A record crowd for a regular-season Major League Baseball game got to see all the pomp and pageantry with the MLB Speedway Classic before the rain washed out the game itself in the bottom of the first inning.

BRISTOL, TN — This town of 28,000 year-round residents is typically a little on the sleepy side. When NASCAR comes to Bristol Motor Speedway two weekends a year, the place explodes with visitors from every corner of the country.

The MLB Speedway Classic baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds was a well-predicted rainfest. So why did they try to play?