With the status of the Food City Dirt Race up in the air for 2024 and beyond, several drivers have considered whether the NASCAR Cup Series should compete in a dirty Bristol, or on the dirt at all. PC: Jonathan McCoy | TobyChristie.com
Since the Food City Dirt Race debuted at Bristol Motor Speedway, several drivers and industry figures have rallied to say that the half-mile Dirt Oval is no venue for a NASCAR event.
Whether that’s because they don’t believe Bristol Motor Speedway should lose a datum on its concrete surface to be covered in dirt, or because they don’t believe the NASCAR Cup Series belongs on the dirt, this faction of people has sung the same tune for many years.
For the third year in a row, the debate the week leading up to the event was a hot topic, with multiple riders giving mixed responses, some in favor of racing on the dirt, others against.
KYLE LARSONarguably one of the top dirt racers in the country, is one of the drivers who believes the Bristol Dirt Race should be scrapped, going so far as to say that the NASCAR Cup Series doesn’t belong on dirt at all.
“I think we all really enjoy the concrete surface here in Bristol,” Larson said. “I think the crowd is usually bigger, at this point now for the specifics. Yes, it depends on the series and the organizers, but I would like to do two races again on the concrete here.”
After finishing third in the Food City Dirt Race on Sunday, AUSTIN-DILLON was overjoyed not only with the outcome of Sunday’s event, but also with the exciting nature of the 250-lap event, in which he achieved a season-best third place.
“I mean it should speak for itself, I mean it’s probably one of the best – I don’t know what everyone else thought, that was one of the best races of the year,” said Dillon. “I can see guys slide, run into the fence, run into each other and pretty clean for what it was because you could get into people.”
The 32-year-old driver, who won the inaugural NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at Eldora Speedway, paid tribute to Speedway Motorsports Inc.’s excellent efforts in preparing the track, which Dillon said was in great condition.
“I’ve been to a lot of tarmac races this year that weren’t nearly as good.”
BUBBA WALLACEhowever, raised another issue with the continuation of the NASCAR Cup Series on the dirt surface of Bristol Motor Speedway, which includes the recent prioritization of entertainment value over the race itself.
“We were told last week that this is an entertainment business so it worries me that at certain circuits it doesn’t matter because it’s entertainment. So if it’s here to stay, then it’s here to stay.”
Overall, however, Wallace agrees with the notion put forward by Kyle Larson that Bristol Motor Speedway should return to its original form, a half-mile concrete track, saying that the track’s new form appears to have “phased out” and that it is “ready.” to return to the concrete”.
CHASE BRISCOEanother driver with an extensive background in dirt racing, also commented on the matter, saying that while he believes the NASCAR Cup Series should be run on the dirt, he’s not entirely convinced of the idea that it should be on the Bristol Motor Speedway will take place .
“We definitely need a dirt race, the only thing you want to see on a real dirt track, right, but the infrastructure of a regular dirt track isn’t really the infrastructure to host a cup race, so that’s the difficulty thing,” Briscoe said. “If we keep it at a NASCAR track, maybe a track in New Hampshire could work. I know ARCA runs the dirt miles, I have a feeling this is one that could get dirt on and be ok.
The Mitchell, Indiana native also offered a possible solution to the problem of needing a true dirt track, suggesting that the NASCAR Cup Series travel to Rosberg, Ohio to compete at Eldora Speedway, a track that Briscoe’s team owner, Tony Stewart.
“I think Eldora would be the perfect answer, but it probably doesn’t have the infrastructure from a hotel perspective and things like that to hold a cup race, but all the other dirt races are at max capacity and they manage to work anyway,” continued Briscoe away. “I don’t know, I think if we go to a real dirt track I’d love to see it at Eldora, I feel like it’s the perfect circuit for us.”
Interestingly, the NASCAR Truck Series competed at Eldora Speedway from 2013 through 2020 until the half-mile dirt oval decided not to renew its contract with sanctions board for the 2021 season, leaving it up to sanctions board to switch to Bristol Dirt and Knoxville Raceway
After scoring a top five result on Sunday, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. also mentioned the prospect of NASCAR returning to Eldora Speedway while providing insight into the reasons for the excellent racing at the third annual Food City Dirt Race.
“I feel like this circuit is really wide and smooth and I feel like it would be difficult to find anything better,” Stenhouse said. “I think banking helps a dirt road. At the Knoxville race it seemed like they were bottoming most of the time because the top is just as flat as the bottom and there is no benefit in really going up.”
Like Briscoe, the Olive Branch, Mississippi cites the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series’ seven-year success at Eldora Speedway, saying he always thought they put on a decent show, “especially when they worked the bottom line.”
However, just a day earlier, Stenhouse mentioned that he didn’t think the NASCAR Cup Series should be run on the dirt in Bristol and said the event had run its course, but he did offer another unique solution, similar to Chase’s Briscoe.
“I don’t think we should be doing dirt here,” Stenhouse said on Saturday. “I think Bristol is putting in such a good race in its normal configuration that I’d rather do that. I’d rather wear dirt like Martinsville or something, I guess this place isn’t very…I don’t like it.”
Food City Dirt Race 2023 Winner, CHRISTOPHER BELLappeared fairly unfazed by the possible discussion that Bristol could return to two concrete surface events in 2024 and beyond, and said he would be fine no matter what.
“I don’t know. I think that’s more for the general public to decide. From where I was, it seemed like a pretty good race,” said Bell. “This is also one of the best short trips that we have on the schedule. I don’t know, maybe we have three Bristol races and that’s probably not likely. Yes, I’m good at it either way.”
From an outsider’s perspective JONATHAN DAVENPORT had some interesting quotes about NASCAR Cup Series prospects racing on the dirt after dying in a crash before the end of Sunday’s Food City Dirt Race.
“I don’t know anything about that kind of dirt racing,” said Davenport. “I really classify this as a show rather than a race. I mean, these cars aren’t built to race on dirt, so I don’t know, I mean, it’s cool, it’s different, it’s new, but it’s not really real dirt racing, but it’s just different . ”
NASCAR and Speedway Motorsports Inc. have an important decision to make for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season and beyond as the two parties work to decide whether or not the Food City Dirt Race will return for a fourth season.
However, the testimony given this weekend by some of NASCAR’s most talented drivers who also hail from dirt racing or still regularly compete on the dirt, in the case of Larson and Briscoe, appears to be quite damning.