To celebrate Bristol Motor Speedway's 100th Cup Series race, NASCAR.COM is taking a look back at significant moments and drivers that have made events at BMS the most sought-after ticket in NASCAR.

When Bristol Motor Speedway decided to make a television commercial last season featuring the racing from a fan's point of view, it wasn't surprising that Fred Hayter's name came up in the conversation. After all, a 71-year-old Bristol resident has witnessed every one of the 99 Cup races held at the half-mile bullring since it opened for business in 1961.

“

I like to sit in the turns, because you're looking catty-corner to the track. And you can see out of the corner of your eye everything that happens.

”

-- FRED HAYTER

Like many young men of the day, Hayter liked fast cars and had been paying attention to NASCAR from about the time he moved to Tennessee from nearby Abingdon, Va., in 1958. And while the track was being carved out of the hills south of town, he'd drive by the construction site on occasion.

"When they announced that they were going to build a new speedway in the area, I had been keeping up with Daytona ever since they built it, and I'd listen to races from different tracks, like Martinsville, North Wilkesboro and all," Hayter said. "I was kind of hooked on racing. I was a 22-year-old guy and I wanted to go to the race.

"It was real interesting to drive by and watch them hollowing out a big bowl. Of course, they didn't have the equipment back in the early '60s that they have today, but it was interesting watching it go up."

Hayter had never witnessed a race in person when he bought a ticket to that first Bristol race in July 1961.

"It was hot," Hayter said. "I know we got sunburned real bad. It was all I expected it to be. I believe it was Jack Smith and Johnny Allen who won the first race.

"That was a long race because the track wasn't banked as much back in those days. I don't know how long, but it was pretty close to a four-hour race, I'm close to guessing."

Almost 50 years later, in his mind, Hayter can still recollect the original configuration of the grandstands.

"I remember how many rows there was," Hayter said. "I believe it would seat about 18,000. I think there were 14,000 there, the first race.

"There was 36 rows of seats on the frontstretch and 24 rows on the backstretch. I sat on the top row, right at the start-finish line. I was probably within 50 to 100 feet of the finish line."

Just like today, the tickets in 1961 were for individual seating rather than general admission. And the higher you sat, the more expensive they became.

"They were numbered," Hayter said. "Back then, the main grandstand was called Grandstand A and Grandstand B was on the other side. Tickets in Grandstand A, as well as I remember, were $7 and 8. Grandstand B were $5 and $6. I bought the $8 ticket. I went first class. I was real close to the press box. From what I remember, it was up on stilts. I was right at the end of it."

While drivers and crews and teams have come and gone, Hayter's been there for every race since.

"I've never come close to missing one," Hayter said. "We've been really blessed by the good Lord that there haven't been any emergencies at all."

In fact, once his son Rick grew old enough to tag along, Hayter planned his vacations and trips around NASCAR racing.

On Assignment

At 8 p.m. ET Monday, SPEED premieres "Dave Despain on Assignment: Bristol" in which Despain takes an in-depth look at the unique story of the half-mile bullring as told by those with intimate involvement in its inception and development.

Bristol's story will unfold through the voices of prominent figures ranging from longtime fans to Tennessee legislators to the track's owners and drivers.

"I expect a lot of people, for whom Bristol is synonymous with high banks, will be surprised to learn that when it was first built, Bristol was flat," Despain said.

"I was manager of two concrete block plants," Hayter said. "Back in the '70s, after my son was 9 or 10, he and I went to 17 races one year. We followed the circuit there one year. Back then, you could get up on Sunday morning and go and buy a ticket. We went to Daytona, Talladega, Atlanta, Darlington, Charlotte, Martinsville, North Wilkesboro and Bristol."

For Hayter, a couple of races in the 1970s -- two of the fastest ever run at the track -- stand out in his memory.

"The one that probably would stand out was when Charlie Glotzbach won, when there wasn't any caution flags," Hayter said. "That one, and a couple of years later, when Cale [Yarborough] led the whole race.

"[Glotzbach] had a relief driver. Friday Hassler got in the car, I believe."

Hayter also remembers the first few night races at Bristol. He admitted it was hard for the fans to see the cars, and probably even harder for the drivers.

"When they first built the track, they had some Saturday night races and all," Hayter said. "But the lighting wasn't that good, not until they brought the temporary lighting in. When they upgraded them, that really made a difference.

"I remember the first race or two, the shadows were bad. I don't know how the drivers knew where they were going. They needed tail lights on the cars so they could follow the one in front of them."

How much has Bristol changed over the years? Hayter said parking the haulers in the infield is a relatively new phenomenon, because the banking is so steep.

"They had to keep the haulers on the outside and drive the cars into the track, because of the big hump," Hayter said. "It was in the second turn where you had to come in. And everything was parked outside. They had to really prepare, to make sure they had all the parts they were going to need during the race. They closed [the gate] when the race started and there was no going out, unless they had to let an ambulance go out." (Continued)