The Bristol Motor Speedway dirt race has been on the NASCAR schedule for 3 years now, and after this weekend we should see even more of the possible ending or future of this event in the sport. With some unsure words today from SMI CEO Marcus Smith many are leaning towards the negative side when it comes to the future of the event as in 2021 and 2022 the mindset seemed much more positive. So today we are going to look and and dive deep into everything Bristol Dirt. Should NASCAR leave Bristol Dirt? Why or why not?
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48 comments
What do you want the future of Bristol Dirt to look like?
Put it back to its original form. Steeper Banks and go asphalt
There are plenty large venue existing dirt tracks. Repave Bristol back to the way it was in the late 90s/early 00s and let them fight for the bottom again. Then take one of the road courses away and go to an existing dirt track if you have to.
@k bradford that never existed
@Benson Weaver yes it did exist I have VCR with the blacktop and steeper Banks
I honestly would hate to see NASCAR leave Bristol Dirt, because there’s only dirt racing in the Truck Series, but no dirt racing in the Cup Series. So why make dirt racing in the Cup Series a tradition. Sure there maybe some fans out there that think that traditional dirt racing in Cup is not a good idea, but for me, dirt racing was where I grew up with as a kid. So to see Cup Series dirt racing, it kind of takes me back to not only my younger days, but also to the NASCAR Roots.
This race in 3 years has gotten more attendance than Bristol spring from 2016-2019.
Exactly – numbers don’t lie
I’d say those races didn’t air on BIG Fox.
Just a guess
I feel like the dirt race idea should be kept or move the dirt race to a location that can fit a Cup Series race.
Problem is none really do besides Eldora
@The Anonymous AcclerDew either the springfield or DuQuoin mile tracks would do real nice
@The Anonymous AcclerDew even than it couldn’t do a full truck field without sharing pits. No dirt track can do a full field cup race.
In general, the Bristol spring date should be removed entirely because the weather in April is always rainy every time they go there. 5 out of the last 7 spring races were either halted, or postponed because of rain. The only 2 times rain didn’t affect the spring races were 2019 (cloudy, but didn’t rain) and 2020 (due to rescheduling because of Covid)
Tennesse does get a lot of severe weather that month and that usually brings heavy rain
I hate to agree, but unfortunately I do
I never understood why they don’t do a doubleheader on the few weeks craftsman and Xfinity don’t run. Or run two Bristol races middle and end of the year. The Allure is the track not the time its run.I agree with both of you
I like the Bristol Dirt Race, as I think it’s a good showcase of drivers’ dirt skills, as well as the fact it increases the schedule’s diversity, and shows NASCAR’s willingness to try new things. However I do miss the Bristol Spring Race, but I totally get why they did it. The race wasn’t getting attendance or TV numbers, and this was a great way to revitalize it. So I want it to stay personally.
It’s crazy that the attendance has dropped off so much. When I first got into Nascar, the night race there was sold out every year. I was finally able to go in 04-05. I highly recommend experiencing a race there for everyone who hasn’t been. I live about 30-40 minutes from Talladega, used to go every year. After going to Bristol, I could care less about a super speedway. I’ll take a short track any day!
I love NASCAR Cup cars on dirt. It’s fun and provides a wildcard. But at the same time? Weather has been a problem since year 1 back in ’21. But I cannot stress enough that we need a NASCAR Cup race on dirt to showcase that our drivers race on every racing surface.
Not to mention, it’s awesome to see the names of the dirt world get a shot in a Cup car and we get to find out more about them. It’s a win for the dirt world because it gets them exposure to the spotlight with their drivers and it’s a win for NASCAR.
I will miss the Dirt race if it goes.
Agreed!
I think Nascar needs a dirt race, but I don’t think Bristol should be the place
@TristanTate As much as I agree with Bristol not being where we should host the dirt race, we also have to take into consideration that a normal Cup Series crowd is around the 40,000-80,000 range in attendance. Bristol is the only place that can seat the attendance of a Cup crowd.
If you take an already existing dirt track and size it up for the Cup cars, it’d most likely lose a lot of races from the other dirt racing leagues and re-configuring the track would take a lot of money and have to go through all kinds of governmental hoops to actually happen.
I would like to see them move to a purpose-built dirt track and run it on Fourth of July weekend.
Eldora
@Visionary Watcher I think that would be pretty cool
Who’s going to pay for it?
