Reds fans descended on Bristol Motor Speedway for the inaugural Speedway Classic.
BRISTOL, Tenn. − The moment tickets went on sale for the Speedway Classic last year, Wendy Deel knew her family needed to be there.
Her school-aged son, Brody Deel, is a young baseball player, and aspires to play like his idol, Cincinnati Reds' shortstop Elly De La Cruz. Brody Deel has all the accoutrements needed to properly emulate De La Cruz, too.
From the sliding mitt, to the compression sleeve, to the colorful elbow, shin and foot pads (not to mention the bling and full uniform), Brody Deel pulls off De La Cruz's signature style as well as the two-time MLB All-Star himself.
Pointing at Brody Deel on Aug. 2, Wendy Deel said, "that's the reason," when asked why she and Robert Deel acquired tickets in 2024 made the trip from Haysi, Virginia to Bristol Motor Speedway for the inaugural Speedway Classic − a regulation MLB game between the Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves on the infield of the famed auto-racing venue.
The Deel family said they'd attended games at Great American Ball Park, but they weren't going to miss the one-off showcase game in scenic Bristol.
"He loves Elly's swag," Wendy Deel said. "Instead of toys, these are what he asks us and grandparents for − Elly stuff."
The Deel family happened to come from Virginia, but Reds fans came from near and far for the Aug. 2 baseball spectacle in Tennessee, which is unclaimed MLB territory as far as MLB is concerned.
Both the Reds and Braves had a chance to exert some sway over the Volunteer State with their visit, but plenty of the attendees already had their allegiances etched in stone upon arriving to Bristol.
You can safely include Griffin Mavarette, of Amelia, Ohio, among those who were unambiguous in their fandom.
Clad in a replice racing-style Speedway Classic Reds jersey like the one the team will wear for the game, Mavarette said, "it's pretty crazy. This is bigger than anything I've seen."
Mavarette, who was joined by friend and fellow Amelia resident Michael Rivera, is a Reds season ticket holder. Like the Deel's, he didn't wait until 2025 to claim his seats for the Speedway Classic.
"We got them (the tickets) right when they came out for season-ticket members last year," said "I missed the 'Field of Dreams' game. There's no way I was gonna miss this."
Mavarette and Rivera were among a fortunate few who would be seated on the temporary grandstand erected on the race track's infield, directly on top of the playing field.
Others will watch from hundreds of feet away, possibly 700 feet from home plate or more.
For reference, the distance from home plate to the right field foul pole was 330 feet, and then about 550 feet to the far edge of the race track directly behind that foul pole. In that horseshoe end of the building, fans near the top of the structure might labor to track the flight of the ball while it's in play.
And yet, at least 85,000 tickets to the event had been sold about a week out from the Speedway Classic. With only about 3,200 directly on top of the field like Mavarette and Rivera, most would have expected to be watching from a distance.
The gathering was a celebration of baseball. Proximity to home plate wasn't top-of-mind for many fans. The day was about the two storied franchises, of the Reds' ongoing playoff race, of the starting pitchers (the Reds' Chase Burns and Braves' Spencer Strider), both of whom hailed from Tennessee. And of an MLB event unlike any in the history in the "America's pastime," which is really saying something.
"I've been to some big events other than this," Mavarette said. "This is different."
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 'No way I was gonna miss this.' Reds fans descend on Speedway Classic
Category: Baseball
