It is time for the third Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. NASCAR’s attempt to boost Bristol’s Spring race ratings has returned for the NASCAR Cup Series in 2023. Will it return in 2024? Who knows. Whatever your feelings are about Bristol Dirt, it certainly has been a curveball to the Cup Series schedule. While many assumed the dirt ringers would have their way with the track, it has been two non-dirt racers who have claimed victory. Joey Logano and Kyle Busch have played the spoiler in the two Bristol dirt events. Last year, Busch lucked out when Chase Briscoe’s slide job move resulted in both himself and race leader Tyler Reddick spinning out.
The Food City Dirt Race is an interesting race to analyze. As mentioned earlier, the dirt-racers have not dominated in the way one would expect. In the first Bristol dirt race, Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell were taken out early due to a wreck. Meanwhile, a dirt racing novice like Daniel Suarez was in contention to win. 2022 was a bit more tame compared to the prior year. The Top-5 consisted of Reddick, Larson, and Bell, all who come from dirt racing backgrounds. If not for his last lap move, Briscoe would have netted himself a Top-5. With that said, the Food City Dirt Race still is a bit of mystery when it comes to predicting who will be the front runners.
Who will reign supreme on Easter Sunday? Will a dirt-racer finally claim victory at Bristol dirt or will it be another surprise winner? Continue reading below to find out who are the five drivers to watch this Sunday at the Food City Dirt Race. If you want a statistical insight heading into Sunday, check out Daniel Smith’s notable starts and statistical outlook articles.
Tyler Reddick
The driver who would have won last year’s Food City Dirt Race should be a favorite this year. If not for Chase Briscoe, Tyler Reddick’s first career Cup Series win would have been on dirt. He led the most laps (99) in his RCR entry. After a mediocre Richmond, Reddick will look to continue his recent strong form at Bristol dirt. Prior to Richmond, Reddick finished Top-5 in three straight races, including his win at COTA.
As was discussed in the leadup to COTA, will Toyota be able to bring the power necessary for Reddick to dominate again? Despite Kyle Busch’s win last year, Toyota only managed two cars in the Top-10 and one lap led. Plus, Busch never had the speed to compete with Reddick and Briscoe. In 2021, Martin Truex Jr led the most laps in the race, but that was the old car. In the NextGen, there have been certain tracks where Toyota has not run as the same pace as the Chevys and Fords. Despite this concern, Reddick demonstrated at COTA that he can elevate the equipment he is running.
Chase Briscoe
Outside of his win at Phoenix, Bristol dirt was the only race where Chase Briscoe was a threat for the win. Briscoe led 59 laps in the race and won Stage 2. In the closing laps, Briscoe was putting the pressure on Reddick for the win. His last turn slide job attempt ruined his finishing position as his car was unable to get refired quickly. From second place to outside the Top-20 in one move.
Heading into this year’s Bristol dirt race, Briscoe could use a strong performance to turn his season around. Briscoe currently sits outside the Top-20 in points with only one Top-10 on the season. Even if he does not win, a Top-5 could be the momentum his team needs to start the climb into postseason contention.
Kyle Larson
Kyle Larson already won a dirt race this week. On Thursday, Larson won at Volunteer Speedway in the Late Model Challenge. In a thrilling main event, Larson outdueled Jonathan Davenport to secure the win. On top of his late model win on dirt, Larson also is coming off a win at Richmond. All of the momentum is on Larson’s side. Two wins over the past week, a Cup Series race on dirt, and his car was not taken to get inspected by NASCAR so his team avoided heavy penalty.
After wrecking early in 2021, Larson flexed his dirt racing skills a bit last year. Although he was not a factor in the late race battle for the lead, Larson won Stage 1 and led 27 laps. Despite his and Reddick’s strong run, Chevy still remains winless on Bristol dirt. With how dominate the manufacturer has been this year, it almost seems inevitable that a Chevy will get the job done on Sunday. No reason to believe that it will not be Kyle Larson pulling that off for Chevy.
Joey Logano
Despite not being well-versed in the dirt racing world, Joey Logano has taken to Bristol dirt like a fish to water. Logano is coming off back-to-back Top-5s on the dirt, including his 2021 win. In that win, Logano led 61 laps and won Stage 2. After Truex lost the lead, Logano was the car to beat. Although he was helped with single file restarts, no one was able to surpass the #22 car in 2021.
Meanwhile in 2022, Logano was not the car to beat. He had to settle for Top-5 speed, which is nothing to sneeze at. A Top-5 run would be great for Logano. So far this season, Logano has been inconsistent in his performances. As discussed in this week’s power rankings, Logano has either been in contention for the win or running mid-lead pack. With some of Logano’s better tracks upcoming, Bristol dirt would be a good place to start showing off that Team Penske speed fans are accustomed to seeing.
Michael McDowell
If you are looking for a dark horse to cheer for on Sunday, Michael McDowell is a great shout. In subpar equipment, McDowell has finished no worse than twelfth on the dirt. Much like Logano, McDowell is not known for his dirt racing ability. Road course? Sure, put some money on McDowell. Dirt racing? Who would have thought to include McDowell as a contender?
After back-to-back career seasons, McDowell is off to a bit of a slow start. Only one Top-10 in the first seven races is a bit of step back for the Front Row driver. With that said, the past two races have been steps in the right direction. COTA would have been a Top-10 for McDowell if not for the restart chaos. Despite getting caught up in the mess, McDowell was able to bounce back for twelfth. At Richmond, McDowell finished sixth. After a Top-10 at Bristol dirt last year, McDowell will look to repeat that success for three straight solid races.
