been studying the possibility of a game at BMS since 2017. Nashville, which has a AAA team, is on the short list of cities being considered for a major league expansion team, and response to the Bristol game could have an impact on Nashville’s hopes.

The game will be played at 7 p.m. ET and will be part of a three-game Cincinnati-Atlanta series with the first two games at Cincinnati. There is a rain date Sunday, August 3.

Season-ticket holders from the Reds and Braves and BMS will have first access to game tickets. Sales to the general public are expected to begin in December. Much of the permanent seating at the track will be open for the game, and smaller temporary grandstands will be built on field level. Officials said seating capacity for the game is not yet known, but the game potentially could attract one of the biggest crowds in MLB history.

As part of the announcement, Elliott (Braves) and Chastain (Reds) drove race cars with team logos around the track.

“I know everybody in the Braves organization is crazy-jacked to get here,” Jones said. “All professional athletes stand in awe of professional athletes in other sports. Like no other, I stand in amazement at what these NASCAR guys do.”

Officials said building a baseball diamond in the infield will be a 30-day process. A press box, dugouts, and bullpens will be part of the build. Several infield buildings and portions of the track’s pit walls will be removed. Distances to the temporary outfield fence will be 330 feet to left and right and 400 feet to centerfield. The field will be artificial turf with clay around the bases.

“It’s immeasurable what this can do for both sports,” Chastain said. “You’ll have quite a bit of cross-pollination.” Cup drivers almost certainly will be competing at another track that weekend, but Chastain said he’s certain many will be watching the game on television to see how the field is placed and how the game evolves.

“When a baseball lands somewhere, I can say I’ve hit that wall before,” he said.