BRISTOL, Tenn. -- The bride wasn't blushing, that was just a little sunburn, and her jean shorts and orange Tony Stewart tank top went nicely with the groom's jean shorts and red Dale Earnhardt Jr. shirt.

Anything goes at the start-finish line at Bristol Motor Speedway, where 23 couples tied the knot Saturday morning in what some might consider a sideshow to the night's Sharpie 500.

The speedway's sign touts the track as the 'World's Fastest Half-Mile,' and these may well have been the world's fastest weddings, too. A Winston Cup crew would have to be on top of its game to have a pit stop as quickly as each ceremony.

	Tana Garrett slips a lugnut-wedding band on Thomas Garrett's finger as the Kansas City, Mo., couple tie the knot at Bristol Motor Speedway.

"The most important thing in the world is supposed to be your wedding," marveled Wayne Estes, vice president of communications and events for BMS. "It's kind of weird if you ask me."

It's true you won't see any of this in Bride magazine. But considering that Matt Goff, 32, proposed to his 29-year-old bride, Julie, last year in front of the No. 3 car at Dale Earnhardt Inc.'s headquarters in Mooresville, N.C., a racetrack wedding seems fitting.

"We took the plunge," said Goff, who didn't have much trouble convincing his bride-to-be that Bristol Motor Speedway was a better venue than a church or courthouse.

"Last year I saw the wedding highlights on TV, and told Julie about it. She didn't believe me at first until she saw it. For both of us this is our second time around, we've each got two kids, so we just decided to do something different."

Some carried the race theme to extremes. One bride worked hard to slide a lugnut onto her groom's ring finger while cameras snapped. Hey, everyone needs wedding photos.

But not everyone wore NASCAR gear. Terry Sims wore a white suit and his bride, Brenda, was in a black dress. The couple, who live in Scottsdale, Ky., had been planning their wedding attire for a long time.

"We dated for 20 years," Brenda said. "We'd always talked about wearing these outfits. I always said I'd wear black, and Terry would say, 'Then I'm wearing white.' "

	NASCAR fan Danny Strope seals the deal with wife Sherry following their wedding at BMS.

The Sims may never have gotten hitched if not for BMS, which began offering weddings free of charge last year after a NASCAR schedule change left the track available Saturday mornings.

Eleven couples wed here last August, and that's when Brenda decided maybe it was time. She and Terry had been engaged for four years.

"We just never got around to it, I guess," Terry mused.

"I didn't want to plan a wedding," Brenda said. "All we had to do here is show up."

Show up, and let Sullivan County court clerk Sue Jones make things legal. Jones doesn't charge a dime for her services, and neither does the track. All it requires is that everyone buys a race ticket.

Cost considerations were a big selling point for Brad Martin and Amber Pennington, who traveled from Lebanon, Ind., to experience their first Sharpie 500. Amber's parents are NASCAR season-ticket holders.

"We couldn't afford to have a wedding," said Amber, her white dress sporting a Sharpie's pin where a corsage would normally go.

Amber ran into J.C. Penny's on Friday and bought Brad a pair of black pants and white shirt. "I just said to him, 'You're going to wear this,' " she said. "And I got him some shoes that are hard to run in, so there was no way he could run."

The young couple kissed. Trucks began infringing on the post-wedding festivities, and the 23 couples from 12 states were shooed away. There's a race to prepare for tonight. The newlyweds will have to get off the track.

Justin Hagey is an RPM editor for ESPN.com.