A spectacle of the essence of Christmas, some would call it. Enormous displays of dazzling lights, with their twinkling synchronized to the tunes of holiday carols, stretch along for miles to captivate and uplift the Christmas spirit. This drive-through light show can be found at East Tennessee's own Bristol Motor Speedway.

Noted as the country's only speedway to have an annual light display, Bristol's Speedway in Lights has been consistently recognized for its majestic arrangement of lights.

Celebrating its 12th year, this four-mile drive-through route uses around 1.5 million lights to make up more than 200 different displays. One of its more popular features is that spectators actually get to drive on the "World's Fastest Half-Mile," as well as take a trip through Thunder Valley at Bristol Dragway.

While several motor-sports displays are featured along the route, a number of distinct favorites are also making their return, such as the animated snowman attraction, dinosaur village and the infamous poinsettia.

This year's newest addition, The Twelve Days of Christmas, features a dozen scenes, each approximately 10 feet tall and nearly 15 feet wide, making it one of the largest displays at Speedway In Lights at approximately 180 feet long.

You haven't experienced the feeling of true Christmas spirit until you have visited Speedway in Lights.
Megan Adelson, UT student

Local residents, such as UT student Megan Adelson, have grown up looking forward to this holiday extravaganza.

"You haven't experienced the feeling of true Christmas spirit until you have visited Speedway in Lights," Adelson said. "The colorful displays completely surround you. It's almost like you have entered a Christmas warp zone. It's a fantastic experience."

The Speedway's efforts to enhance the Christmas spirit have spread extensively from its home-quarters in East Tennessee.

Claudia Byrd, director of the Bristol Chapter of Speedway Children's Charities, said she recognizes the impact the display has on its visitors.

"We have people come from all over the country to see the lights," Byrd said. "Race fans like having the opportunity to drive on the speedway, and for many families, it has become a family tradition."

In addition to local admiration, the Speedway in Lights has been nationally acknowledged for its impressive showcase. Not only did The Charlotte Observer vote the display as one of the best places in the Southeast to see lights several years ago, Byrd said, but also it has been voted as a top-100 destination by the American Bus Tour Association.

The organization and its staff members certainly possess the spirit of giving. All the money raised during its 52-night run goes directly back into the community to children's charities.

"Working with Speedway Children's Charities and having Speedway in Lights as our biggest fundraiser is my passion," Byrd said. "I love every minute of it and feel blessed to have had the opportunity to be a part of something at the Speedway that has helped raise over four and a half million dollars in the past 11 years."

I love every minute of it and feel blessed to have had the opportunity to be a part of something at the Speedway that has helped raise over four and a half million dollars in the past 11 years. Claudia Byrd, director of the Bristol Chapter of Speedway Children's Charities What makes this event so extraordinary is that it provides more than mere entertainment for its community. Speedway in Lights originated as a charity event, and it also serves as a way for local organizations to get involved with fundraisers of their own. Each year, volunteer staff positions are offered to those in need of raising money for their own causes.

Hunter Bradley, former youth director for Colonial Heights United Methodist Church, had his youth group volunteer there once-a-week for four years as a church fundraiser for their annual mission trip. Although they made between $2,000 to $3,200 each year by working on the staff crew, that wasn't the only reason he kept going back, Bradley said.

"Certainly the fundraising part of the experience is why we started going," he said. "But I personally got a lot more out of it. As with so many things I do, it was neat to just be able to hang out with the kids and watch them having a good time. It was also a lot of fun interacting with the customers coming through the lights. The young children, especially, were fun to talk to and to see the awe in their eyes when they saw the lights."

It's that time of year again, and in the spirit of giving, the Bristol Motor Speedway gives its community one of the most celebrated holiday events in the Southeast another year to shine.