BRISTOL, Tenn. — Nearly 20 years ago, Dale Earnhardt Sr. was terrorizing drivers on the high banks of Bristol Motor Speedway while a young hot shot named Jeff Gordon was putting his own stamp on the sport by mastering one of NASCAR’s toughest tracks.
Two hours up the road, Peyton Manning was slinging touchdowns around Neyland Stadium, leading Phillip Fulmer’s Tennessee Volunteers to double-digit wins each season.
And two crazy ideas were starting to take shape. At Tennessee and Virginia Tech, border schools three hours apart, athletic directors Doug Dickey and Jim Weaver were talking about the two schools playing football for only the third time since 1937.