The Bristol Motor Speedway is popularly known as the Last Great Colosseum. Having been founded in 1961, the short track found its way into the NASCAR calendar in the same year. Since then, the race track has been a permanent fixture on the Cup Series calendar. Of course, over the years, the race track has evolved and become more modernized. Among the modern marvels is a new feature that was more recently introduced.

The Joe Gibbs Racing team spoke about this feature, which is a giant LED screen, like the ones found at NBA courts and NFL fields. Nicknamed the ‘Colossus’ because it is regarded as the largest outdoor, permanent, center-hung digital display. Colossus is suspended over the racetrack and held by strong cables attached to steel support towers. Said towers are also located outside the track so that they do not obstruct the fans’ view.

There is an interesting story behind the birth of Colossus

What makes the screen special is that it is comprised of 54 million LED lights, and overall, it weighs 700 tons. Back in 2015, the Bristol Motor Speedway authorities announced that they were going to install the giant screen. The project was only completed in 2016, but the result was a technological marvel. Four LED screens measuring 68 feet wide by 30 feet tall are attached to the halo ring and offer clear, unobstructed views of the screens.

Typically, NASCAR venues have a tower situated on the infield, to broadcast the race to fans at the track. The Bristol Motor Speedway used to have a race tower, just like all other NASCAR tracks. All that changed when the short track was chosen as the host of the largest attended college football game in America, dubbed, Battle at Bristol.

So when the University of Tennessee faced off against Virginia Tech University, a race tower would be a hindrance. The tower was taken down permanently to make way for the football field to be constructed. To compensate for that, speedway authorities decided to go in a bold direction. With the help of Raker Rhodes Engineering, the four-sided video screen ‘Colossus’ was born. As such, they could host the football, and NASCAR wasn’t adversely affected either, a win-win situation.

Of course, the designers took into account varying weather conditions and built the Colossus accordingly. To avoid hassles like maintenance, the designers made use of galvanized steel. This was largely due to its ability to withstand adverse weather conditions. Just like that, the Colossus was ready to broadcast to all 160,000 seats.

How did the Bristol Motor Speedway complete the project on time?

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To tell the truth, the project was not easy at all. As per reports, the timeline was aggressively accelerated, owing to the busy schedule of events at the Bristol Motor Speedway. The galvanization process featured heavily during construction to complete the ambitious project quickly.

Another complication arose because of the varying sizes of material and component complexity. The architects had to make use of multiple facilities to complete the galvanization process. In the end, the project was complete by 2016, and the Colossus has been a permanent fixture, ever since. “Combine all the energy and excitement of Bristol with the ultimate home theater system, and you’ve got Colossus,” said Jerry Caldwell, executive vice president and general manager of Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS).

With the 2025 NASCAR Cup season just around the corner, fans will get to see the Colossus in action very soon. Since Bristol gets two races this year, the fans will be thrilled to witness the spectacle in the regular season and the playoffs. The first race at Bristol kicks off on April 13th and will be a regular season race. Meanwhile, the second visit to Bristol will be on September 13th in the playoffs.