At least amongst those who drive the cars in the NASCAR Cup Series, Bristol Dirt won’t be missed this weekend.
Following a three-year stint in which the fast-half-mile was covered in clay each spring, NASCAR and Speedway Motorsports have returned the date to its traditional daytime format on the concrete surface. The track has even replaced its signature black walls for a retro red and white look reminiscent of the 1980s.
Tyler Reddick, who spent his formative years racing dirt Late Models, is curious to see how a return to daytime spring racing on concrete will change the dynamic. Keep in mind that all the other races at Bristol on concrete with the NextGen car have come at nighttime in September.
“It is a very electric atmosphere, whether it was dirt or concrete. When we go to Bristol,” Reddick said. “It’s one of the more intense races we have.
“I think it’s cool to go back there on a Sunday afternoon. The day race always plays out differently than the fall race because there’s less cars on the track through the weekend. Also interested to see how the NextGen car fares in a spring concrete race.”
Reddick even thinks the different painted walls will even trip drivers up from a race craft standpoint at first.
“Ever since I’ve been going there, the walls have been painted black,” he said. “The feel of the lap has been pretty consistent but it will probably take us out of the lap at first with the walls painted differently too.”
Chase Elliott said he understands the appeal of both but lands more on the pavement side of the ledger.
“Overall, Bristol is a really good track on our circuit comparatively speaking to other places,” Elliott said. “It needs the help less than other tracks so I think Bristol will be totally fine whether its dirt, concrete or whatever it may be.
“I’m good with concrete just from the standpoint that it’s a big headache for them to get the dirt in and out, cleaned up and stuff, so I’m not really so sure what they gained at the end of the day by doing it. I thought it was neat to try it and maybe it comes back some day, maybe it doesn’t but I think Bristol is a healthy place regardless.”
And that’s kind of the consensus across the roster, almost verbatim from his good friend Ryan Blaney.
“Honestly, I didn’t have strong feelings one way or the other,” Blaney said. “I enjoyed the dirt race and I thought every year, it got better. First year, track wasn’t very good. Second year, it got better. Last year, I thought the track was awesome. It was very racy, very slick from top to bottom. We had options. Maybe we’ll go back to it in a couple of years.”
Reigning Night Race winner Denny Hamlin is a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to scheduling and Bristol certainly aligns with that philosophy.
“I am happy about it for sure,” Hamlin said. “It’s been one of our best races. You can argue about fan turnout or whatnot over time and that’s why they changed it. As far as the actual on track racing, it’s hard to beat Bristol concrete.”
That’s kind of where his young teammate, second-year driver Ty Gibbs feels too, when asked about what he experienced last year.
“I love dirt racing but I don’t think I’ll miss it on Bristol too much,” he said.
Then there’s 2022 Bristol Night Race winner Chris Buescher, who doesn’t mince words at all over the matter.
“I am probably in the boat that’s the most excited about it being concrete, and you know, I try and tell everybody every time I talk about it that I don’t have anything against dirt,” Buescher said. “I’ve absolutely loved the small handful of dirt racing that I’ve done through the years, I absolutely love it.”
He’s done a lot of it over the years too across Late Models and ARCA.
But.
“I just don’t like it on Bristol and that’s just my take on it.”
It’s the same thing with dirt rooted Christopher Bell.
“I love racing at Bristol,” said Bell. “It’s literally my favorite track on the schedule. I’m very thankful we get to go twice this year.”
Matt Weaver is a Motorsports Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.