Bristol Motor Speedway 1982: Where Were They Then?
When Darrell Waltrip took the checkered flag in the Busch 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway in 1982, a sold-out crowd of 30,000 watched him do it. That August race began a consecutive streak sellout of Nextel Cup events that now stands at 50 strong with the upcoming Food City 500 and its 160,000 capacity crowd. Only three drivers that competed in that 1982 race still race today. Mark Martin, who is not expected to race in this year’s Food City 500, was 23 years old and competing in his first full year as a driver/owner. Kyle Petty, who was 22, and Ricky Rudd, who was 25, will be the only drivers in the field this Sunday who also ran in 1982. Most of today’s Nextel Cup drivers weren’t even around back then to see it. Reed Sorenson, Kyle Busch and Brian Vickers had not yet been conceived. Denny Hamlin was 21 months old and Kasey Kahne was 28 months old while Carl Edwards was likely a few years away from doing back flips at age three. 4 year olds Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman and Casey Mears hadn’t
