Bristol sells out Food City 500 to keep streak intact

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Make it 54 in a row.

Bristol Motor Speedway has sold out for Sunday's Food City 500, track officials announced, extending the longest sellout streak in NASCAR to 54 consecutive events. The half-mile facility, which now holds 160,000 seats, has sold out every race since its fall event in 1982. The most recent sellout became official on Saturday.

But it didn't happen easily. Because of the economic recession, corporate sponsors turned in many of their tickets, forcing the track to sell more seats than usual and placing the sellout streak in jeopardy. This year marked the first time that Bristol race tickets had been available to the general public since parent company Speedway Motorsports Inc. purchased the track in 1996.

The sellout is the second this year in NASCAR. The Daytona 500 announced a grandstand sellout the night before the race.