MLB Speedway Classic At Bristol: NASCAR Drivers Reimagined As Baseball Players

NASCAR drivers are looking forward to seeing professional athletes of another sport competing at one of the most iconic venues in stock-car racing.

They certainly look more forward to watching other pros play than if they played themselves. 

And that's exactly what will happen when the MLB Speedway Classic gets underway on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on FOX. The matchup features the Cincinnati Reds going against the Atlanta Braves at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee. 

It's the first-ever MLB game played in the state and more than 85,000 tickets have been sold for the contest — a major-league regular-season record.

"I honestly think it looks cooler than when they did the football game there with Tennessee-Virginia Tech [in 2016]," said 2023 Cup champion Ryan Blaney.

"I think that's going to be a hit. I wish I could go. That place is unique."

With NASCAR racing in Iowa this weekend, getting back and forth to Bristol isn't impossible, based on the timing of Cup practice. But a driver would need to really want to make it happen.

If any driver can get there, they will get a chance to witness history.

Bristol had to knock down some race-track walls and buildings in its infield to make enough room for the baseball field inside the 0.533-mile, high-banked concrete oval. 

"That is going to be such an awesome moment," said Ty Dillon.

Dillon and his brother, Austin, played little-league baseball. Austin Dillon played in the Little League World Series.

So if NASCAR were to have a team of drivers playing baseball, those two would likely be on the list.

Who are the drivers that Austin Dillon would want to include on an all-driver baseball team? Here's his roster: Ty Dillon, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Michael McDowell, Ryan Blaney, Noah Gragson, Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, Bubba Wallace and Corey LaJoie.

In surveying other drivers, many had similar thoughts. 

They went for the drivers who are best known for their athleticism. Stenhouse, for example, is a huge fitness buff, and Hamlin has a basketball court (and runs a rec league) at his house. 

Some would go for height and pick players like the tall Shane van Gisbergen.

And if you’re looking at drivers who have proven they have superior hand-eye coordination when it comes to something other than a steering wheel, Elliott, Ryan Blaney and others who enjoy golf could be the answer.

Blaney would add his Penske teammates Joey Logano and Austin Cindric. Plus, he thinks the tough Ryan Preece would fill an important role.

"Preece would be a good catcher," Blaney noted. 

The hard part for race car drivers is that being smaller and lighter can sometimes be an advantage.

"I just had to throw a first pitch and embarrassed myself incredibly," said Cup driver Zane Smith. "So definitely not me. ... None of us are very good, I feel like, as stick-and-ball athletes."

Actually, Zane, another driver mentioned you.

"You need somebody athletic at shortstop, somebody quick. Zane looks athletic," Kyle Larson said.

"Blaney is athletic," he continued. "Ricky. Ty Gibbs. McDowell? He’d be the manager, I guess. Austin Dillon would probably be the best [player]."

Several drivers get asked throughout the season to throw out first pitches at baseball games in racing markets. Those typically happen in the weeks leading up to the race in that market. And the drivers who have this honor have the main goal of not becoming a highlight for the wrong reason.

"Briscoe has been throwing a lot of first pitches out at these games, so he’s been on the mound a lot lately, so he might be our pitcher. Or he might be in the bullpen," Gragson said.

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.