Dirt Track Racing Resumes heading to Bristol Dirt #2

This weekend NASCAR will race at Bristol Dirt! It will mark the first time in over 50 YEARS since the series raced on this type of surface. “Bristol Dirt” should be viewed as a new track, and don’t fall for the trap thinking “Regular Bristol Success” is a plus, because its not. Below are “Dirt Track Racing Resumes” of drivers who’ll be racing at Bristol Dirt!

This is a series of posts that will come out over the course of the week. Also, more information will likely be added to this post in terms of how drivers are preparing or their past experience on dirt.

(Dirt Racing Resumes #1, Dirt  Racing Resumes #2, Dirt Racing Resumes #3, Dirt Racing Resumes #4)

Kyle Larson – Kyle Larson is a dirt racing ace who’ll be the favorite on Sunday. He’s a past Eldora winner, the reigning Chili Bowl Champ and last summer he dominated the dirt world racing against the highest level of competition. One huge advantage Larson will have on much of the field on Sunday is that he’ll have a ton of track time under his belt. He’ll be racing in the Trucks on Saturday, and last week he raced at Bristol Dirt in a modified car. Last week in a modified car, Larson won a heat race and then finished 2nd in the main event. At Eldora in the Truck Series, Larson has been strong. In 2013 when the track made its debut he finished 2nd and led 51 laps. In 2014, Larson had problems and finished 26th. Then when Larson returned in 2016, he raced his way to victory lane and led 48 laps.

Martin Truex Jr. – Martin Truex Jr.’s main preparation for Bristol Dirt will be that he’ll be racing in the Truck Series for the first time since 2006 on Saturday. Here’s a quote I found about his prior dirt racing experience, “I’ve only raced twice on dirt. Both of them were at (Ken) Schrader’s (track), having a charity race out in Missouri. I did that a few times in a modified. That was the only times I raced on dirt, after growing up on four-wheelers and motorcycles” (Source).

Ty Dillon – Ty Dillon is returning to competition at Bristol Dirt and he’ll be driving the #96. Dillon has quite a few Truck starts at Eldora on his resume and he’s been respectable. He’s raced there five times, has a 10.8 average finish and his last three results are 10th, 11th and 12th.