NASCAR: Spotters praise Bristol for improved view

A minor concern to NASCAR fans was alleviated on Friday morning when spotters took their place on top of Bristol Motor Speedway and were actually greeted by a better view of the track in advance of the Food City 500.

In advance of the Battle at Bristol college football game, the Tennessee short track bulldozed its long-standing infield scoring pylon. In its place hangs a four-sided, 700-ton monitor suspended by four posts outside each corner of the speedway.

It's called the Colossus and was designed by Panasonic. It is the world's largest four-sided center hung screen and is so massive that each screen could fit 18 full-sized stock cars. The suspension cables are even 30 percent larger than the vertical cables supporting the Golden Gate Bridge.

Due to its size, there was actually some worry that it could obstruct the view of spotters, but that's not the case. In fact, the lack of a pole in the center of the track actually helps spotters, according to HScott Motorsports' Brett Griffin.

"There's no pole so it's actually better for us on the roof," Griffin told RACER on Friday. "We don't have any blind spots now. We actually had a small spot where we use to lose sight of the drivers for a second."

Denny Hamlin spotter Chris Lambert agreed saying, "Negative, none at all," concerning a potential blind spot. Ditto Dale Earnhardt Jr. spotter TJ Majors who added "nope" and sent a photo text containing his improved view of the speedway.

So through Day One, the new monitor at Bristol Motor Speedway is an improvement for both fans and competitors.