Changes in track degree angles, better weather expected to improve this year’s Food City Dirt Race.
- The second Food City Dirt Race, marking NASCAR’s second Cup race on dirt in the modern era, is scheduled Sunday night at Bristol Motor Speedway.
- Last year, the heavily anticipated race weekend was hammered by rain, turning the dirt surface into various forms of muck.
- NASCAR ran tests at the track last week with thoughts of possible changes for this weekend.
It’s time to get dirty again.
The second Food City Dirt Race, marking NASCAR’s second Cup race on dirt in the modern era, is scheduled Sunday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, which hosted the first clay-on-concrete event last year.
This year the only thing similar is the dirt.
Of course, the field will be racing in vastly different vehicles, this being the first dirt race for the Next Gen car. The race moves from afternoon to evening. The profile of the track surface will be different, with degree angles from bottom to top changed. And, mercifully, the weather forecast is relatively good.
Last year, the heavily anticipated race weekend was hammered by rain, turning the dirt surface into various forms of muck. The race was postponed to Monday, and the wacky conditions failed to give officials, fans and the television audience a good look at how a concrete speedway covered with dirt might work in the Cup series.
Track workers did their best to dry to the track after rain turned the dirt more into muck.
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“I don’t know if we got a completely fresh shot at it last year with the weather,” said NASCAR official Ben Kennedy. “Hopefully, it will be good this year and we won’t have any weather issues. We’ll see how the weekend plays out. It’s important to us, important to the industry and our broadcast partners and Speedway Motorsports (Bristol’s parent company).”
Last year’s race generated mixed reviews both inside and outside the garage area. But the concept of a top-level NASCAR race on a dirt surface was a cool selling point, and officials seem linked to the idea.
“It’s an opportunity to re-imagine and to shake things up,” said Kennedy, who has been aggressive in moves to reinvent the Cup schedule. “Bristol did such a great job with it, and I think it’s turned that event from another stop on the schedule to something like a tent-pole event for that portion of the schedule.”
Some drivers have suggested that future Cup dirt races be scheduled on traditional dirt tracks.
“I wish we were going to a normal dirt track and still have two Bristol races,” said Alex Bowman. “All the viewership stuff was heavily impacted last year by the weather and too much dust. The night race should keep the dust down. At the end of the day, we do things fans like. If it’s a great show and a great event, I see it continuing. If the fans say, ‘We’ve had enough,’ maybe not.”
Bowman said last year’s race was complicated by “somewhat of a lack of preparation. A lot of people knew the issues we were going to have, and everybody then acted surprised about the issues. The dust. Then when you try to put water on the track you’re going to clog the windshields and the radiator screens. I’m not sure that’s fixed yet. And the Next Gen car will handle it a little differently.”
NASCAR ran tests at the track last week with thoughts of possible changes for this weekend.
Erik Jones, who finished ninth in last year’s race (won by Joey Logano), said he expects the Cup series to keep a dirt race in the years to come.
“I think it loses a bit of its luster as time goes by and you see it a couple of times,” Jones said. “But I think maybe the venue should move around. Obviously, Bristol is an enticing place for anything, whether it be a normal race or a dirt race. It’s a great track for us with the normal surface, so I think that will come back, but I see a dirt race on the schedule for some time.”
Count Ryan Blaney, eighth in the dirt last year, as among the drivers who would prefer both Bristol races on concrete.
“I think too much of something might be a bad thing,” he said. “With something unique like that—maybe move it around to an already established dirt track. If you want to have a Cup race on dirt so badly, there are a lot of great dirt tracks out there that can facilitate our cars. I wouldn’t mind seeing it moved around and get Bristol back.”
Keyword: Why NASCAR's Dirt Show at Bristol Should Be Better This Time Around