Thousands of BMX enthusiasts from across the country and the world will converge on Morristown this weekend for the annual National Bicycle League (NBL) Spring Nationals.
Morristown has a similar relationship with the world of BMX racing as Bristol, Tennessee has with NASCAR racing.
Like Bristol, Morristown hosts a pair of major racing events—the Spring National and the Fall National—that transforms the burgeoning East Tennessee town into bicycle-racing Mecca for the two weekends of every year.
“It’s great for Morristown,” said Greg Gager, the Associated Track Director at the Morristown BMX Raceway.
“Most places don’t even get one (major BMX race) but we get two.”
Also like NASCAR, Gager said that there is usually a national NBL race pretty much every weekend held somewhere in America. This weekend’s event will easily be the most important BMX-racing event in the world while it’s happening.
The competition is separated into 160 different classes (motos), starting with riders as young as four or five years-old and going up to a senior division. Young riders begin racing in the Rookie and Novice divisions before advancing to the Expert Division.
“We expect anywhere from 1200 to 1800 riders to be here this weekend for the Spring Nationals,” said Gager.
Gager estimated that this weekend’s event could bring as many as four-to-five thousand people to Morristown, including the riders, their entourage, sponsors and fans.
BMX Racing has gone from an emerging ‘fringe’ activity that is popular primarily with teenage boys to a legitimate competitive sport that will be included, for the first time, in the 2008 Summer Olympics.
This weekend’s racing will be held at the Walters State Expo Center. Gager said a crew began building the track last week with expectations of being finished by Thursday evening, just in time for Friday evening’s ‘local’ race that is scheduled to be held at 6 o’clock, officially kicking off the 2007 Spring Nationals.
To reach the Walters State Expo Center from the Knoxville area, take I-40 toward Asheville and take Highway 81 toward Bristol at the split. Get off the Interstate on Exit 8 and make a left off the exit. After traveling for about one block off the exit, a large sign will be visible announcing the site of the Walters State Expo Center.

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