BRISTOL, Tenn. — This Saturday Tug Valley area NASCAR fans can get their hands on something that, over the years, has been hard to acquire — Bristol race tickets.  From 3 to 7 pm, officials from Bristol Motor Speedway will visit the South Williamson Food City as part of the 2009 Fan Appreciation Tour.  Among them will be former Belfry High School teacher and football coach, Ben Trout.

Trout serves as Bristol Motor Speedway’s director of marketing and has been an employee of “the world’s fastest half-mile” for the last eight years.  Prior to that he welcomed students into his biology class and walked the sidelines with Coach Philip Haywood.

“I can’t wait to visit home on Saturday,” said Trout. “I certainly do not get to return to the area as often as I’d like, and this will not only be a chance to visit with old friends, but it’ll also be great to make Food City 500 race tickets available to race fans throughout the region.”

So how did Trout go from a teacher/coach to director of marketing at race fans’ most popular venue?

“It’s really been an interesting road,” said Trout.  “Truthfully speaking, I always thought I would have a lifelong career at Belfry. From my playing days at Belfry for Coach Dick Roddy and Philip Haywood, and through college, my first love was football.

“I really enjoyed teaching as well and the relationships formed with students and fellow teachers.  But I also had a passion for NASCAR racing.  My dad and brothers took me to a Bristol race in 1979 and from that moment on, I was hooked.

“Believe it or not, in 1992, NASCAR didn’t get much media coverage. I approached Dave Scott, who was sports editor of the Williamson Daily News at the time, about writing a weekly NASCAR column for the paper. Dave took me up on the deal and I did that for a year.

“I then thought, if I can write for one paper, maybe I can write for others. So the following year I started faxing my column to other papers throughout the region.  At one point I think it ran in 24 papers or so. I also started a weekly radio show on George Warren’s WVKM. In fact, fellow coach Steve Mickey hosted a call-in show with me on the station.

“I continued to teach and coach throughout the period and needless to say, it kept me busy.  Then one week I wrote a column about Food City’s sponsorship of Richard Childress Racing and driver Dale Earnhardt. Steve Smith, Food City CEO, asked me if they could run the column in their company magazine. A did a couple of more stories for Food City along the way and they asked me to become their sports marketing director to handle their relationships at Bristol and with RichardChildress Racing.

“So in 1997 I left teaching and coaching for the world of racing.  I worked at for Food City for three years and then was approached about becoming the public relations manager at Bristol Motor Speedway, and I’ve been here since 2000.”

So does Trout miss his teaching and coaching days?  “That’s a question I’m often asked and there are times when I miss the classroom and the football field. But most of all, I miss the people of the Tug Valley area more than anything. I’ve traveled a lot and I’ve met a lot of fine individuals, but none compare to the folks at home.”

Saturday’s stop on the Food City 500 Fan Appreciation Tour also will feature exciting prize giveaways, including tickets to the Nationwide Scotts Turf Builder 300 on March 21, Ford Fan Friday tickets, hats, t-shirts, two $50 Food City Gift Cards and a chance to win a special grand-prize racing package. For more information on the Food City 500 Fan Appreciation Tour, please visit www.bristolmotorspeedway.com.