BRISTOL — Eli White’s first home run at Bristol Motor Speedway will go down as a 411-foot homer.
It went farther and further.
The Atlanta Braves right fielder walloped a three-run shot that ripped over the left-field wall and landed on the racetrack’s backstretch. It bounced once on the concrete between Turn 2 and Turn 3, clearing the metal catch fence and going into the stands.
A white Corvette shifted into gear, roaring toward along the steep embankment beyond the outfield fence and doing a lap around the track in celebration after the the first MLB homer hit in Tennessee.
“Something that is good trivia is always cool to be part of,” White said. “That is something super special.”
Rain delays, overnight suspension, record attendance of 91,032
The MLB Speedway Classic detoured into a debacle on Aug. 2 before steering toward the spectacle it was intended to be when the vision was born in 2022. The Braves beat the Cincinnati Reds 4-2 on Aug. 3 in a game that took 2 hours and 41 minutes to play the day after 2 hours and 44 minutes of delays and an overnight suspension.
The announced attendance was an MLB regular-season record of 91,032. Maybe half that returned to see the final eight innings.
“Kudos to all the fans that came back after weather and getting soaked,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “It was great. It was a great production. You look back and it is kind of cool to be part of this.”
The historic event began as advertised with fanfare abounding.
Players were driven around the track standing in the back of pick-up trucks. The starting lineups were announced following pit crews changing tires on cars clad with team logos and players ran under flags bearing their numbers.
Braves legend Chipper Jones and Reds icon Johnny Bench threw out ceremonial first pitches, which were almost the only pitches thrown on Aug. 2. The game began after a 2-minute, 17-minute delay. It was halted again 16 minutes later but not before Reds center fielder TJ Friedl’s bat slipped from his grip in a downpour, fans complained of a lack of concessions and everyone went home wet.
Braves pitcher Spencer Strider, who attended high school at Christian Academy of Knoxville, did not start due to the delay. Former Tennessee pitcher Chase Burns started for the Reds and threw one inning, striking out a pair in his lone inning of work.
“We live in this part of the country where the pop ups and the rain is unpredictable,” Snitker said.
A wakeup call for Hurston Waldrep and a victory
The game picked up with the Braves handing the ball to Hurston Waldrep, who woke up in Gwinnett, Georgia, at 4:45 a.m. to get to Bristol after being called up to pitch for the Braves.
He threw the first pitch at 1:05 p.m. and the following three hours delivered on the promise of the event.
Fans tossed balls into the FOX broadcast booth and got them dropped back down signed by Braves great John Smoltz. The grounds crew donned pit crew jumpsuits. Fans competed in a home run derby on the steepest part of the track. An engine sound roared after every strikeout.
Waldrep, who had two sloppy starts in 2024, was sensational. He picked up first MLB win after allowing one run on three hits and two walks. He lingered in the dugout following his start instead of retreating to clubhouse for a post-start workout.
That could wait. The scene was too special.
“It was really breathtaking to walk out,” Waldrep said.
White hit two homers onto the racetrack, which had distances marked on the track walls beyond the walls of the ballpark within the mammoth speedway. His homer to left cleared the 330-foot ballpark fence easily, but bounced well shy of the 458-foot racetrack wall.
He provided all the offense the Braves needed to earn them the trophy for winning the game, which ended on a blue-sky afternoon after starting in a storm.
The children of some of the Reds players scrambled around the track by the buses in the hour after the game. The umpire crew, which included Tennessee natives Will Little and Junior Valentine, gathered with their families behind home plate for photos as the field started to be removed to prepare for a NASCAR race in September.
“There is not anywhere more beautiful than this place,” said Valentine, a Cosby native.
It would be hard to argue with Valentine from atop the towering grandstand − both as an umpire and a Tennessee lover.
It wasn’t perfect but that’s Bristol, baby.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on X @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.