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However, the Bristol Motor Speedway president also talked about some of the disappointment after hard rains pushed the majority of the game from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon.

In the end, the Atlanta Braves won the game 4-2 over the Cincinnati Reds in front of a crowd larger than at most MLB games.

“We were thrilled to be able to host a record-breaking event with Major League Baseball over 91,000 people,� Caldwell said Monday at a post-game media event. “It didn’t come off exactly the way we wanted. We always want to be able to exceed everyone’s expectations, and Mother Nature threw us a curve ball. We were still thrilled with the weekend. It came off wonderfully well and created some great memories. And it was a good game yesterday to wrap up the Speedway Classic.�

Caldwell responded to a question about concessions not being available after a certain time on Saturday night. It was different than a NASCAR race as Major League Baseball didn’t allow fans to bring outside food and drinks. Caldwell offered an apology to the fans who weren’t able to get the items they desired, and added there will be lessons learned from the event.

“Any time we don’t exceed everyone’s expectations, it’s not meeting our standards,� Caldwell said. “We had some challenges later in the evening around concessions. The game was going about 30 percent longer than all of us expected with everybody under the grandstands. For those folks that we fell short, we’re sorry and will try to do what we can to get them to come back and give us another chance.�

There was a year build-up to the event with tremendous support from Major League Baseball, the Braves and the Reds.

Both Speedway Motorsports and Major League Baseball were thrilled going into Saturday night’s game, but the weather put a damper on the festive mood. The game was delayed over two hours at the start and then suspended in the bottom of the first inning.

“We all wanted it on Saturday night. It was such a buzz, and there was such a momentum around that event,� Caldwell said. “The game was still really strong, and the game yesterday turned out wonderfully well. The folks that were able to make it out, which we were grateful for, had a great time and created wonderful memories.�

Caldwell added about 50 percent of the crowd made it back for Sunday after no one knew exactly what to expect. With the game halted shortly after 10 p.m. Saturday night for a 1 p.m. restart on Sunday, BMS and MLB put the focus solely on the game and not the auxiliary events like concerts or the Fan Zone.

“We needed to make sure we could exceed expectations and get ready for Sunday, and they did that really well,� Caldwell said. “My takeaway is that partnership is so important, and these events are hard. They’re big events, a lot of folks coming in, we need to make sure we’re prepared, and you got to have those right partners by your side. In this case, we had great partners.�

As with all the major events at BMS, there are recaps with the different departments going on.

Officials from other sports leagues were on site Saturday. Caldwell said it’s led to some interesting conversations, but the focus now is on the next large event, the Bass Pro Shops Night Race for the NASCAR Cup Series just 38 days from Monday.