Dirt Track Racing Resumes heading to Bristol Dirt #4

This weekend NASCAR will race at Bristol Dirt! It will mark the first time in over 50 YEARS since the premiere 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” will translate into a good afternoon, because this is a whole different beast now. 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)

Ryan Newman – Ryan Newman is an accomplished dirt racer who’ll be doing double-duty this weekend and on Saturday he’ll be racing in the Truck Series. That extra track time will definitely be a plus for preparing for Sunday. In the past, Newman has competed at Eldora twice. In 2013 when the series first raced there, Newman finished 3rd. In 2018 when he had his next most recent race he had trouble and finished 30th. Ryan Newman is an extremely accomplished dirt racer in his pre-NASCAR days. He’s a USAC Silver Crown champion and also a member of the Quarter Midget Hall Of Fame. Ryan Newman has also competed in the last two Chili Bowls.

Tyler Reddick – Tyler Reddick has a dirt racing background in his pre-NASCAR days. Prior to joining the national NASCAR ranks, Reddick was the youngest driver to qualify on the pole at Eldora, the youngest driver to win in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt series and the youngest driver ever to qualify for a feature race in World Of Outlaws sprint car racing. Reddick has some dirt experience at Eldora under his belt. In 2014 he finished 11th, in 2015 he finished 3rd and 2016 he finished 5th.

Matt DiBenedetto – Matt DiBenedetto has a dirt racing background. He grew up racing Outlaw Karts on the dirt in California. Here’s a very encouraging quote from him …. “Any time I’ve hopped in a dirt car or a sprint car, it’s been like riding a bike. It’s all come back to me pretty quickly” (Source). DiBenedetto is said to have paid close attention to the Bristol Dirt National Races last week to watch how the track transitioned, because keeping up with changes will be key.

Alex Bowman – “I’m excited. I may not be a dirt guy, per se, but I probably have more dirt starts than most, I guess, going into Bristol. I ran a couple different midget series for a couple years. While I ran pavement more than dirt, I did run some dirt stuff. I’m going to race my sprint car this year as well. I definitely enjoy the dirt thing. I’m ready to go. I ran the ARCA race on dirt. I feel like that was somewhat similar. I don’t know what to expect. You saw the track get pretty rough over the last couple nights. But those late models make a lot of grip, do some crazy stuff with the rear suspension that I think probably tends to dig the racetrack up a little bit. Our cars are heavy. We’ll see if they do the same thing or not. I’m just excited. I love new and different things. … Who knows if it’s going to be amazing, not great, what the racetrack is going to do, or what’s going to happen. I think the fact that it’s new, different and exciting, is really cool to be a part of” (Source).

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has a dirt track racing background in his pre-NASCAR days having raced Sprint Cars and Midget cars. Currently, Stenhouse Jr. is a team owner for a World Of Outlaws team. Stenhouse Jr. has also competed in Chili Bowl races in the past, including earlier this year.

JJ Yeley – JJ Yeley is a decorated road course ringer who’ll be making his season debut at Bristol Dirt. He’s one of just six drivers to win the USAC Triple Crown. Yeley will  be driving the #53 this week.

Quin Houff – Houff doesn’t appear to have any dirt racing experience on his resume.

Josh Bilicki – Josh Bilicki’s pre-NASCAR days were spent doing kart racing and sport car racing. Bilicki doesn’t appear to have any dirt racing experience on his resume.

Ryan Preece – Ryan Preece comes from a modified racing background in his pre-NASCAR days. In terms of pure dirt racing experience, I can’t find any on his resume.