NASCAR may open its season at the LA Coliseum, but its original coliseum is in the south. Bristol Motor Speedway is the Last Great Colosseum, with decades of history as the home of NASCAR’s gladiators.
For the past three years, this spring race at Bristol has been run on the dirt. This season, the track once again has two races on the concrete, and the first is Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Despite being a half-mile short track, the high banks of Bristol allow drivers to carry plenty of speed throughout the lap and make it The World’s Fastest Half-Mile. Because of that, the car’s won’t be running the Cup Series’ new short track package that debuted last week at Phoenix.
Odds via BetMGM
+525 – Denny Hamlin
+550 – Kyle Larson
+600 – Christopher Bell
+900 – Ryan Blaney
+1100 – Ty Gibbs
+1100 – Tyler Reddick
+1200 – Kyle Busch
+1300 – Brad Keselowski
+1400 – William Byron
+1500 – Chris Buescher
That might offer some reprieve for the rest of the field. The Toyotas were dominant at Phoenix, with Christopher Bell ultimately securing the win. It wasn’t just Phoenix where the Toyotas have been fast, though: Denny Hamlin won at the Coliseum, a quarter-mile short track that used the same package the cars will be running at Bristol.
And even more dangerous: defending winner Bell loves Bristol.
“I love racing at Bristol,” said Bell. “It’s literally my favorite race on the schedule. I’m very thankful we get to go twice this year. It’s been a track we have excelled at the last couple of times we have been there—we’ve been close.”
He was able to break through in this race last year, winning on the dirt surface. Coming from a dirt background has taught Bell to be versatile and adaptable on any track surface, though. He may not be the most vocal driver in the garage, but he’s a perennial sleeper pick.
Back to the concrete
Other drivers aren’t too concerned about leaving the dirt either. Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez, who got a significant win at Atlanta Motor Speedway at the beginning of the season after going winless last year, enjoys whatever he’s given.
“I had never seen a dirt race much less raced in one until they made Bristol dirt a few years ago,” he admitted. “We did pretty good that first year leading a bunch of laps and finish fourth. We led even more the second year. It was fun and a new challenge.
“But racing again on the pavement will be fun as well. I think at Bristol we will also put on a good show no matter what we race on.”
His teammate Ross Chastain is still looking for a first win this season. He won the championship race at Phoenix Raceway last season but didn’t walk away with the championship trophy, having been eliminated in an earlier round of the Playoffs.
And Chastain knows that Bristol is a challenge: he’s only managed to finish in the top ten once at the track. Plenty of times, that’s been a result of getting caught up in someone else’s crash.
“Because of the g-forces,” he explained, “its so hard to get stopped. I’ve piled into crashes there plenty of times because we’re going so fast and its hard to get slowed down on the small track.”
Blue Oval struggles for some but not all
While the Toyotas have won all the short tracks and the Chevys have won everything else, there’s been a lot less to celebrate for the Ford camp so far this season. Even back-to-back front row lockouts at the superspeedways was tainted by Joey Logano’s disqualification for an illegally modified glove that blocked the air and helped make speed.
Logano currently sits 30th in points with a 100-point deficit four races into the season.
However, his teammate has had a much different season. Ryan Blaney is the points leader heading into Bristol. After getting wrecked out in the first race of the season at Daytona, Blaney has been able to put together three top fives in a row, showcasing speed and consistency from his Mustang Dark Horse.
Another Ford driver who’s shown impressive speed has been Noah Gragson. He’s started the year with two top ten finishes, performing the best of his new Stewart-Haas Racing team. That included a strong sixth at Vegas.
He’s only ever raced Bristol on the dirt, however, after getting suspended last season prior to the fall race on the concrete.
“I’ve spent a lot of time in the sim getting ready for Bristol,” Gragson explained. “I like that track a lot.
“Going there in a Cup car, it’s going to take constant learning and being aware all day and seeing how we can improve from the start of practice, qualifying, the race, and then, hopefully, when we go back there for the night race in the fall we can be even better and fire off with more confidence. But we’re going into it pretty open-minded right now.”
Gragson’s points position doesn’t reflect the speed he’s shown so far this season, however. He and teammate Ryan Preece received 35-point penalties after the race at Atlanta for illegal roof deflectors that has left him mired back in 26th in the standings.
Even for their cars running well, not much has gone right for Ford so far this season. Bristol is a chance to turn that around.
Rajah Caruth has already made NASCAR history in the Truck Series
The Craftsman Truck Series is back at Bristol for Saturday night’s Weather Guard Truck Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, at 8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. And, this year, it’s a bit less of a Cup driver’s playground.
In the past, Cup Series drivers have found a Truck Series ride when the sport headed to the dirt track at Bristol to get a little extra experience. And those Cup stars certainly brought speed with them: Joey Logano swept the stages en route to victory of this race last year.
Now that the there’s no dirt in sight in the middle of the concrete canyon that is Bristol, only one Cup challenger is entered. Still, it’s a significant one: Kyle Busch won in his first Truck series race out for Spire Motorsports this season at Atlanta. He’s driving for Spire since selling his old Kyle Busch Motorsports team to them over the offseason.
Busch won’t be able to get the perfect sweep of his five starts this season – Cup Series drivers are limited to five starts to ensure that Truck Series stars still get their chances to shine – however. Last time the Truck Series competed, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Busch ended up fifteenth.
But that certainly wasn’t the story. Instead, it was Rajah Caruth’s victory. In securing the win, he became just the third Black driver to win a NASCAR national series race in the sport’s history, joining Hall of Fame driver Wendell Scott and current Cup Series winner Bubba Wallace on that list.
“One of the biggest things I’ve taken away is what that win meant to other people,” Caruth said. “It’s important to think how it affects you and everyone in your inner circle, like everybody at the shop and my family. Personally, I had some time off last week and think about it, but the coolest thing was seeing how it affected everyone around me.”
The college student has already secured his legacy in NASCAR’s history, but the Spire Motorsports driver is just like any other competitor: he wants to win the next one. Bristol might be the perfect place to do it.
“Bristol is a place I feel really good at and walk in there with a little pep in my step,” Caruth said. “It’s such a fun racetrack and I will knock on wood cause everything I’ve drove at Bristol in the past I was able to make good speed so we hope that continues on Saturday.
“My confidence level doesn’t mean too much ’cause I like to keep everything at even-keel as possible, and Bristol is a fun track and it’s fun every time we go there.”
If he could back it up, he would be the eighth driver in the series to win his first and second races in consecutive starts.
A successful track runner before he ever started racing stock cars, Caruth knows how to compete. With that impressive, and important, win, he’s proven to everyone that he really can do it.
NASCAR Cup Series
Next Race: Food City 500
The Place: Bristol Motor Speedway
The Date: Sunday, March 17
The Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
The Purse: $8,182,531
TV: FOX, 3 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 266.5 miles (500 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 125),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 250), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 500)
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series
Next Race: Weather Guard Truck Race
The Place: Bristol Motor Speedway
The Date: Saturday, March 16
The Time: 8 p.m. ET
The Purse: $761,274
TV: FS1, 7 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 133.25 miles (250 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 65),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 130), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 250)
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