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   Bristol Motor Speedway and Food City have partnerships on race sponsorships and other promotions. The companies also have a common approach to addressing the current economic downturn.
   �The first reaction from companies is to cut back on expenses,� BMS president Jeff Byrd said. �That�s not our style at BMS. We�re not just going to wear a button saying we�re fan-friendly. We�re going to do things to cost us money that fans will find value in at no additional cost to them.�
   BMS vice president of public affairs Kevin Triplett said it is important to be aggressive in tough times instead of having what he called a �bunker mentality.�
   �Being aggressive is the only way we know how to do things,� Triplett said. �We sat around and talked about if we sold �X� number of tickets, we still would have the largest crowd at a sporting event in Tennessee. Well, we do that for a Nationwide race.
   �You have to have the attitude and desire to not leave anything on the table. We understand the environment, the economy, but we believe we have an experience here unlike any other in motorsports.�
   Food City president Steve Smith said the speedway has set a good business model of aggressively pursuing customers instead of focusing on cutting costs.
   �How you handle the economy, you can wring your hands and worry about it, or you can get up off your back side and do something about it,� Smith said. �You can try to save your way out of a bad situation, but, what you have to do is sell your way out of it. I think Jeff is leading by example and you�ll see our company continue to be involved in Bristol Motor Speedway.�
   Smith said there is a good reason for the partnership. Food City gets far more out of its NASCAR sponsorships than with any of its other sports marketing deals.
   �In our geographic region, no other sport comes close with the way it helps our company,� Smith said. �There are a lot of UT fans, a lot of (Virginia) Tech fans around here. There are a lot of Kentucky fans at our stores up there.
   �But, a lot of our customers relate to Sprint Cup, Nationwide Series racing and their favorite drivers. When they come to our stores, they speak with their pocketbooks. They�re loyal to the products which sponsor cars. I think that�s still a strong philosophy.�
   Sharpie, the sponsor of the speedway�s August Sprint Cup race, recently pulled its sponsorship from the March Nationwide Series race. Byrd believes a longterm extension is still in the works for the Cup Series event.
   �Sharpie is a strong partner with us,� Byrd said. �We are currently negoiating with them to extend their involvement here. I�m optimistic Sharpie will be here for many years to come.�
   Triplett pointed out BMS has signed Scott�s Turf Builder to replace Sharpie as the Nationwide race sponsor and Ford has become the track�s official vehicle, and that other tracks aren�t making such announcements. He added there has been a lot of interest from companies to become the primary sponsor of the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals.
   Challenges still remain, especially getting out of town fans to spend their free time and discretionary money in the Tri-Cities area.
   �It�s tough. You�re talking about an ancillary dollar and people having to make decisions about how to spend their money,� Triplett said. �From our standpoint,
people, even in tough times, want to get away. They might not take a seven or 12-day vacation. It might be four days. We want them to come here because we can provide them a tremendous experience they�re not going to forget.�
   Byrd added that all Speedway Motorsports facilities are in decent shape and no one is talking about laying people off. He pointed to SMI chairman Bruton Smith completing a $73 million purchase of Kentucky Speedway on New Year�s Eve as a sign of the company�s strength.
   Bristol remains SMI�s showcase facility with Byrd touting numbers that the speedway has a higher percentage of tickets sold for its Sprint Cup races than any other track.
   �We�re uniquely positioned to still have a strong base of partners and ticket holders,� Byrd said. �There are Cup tracks with races in the not too distant future with 100,000 tickets to sell. That�s not a position you want to be in. We already have over 180 corporate suites leased and ready to go. I feel we�re in a position to weather the storm and to come out stronger on the other end.�
   Still, there are seats available for the Food City 500 and for the first time Byrd can remember a number of Cup Series drivers have asked how they can help sell tickets. Despite all the challenges, Byrd has faith BMS will extend its streak of consecutive sell-outs to 54 races.
   �With the people we have, I�m optimistic we will get it done,� Byrd said. �If you would have asked me about the economy six months ago, I wouldn�t have had the insight. I�m optimistic we will sell all 150,000 grandstand seats and sell the suites out.�
   Byrd, a former Wake Forest football player, said attitude is important during the difficult times. Whether it�s dealing with the economy or with expectations, Byrd said the staff must be committed to success.
   �I�m an old football player so I�m ready for the game,� Byrd said. �This is fun. It�s been challenging. People internally think that everything is easy at Bristol. Things are easy at Bristol because we work harder than anybody else.
   �We have as good people as any facility in the sport. They�re all driven by the goal to exceed expectations, whether it�s the expectations of fans, media or sponsors. We want you to have a better time at Bristol than you ever thought you would have.