BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Racing under the lights at Bristol Motor Speedway is an event.
There's just something special about "The Last Great Colosseum," and it starts Thursday night before the cars have even reached the track.
That's when the hauler parade begins. It's a tradition not all tracks employ, but Bristol seems to have perfected.
"It's one of the coolest ones, along with Las Vegas," No. 88 hauler driver Andy Quillan said. "You get a lot of fans that come out. They don't see the behind-the-scenes stuff, so seeing the haulers is like, 'Oh, those things are cool!'"
The approximately five-mile ride goes through the streets of Bristol, Tennessee, which happens to be lined by hundreds, if not thousands, of fans along the way.
At various points in the journey, fireworks explode in the distance. It's no wonder the Bristol hauler parade rivals a drive down the Las Vegas Strip en route to Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
It makes for a fun aspect of the job in the life of a hauler driver, which Quillan summed up in two words: "long hours."
"But I still love it," he said. "You get to drive these nice rigs up and down the highway and you get a lot of appreciation from other drivers. So it is pretty cool."
As for how he keeps himself entertained for those long hours on the road?
Music.
"A lot of country, little bit of rock -- and then Dale (Earnhardt Jr.) got me hooked on Twenty One Pilots, one of his favorite bands," Quillan said. "So now I listen to that band all the time."
The new band earned its heavy rotation status when Earnhardt joined Quillan in the hauler for the ride to Daytona International Speedway, which Quillan said was "a blast."
“It’s fun -- I enjoy riding in the truck and seeing that side of it," Earnhardt said. "We’ve got a great truck driver. It’s kind of neat to see that perspective. ... I’ll see if I can’t try to make that Daytona July thing an annual event.”
No. 24 hauler driver Dean Mozingo, during a Twitter chat before heading into Bristol Motor Speedway, shared what a typical season means in terms of mileage.
And through all those miles, one trip stands out to both Mozingo and Quillan.
"Surprisingly, Sonoma," Quillan said. "I know it is our longest one, but you just don’t get out west that much. Just the landscape, the area, it is just so cool. You only go out there once a year -- it's just different."
The ride-along with Quillan -- and the Twitter Q&A with Mozingo -- provided just a small glimpse into an important behind-the-scenes facet of Hendrick Motorsports' success.