Anticipation builds as Food City Dirt Race nears

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - NASCAR is going back to its roots to celebrate its 75th Anniversary this year by returning to Bristol Motor Speedway for the Food City Dirt Race.

Race weekend, held Friday, April 7-Sunday, April 9, is highlighted by the NASCAR Cup Series’ Food City Dirt Race on Sunday. The WEATHER GUARD Truck Race on Dirt will drop the green flag on Saturday, and will be preceded by Bush’s Beans Qualifying on Friday.

Most Cup Series races were held on dirt tracks through the sport’s first 20 years of existence. Starting in 1971, and for 50 years until 2021, all of the races in the Cup Series were held on either asphalt or pavement.

NASCAR and Speedway Motorsports executives made the move to bring dirt back to the Cup Series in 2021 as a way of honoring the sport’s roots on the high banks of Bristol Motor Speedway.

Speedway Motorsports Sr. Vice President of Operations and Development, Steve Swift, said the dirt-transformation is nearly complete at BMS.

After a few weeks of work by the team at Baker’s Construction Services and other vendors, the track is totally covered in Tennessee red clay, but Swift said there’s still some dirt to spread in both turns. A few rainy days have slowed progress but he said everything is on schedule – if Mother Nature will cooperate that is – to have the track race-ready by the end of March.

He said the dirt layout will be the same as the configuration from last year, with 19-degrees of banking in the turns and a 50-foot wide racing surface.

To purchase tickets for Sunday’s Food City Dirt Race or Saturday’s WEATHER GUARD® Truck Race on Dirt and Bush’s Beans Qualifying, visit the BMS website or call the BMS Ticket Sales Center at (866) 415-4158.

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