I feel like Eldora is too small, maybe a little bit bigger would be more fitting
Keep Bristol Dirt and move it to May as the race before Darlington throwback weekend. A nice, classic stretch of races of Bristol Dirt, Darlington throwback weekend, North Wilkesboro, and the Coke 600
That’s the ultimate throwback month and I love it!! NASCAR needs to do this!
That’s a lot of races in a small area in a short time, not sure attendence would be great with mostly the same pool of fans going to 4 races in 1 month
YESSSSS I LIVE IN BRISTOL IT STARS TO DRY UP IN MAY BEEN SAYING THIS FOREVER
No race on asphalt dirt is embarrassing
This is actually a phenomenal idea IMO. I would dig it 🙂
There are so many fans who have just decided they don’t like it and never will. Let them seethe, I’d rather see a unique type of race in the Cup Series that, until 2021, hadn’t been done since the 70s, rather than continue to run a spring race that obviously wasn’t working. Hanging on to a race that was hemorrhaging viewers and at-track attendance for the sake of “tRaDiTiOn” is what has caused so many problems in the past (especially at tracks like Texas, which has never been good and NASCAR STILL won’t let it go), and NASCAR needed to either reinvent the track or have Bristol lose a date. I would much rather see a unique, if a bit gimmicky, race that fits the theme of the season and brings new viewers, pays homage to NASCAR’s roots, has the potential to produce great racing, and allows the guys with dirt track experience to show their skills than lose a date at Bristol.
I absolutely love it as the banking allow more sliding but can also punish drivers being on the edge of traction. NASCAR has most track diversity of any series cause you got superspeedway, intermediate, short track, road course( now street course as well), whatever the hell Pocono is and dirt is another skill set in a car meant to be a Jack of all trades. That said the weather has ruined the Bristol Spring race even Pre dirt so best to switch it with another date like maybe Sonoma or Talladega.
I’m new to nascar, I’m pumped to see the race this weekend!
I like it and I would like to go. The problem is with in general the races that I want to go to a little more than that like Daytona 500 will out weigh it especially because it’s costly for me to get there living in New Hampshire.
Bristol Dirt should remain moving forward. No Dirt track has the facilities for cup racing, it gets better turnout than concrete in the spring, and removing the date entirely would probably cause a lot of unnecessary fan backlash.
I think this should be the research project/ case study to build or upgrade a purpose built dirt colluseum (and away from the Bristol, Martinsville, Richmond cluster). If NASCAR can run:
– 1-2 dirt races
– 4-6 road course races
– 1-2 street circuit races
Along with the other Speedways and super speedways, they can be what INDYCAR is for formula racing. AKA, an All-Rounder Driver series. This would keep interest up for having a lot of different types of racing.
Yes. I’d only argue at least 3 dirt races. Make it worth the driver’s and teams time to prep and plan for dirt racing. And further run a different format. Split the field and run twin features with full points for both. This could also be done at the Charlotte dirt track, Texas dirt track, or Vegas dirt track on the Thursday night before the pavement race. Would be shorter races, better for weeknight prime time summer viewing.
@Andy Blystone that’s too much. That’s a really stupid idea
I’d like to see them invest in a proper dirt facility, and maybe move the date to a slightly better time of year for dirt racing, make this the Sonoma weekend, it would be perfect time of year for it
Edit: if they’re gonna keep doing Bristol dirt, bring in the team from Oswego speedway in new York, they’re one of the only tracks I know of that runs dirt on top of a really good paved track and still have amazing racing on both surfaces
First off…Marcus Smith deserves a ton of credit for working on bringing back North Wilkesboro…2nd, I think Bristol is a good dirt race. My only issue is that I hated to see a regular Bristol race go away as its an awesome track. However, if fans weren’t showing up…I guess you have to do something. Anyways, credit to SMI the past few years to change some things and bring back a great track.
Bristol was one of my favorite races from the 1990s Winston cup series always tones of action.
This race is awesome in my opinion. NASCAR needs to keep it on the schedule, it adds a different racing perspective & showcases the dirt track drivers in NASCAR talents. Maybe move the date to when it’s not raining but keep it on the schedule for the long run
I live about an hour from the track and the biggest problem with the spring race at Bristol is the weather. The race needs to be moved 1 to 2 weeks later in the year.