Elly de la Cruz and Ronald Acuna Jr. are set to square off at Bristol Motor Speedway (Images via Imagn and Getty)

The MLB tour continues into 2025 as Ronald Acuña Jr.’s Atlanta Braves are scheduled to take on Elly De La Cruz’s Cincinnati Reds — albeit in a very peculiar setting. Dubbed the “MLB Speedway Classic,” the teams will clash on Aug. 2, 2025, at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee.

On the most recent edition of “The Mayor’s Office Podcast,” hosted by former pro and ex-Yankees hitting coach Sean Casey, featuring broadcaster Rich Ciancimino, Casey expressed enthusiasm about the prospect of an MLB game being played on a NASCAR track.

“You get a chance to see Ronald Acuna Jr., Elly de la Cruz,” Casey said. “Major League Baseball is going to come in, and make this incredible field. You know it’s a half-mile track. It’s a huge place. (The view of it) is just going to be amazing. I’m hoping to be there.”

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Ciancimino added that being a broadcaster for NASCAR was one of the best memories he had in his career.

“It was the most enjoyable experience I’ve ever had. The fans are amazing! They’re all great people,” Ciancimino said.

The event will be the first regular-season game ever organized by the league at a racetrack and in the state of Tennessee. Bristol Motor Speedway, also known as “The Last Great Colosseum,” primarily hosts NASCAR events but has also been used for college football games.

MLB channels back unique 2008 schedule with ‘Speedway Classic’

Major League Baseball is returning to its roots by organizing events in unconventional places in 2025. Just like in 2008, the league is scheduled to begin the season in the Far East and play a game in a non-baseball stadium.

In 2008, reigning World Series champion Boston Red Sox and the Oakland Athletics squared off in a two-game series at the Tokyo Dome in Japan’s capital.

To open the 2025 season, the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, along with superstars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, are scheduled for a two-game set against Seiya Suzuki and Shota Imanaga’s Chicago Cubs at the same venue.

It’s worth recalling that in 2008, MLB also played an exhibition game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum featuring the Dodgers and the Red Sox. Built to host athletics and football events, the stadium — filled with more than 100,000 fans — was the site of the show match.

Next year, the league is scheduled to play its first-ever regular-season game at a motorsports track as the Atlanta Braves will battle the Cincinnati Reds at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee.