What Kind of Dirty Things We Can Expect @ The Bristol Dirt Track.

Last season market the first time in over 30 years the NASCAR Cup Series ran a race on the dirt. split 50/50 in approval from the fandom. Some referring to it as a gimmick and some embracing the new event. Many loved the idea of Cup cars on dirt but appalled by the idea of covering Bristol Motor Speedway in the red stuff. Although Fun to watch, the race was a pure shit show with horrible visibility and NASCAR even going as far as to amend the restart rules to single file toward the end of the race.

We obviously don't have an abundance of statistics with only 1 single race under our belts last season. Qualifying & practice were rained out last year. The Top-5 consisted of Joey Logano winning, Ricky Stenhouse Jr the Runner-Up followed by Denny Hamlin in 3rd, Daniel Suarez in 4th and Ryan Newman in 5th. The Dirt racers everyone expected to outclass the field, Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson wrecked each other earlier in the race leading up to anyone's game. We saw Daniel Suarez blow us all away with his performance in a dusty Thunder Valley and a late race restart showing how aggressive Joey Logano can be. Overall lap leader Martin Truex Jr led 126 laps en rout to a 19th place finish.

Several drivers have not yet run Cup cars on dirt. Drivers such as Justin Allgaier, Noah Gragson, Todd Gilliland, Austin Cindric, Harrison Burton & Justin Haley will all make their first Bristol Dirt Cup Starts. Josh Williams will make his Cup Series Debut. Last years stand alone starter included names such as Windom, Marlar, Golobic and Truck Series regular Stewart Friesen. Neither of these drivers will attempt in 2022.

What to Expect in 2022.

• We had 10 cautions in 2021 and I do not expect that number to change much higher or lower.
• NASCAR is mandating mud flaps in hopes of increasing visibility for the drivers, cameras and fans. 
• I think this years race will be much better to watch in terms of organization
  
• Only 36 cars are starting this weekend guaranteeing each hill have a starting spot. (we had 39 last year) 
• Expect Larson and Bell to run well
• With qualifying rained out last season and a new car this year, not much is set in stone.
• I expect TrackHouse and Daniel Suarez to perform well yet again in what is his best season to date thus far. 
• We had 5 lead changes in 2021, Expect more this weekend
• This race will determine if NASCAR returns to the dirt in '23. They cannot afford another embarrassment.

 By: Tom Luttermoser