NASCAR Fans Put Stamp on Bristol Driver Intro Songs
Fans voted on the songs to which drivers would be introduced prior to the Food City 500 race.
Race car drivers have till now been traditionally been able to use the song of their choice during Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series pre-race introductions at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee. But driver intros for Sunday-to-Monday’s Food City 500 often-rain-interrupted race included an additional twist: Fans, not drivers, chose the playlist. Throughout the month of March, fans had the opportunity to pick the intro song for each of the race’s 39 competitors online.
“Our fans are the best in the world, so it just makes sense to have them play an integral part in NASCAR’s most popular driver introductions,” Bristol Motor Speedway Executive Vice President and General Manager Jerry Caldwell said in a press release announcing the fan voting. “There’s nothing like seeing these warriors enter The Last Great Colosseum as they prepare for battle and it will be great to see them come out to a song of the fan’s choice.”
Fans were given three song choices from which to select for each driver. Several song-choice outcomes closely reflected drivers, such as still-dirt-racer Kyle Larson being introduced to Jason Aldean’s “Dirt Road Anthem” and Kevin “Happy” Harvick’s intro song of Parrell’s “Happy.” Other suitable pairings included Chase Elliott being introduced to “A Crazy Racin’ Man” by his father, Bill Elliott. The recording from 1983 was part of the World Series of Country Music Record - Stock Car Racing's Entertainers of the Year production.
Intro song choices for some drivers reflected car numbers, such as Brad Keselowski’s introduction to The Beach Boys “Little Deuce Coupe” and Jamie McMurray’s intro to Metallica’s “One,” while other choices reflected driver sponsors, like the choice of Tracy Bird’s “Watermelon Crawl” as the intro song for Ross Chastain, backed by Florida Watermelon Producers. Meanwhile, Liberty University student William Byron was introduced to his school’s fight song.
Below, is the list of winners, making up the Bristol Motor Speedway playlist for driver introduction prior to Sunday’s start of the Food City 500, as compiled by The Drive and listed in the order in which drivers qualified for the race:
Kyle Busch — “All I Do is Win” by D.J. Khaled
Kurt Busch — “Outlaw State of Mind” by Chris Stapleton
Brad Keselowski — “Little Deuce Coupe” by The Beach Boys
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. — “People Back Home” by Florida Georgia Line
Ryan Blaney — Folsom Prison Blues” by Johnny Cash
Kyle Larson — “Dirt Road Anthem” by Jason Aldean
Paul Menard — “R.O.C.K. in the USA” by John Mellencamp
Alex Bowman — “Rise” by I Prevail
Michael McDowell — “Takin’ it to the Streets” by The Doobie Brothers
Joey Logano — “Brass Monkey” by The Beastie Boys”
William Byron — “Fan the Flames,” Liberty University fight song
Daniel Suarez — “Speedy Gonzalez” by Pat Boone
Erik Jones — “You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet” by Bachman Turner Overdrive
Clint Bowyer — “Country Boy Can Survive” by Hank Williams Jr.
Kasey Kahne — “5-1-5-0” by Dierks Bentley
Chase Elliott — “A Crazy Racin’ Man” by Bill Elliott
Jimmie Johnson — “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes
A.J. Allmendinger — “I’m Alright” by Kenny Loggins
Aric Almirola — “Miami Vice” theme song
Darrell Wallace Jr. — “Into the Fire” by Asking Alexandria
Austin Dillon — “Cowboy” by Kid Rock
Chris Buescher — “Pork and Beans” by Weezer
David Ragan — “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” by the Charlie Daniels Band
Matt DiBenedetto — WWW wrestler John Cena’s theme song
Denny Hamlin — “Forever” by Drake, Kanye West, Li’l Wayne and Eminem
Martin Truex Jr. — “Nothing but the Taillights” by Clint Black
Ross Chastain — “Watermelon Crawl” by Tracy Byrd
Gray Gaulding — “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins
Landon Cassill — “Going to Mars” by Judah and the Lion
Ryan Newman — “Huntin’, Fishin’ and Lovin’ Every Day” by Luke Bryan
Jamie McMurray — “One” by Metallica
Ty Dillon — “Walk it Like I Talk It” by Migos
Trevor Bayne — “Rocky Top” by the Pride of the Southland University of Tennessee Marching Band
Corey LaJoie — Walmart yodeling song
D.J. Kennington — “The Hockey Song”
Reed Sorenson — “Motorsport” by Migos
Harrison Rhodes — “Enter Sandman” by Metallica
Chad Finchum “Where I Come From” by Alan Jackson
Kevin Harvick — “Happy” by Pharrell
