NASCAR Cup Series

Podium Preview: Food City Dirt Race at Bristol

by
Rob Tiongson
April 9, 2023

JJ Yeley looks like a prime candidate for Sunday night’s Food City Dirt Race at Bristol. (Photo: Trish McCormack | The Podium Finish)

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Ready or not, Bristol Motor Speedway adorns itself with a clay surface for the third iteration of the Food City Dirt Race (7 p.m. ET on FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). At 250 laps, the ninth round of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season is a unique race and glimpse into dirt track racing.

The 0.533-mile short track offers its usual rough and tumble nature with the intent of being like a high banked dirt track. Over the past two years, the event has evolved from the unknown to a race that challenges even the most skillful dirt track specialists.

Although opinions may vary with the Bristol dirt track, particularly with fans and drivers, it provides variety and a great challenge to the best of Cup racing. Moreover, it is another opportunity for a driver and team to make their way into the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

While this race does not offer any notes that can be carried over in the remaining short track races, it offers points, pride and that familiar prize in a sword. By all means, whoever wins the Food City Dirt Race may feel like a gladiator in ancient times.

Last year, Kyle Busch capitalized on a last lap tangle between Chase Briscoe and Tyler Reddick. Without a doubt, this is a race where anything can happen, especially on the final lap in the final corners.

Busch has to be considered a pre-race favorite along with Briscoe, Reddick, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano and JJ Yeley. There is no telling who will prevail when it counts at the East Tennessee-based track.

Once the flag waves the green flag to kick off this new season, it is anyone’s guess as to who will prevail in this year’s Food City Dirt Race at Bristol. For the time being, come along for the ride this and each race weekend with Podium Preview.

This weekend, Cody Shoppe, Jasmine Sharpe, Kobe Lambeth, Matt Sisoler, Teresa Bennink and yours truly ruminate over the likelihood of a dirt track specialist winning on Sunday night and a dark horse race contender!

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Question 1

Might Kyle Larson change the trend of nontraditional Food City Dirt Race winners? (Photo: Trish McCormack | The Podium Finish)

A dirt track specialist or NASCAR Cup Series driver with a dirt track racing background has yet to win the Food City Dirt Race. Does this trend change on Sunday night, and if so, who will prevail?

Lambeth : It’s a bit surprising that we haven’t seen a Cup driver with an extensive dirt track racing background get into victory lane yet in the Food City Dirt Race. When you have the likes of Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe in the field, you’d expect those guys to be the usual suspects to be in contention to win.

For some odd reason, it seems like drivers with a Late Model background seem to excel at Bristol Dirt. Sunday night’s Easter race should be super competitive, but I expect the dirt track lovers to come out on top this year. In regards to who can prevail, keep an eye on the two who tangled coming to the checkered flag last year, Briscoe and Tyler Reddick!

Tiongson : While Kyle Larson seems to be the easy answer with changing this trend, especially as he will start on the pole for Sunday night’s race, he’s the best and optimum choice. I do not see any of the dirt track specialists contending or going for the win. The likes of Joey Logano or Kyle Busch seem like plausible winners especially after their stellar performances in Saturday’s heats.

Honestly, with the way Larson has run this year, he’s looking like a championship favorite. His victory at Richmond was a huge shot in the arm for the No. 5 team and it may be what it takes to reel off a similar season to 2021. The only concern for Larson and his No. 5 team is if they have long, green flag run speed as Ryan Preece nearly caught him. Then again, I look for Kevin Meendering and the No. 5 team to make a good game plan to be better on these types of race conditions come Sunday night.

Sisoler : To be fair, last year we should’ve had our first dirt track specialist win, either Tyler Reddick or Chase Briscoe, but the finish handed the win to Kyle Busch. I digress though. I do think the trend has, at minimum, a good chance at changing, given how well Reddick and Briscoe ran last year, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see it not change, just given how mad Bristol dirt has proven to be.

Sharpe : Bristol, even without the dirt, is known to be a chaotic track. The dirt adds another layer of complexity that takes even well known dirt racers in NASCAR like Kyle Larson a minute to figure out. I feel like the trucks are easier to acclimate to and drive overall better on the dirt.

If a dirt track specialist were to snag a win this weekend I believe it would come from the Truck series. Next Gen just doesn’t handle the greatest on dirt and is much better on superspeedways and 1.5 mile tracks overall. Personally, I highly doubt a dirt track driver will win this weekend.

Torres : So far, dirt specialists haven’t had luck or simply didn’t gel well with performance. I sadly don’t see Jonathan Davenport delivering an impressive result. Even if he’s in a Kaulig car compared to previous ones like Shane Golobic, Stewart Friesen (Truck Series regular) and Chris Windom, who drove for subpar teams. Genuinely, I hope I’m wrong and showcase maybe there’s a knack for dirt regulars to give Bristol a shot someday. But I can’t see that changing anytime soon.

As for those who run full-time, I like their odds better this time around. Tyler Reddick, Chase Briscoe and of course, Kyle Larson, are going to be tough to beat and if anyone else is going to break through, you must go through them.

Kyle Busch was able to win a year ago at the expense of Reddick and Briscoe fighting hard and you can’t convince me it was poor driving. It was a racing ordeal.

Now, if I have to choose who’ll prevail, I’m going with Reddick. He’ll get his retribution from a year ago and will join William Byron as a repeat winner in 2023. I like his odds, much like the Cup guys with dirt backgrounds this year more than previous editions.

Question 2

JJ Yeley turned a lot of heads with his strong performance in his qualifying heat. (Photo: Trish McCormack | The Podium Finish)

Which driver and team should we watch on Sunday night in terms of producing a surprisingly good result at Bristol?

Shoppe : How about JJ Yeley?!? Starting third in the No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford is an amazing start to the weekend for this team! After getting wrecked by Denny Hamlin last week in Richmond, what a great rebound it would be to get a top-10 in Bristol. With Yeley’s dirt racing experience and so many years in NASCAR now, I could see this ultimate underdog team finish out a solid weekend and surprise people today!

Bennink : Even though he will have a lot of cars to pass, I would keep an eye on Chris Buescher on Sunday night.

Last year, Buescher finished 15th in the spring, and the year before that, he finished 14th in the clay covered coliseum.

This year, RFK is showing that they are coming into their own, and I expect the team will have a couple of wins before the finale at Phoenix. But, in the midst of their growing pains last year, Buescher earned his second win in the Cup Series with a dominant run during the Bristol night race.

Additionally, we often forget a drivers history when they move up through the ARCA Series, and ARCA races on dirt. Buescher spent several years in the ARCA series and won on the dirt at DuQuoin State Fairgrounds in 2011.

Two laps around Bristol on the dirt surface is about as sideways as we can get besides a good Bourne Identity type film! Before we return to Bristol, Tennessee, let’s rewind to last Sunday’s Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway with our race and points report from Race No. 8 of 36 of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season!

Kobe Lambeth earned a victory thanks to Kyle Larson.

Lambeth extends his points lead with the Alex Bowman penalty affecting Rob Tiongson.