Defending winner Chase Briscoe will return to the No. 27 ThorSport Racing Ford for the Aug. 1 Eldora Dirt Derby, the team announced Thursday at Kentucky Speedway. ThorSport has won the last two Gander Outdoors Truck Series events at Eldora Speedway, with Matt Crafton winning in 2017 and Briscoe taking the checkered flag last year.
Last year’s Eldora Dirt Derby was the only 2019 Truck Series start for Briscoe, who runs full-time for Stewart-Haas Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
“It’s super exciting for me to go back to Eldora and try to win two in a row,” Briscoe said. “Nobody’s ever done that.”
Cutting tools manufacturer DIAEDGE will sponsor Briscoe in the seventh running of the Eldora race, NASCAR’s only national series competition on dirt.
Logistically, racing at Eldora will mean a scramble for Briscoe, who has to practice his Xfinity car at Watkins Glen the following morning.
“It’s definitely going to be tough logistically, for sure,” Briscoe said. “Luckily, I found out a couple of weeks ago that there was going to be a plane that goes from Eldora to Watkins Glen with a couple of the spotters and whatnot. I assume I’m going to be the only driver doing both of them.
“For sure, it’s going to be tough. The biggest issue right is if it rains, what happens? That’s obviously an issue when we go dirt racing. If it rains a lot, we won’t race that night.”
SHORT STROKES
Kyle Busch won his second Espy for Best Driver on Wednesday night, beating out Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton, IndyCar’s star Scott Dixon and the NHRA’s Scott Torrence. NASCAR stars have won the Espy for Best Driver in four of the last five years, with Kevin Harvick taking the honor in 2015 after his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship, Busch winning in 2016 after his first title and Martin Truex Jr. winning in 2018 after his breakthrough championship…
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.