BRISTOL, Tenn. — Walking toward victory lane to congratulate Christopher Bell, Speedway Motorsports CEO and president Marcus Smith was all smiles Sunday night. And he had reason to be. His track, Bristol Motor Speedway, had just hosted a rather entertaining race on Bristol’s much-maligned dirt surface that each spring for the past three years has generated widespread criticism.
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“That was the best one yet, don’t you think?” Smith said.
It’s hard to argue with Smith’s assessment.
The race was what you’d expect to see on a dirt track constructed for heavy stock cars that aren’t purposely designed to race on such a surface. There was hard, full-contact racing, hurt feelings, and plenty of passing that featured drivers fanning out two‐, three‐ and sometimes four‐wide. It wasn’t a perfect race or undisputed proof that NASCAR should continue its foray into dirt racing, but there were plenty of positives on this night, especially compared to the previous two editions, in which various hiccups prompted some derision toward NASCAR and Bristol for taking a jewel of a paved short track and turning it into something significantly less.
So then does that mean Bristol will host a fourth NASCAR dirt race in 2024?
“We’ll see,” Smith said.
Smith isn’t being coy. Both he and NASCAR executives are steadfast that no decision has been made on what surface NASCAR will race on when the league returns to Bristol next spring.
“We’ll work with the racetrack, we’ll hear back from the fan base as well, our broadcast partners, and really take a holistic look at the event,” NASCAR chief operating officer Steve O’Donnell said last week. “It was something that was unique, but we’ve always said that we don’t just like doing one-offs, we want to see how it plays out.
“It’s going to be an important year for us to see how the activity is on the racetrack. What do the fans think? So we’re going to evaluate that and see what we do for ‘24.”
Going into the weekend, the prevailing thought across the industry was that this would likely be the final time NASCAR would race on dirt at Bristol — the rationale being that the concept of layering dirt onto a revered NASCAR track in order to bring some much-needed pizzazz had run its course. It would take something special to prompt NASCAR to tackle the Bristol dirt track again in 2024.
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The novelty has worn off to some degree, making something that once felt fresh and different into something that now feels rather ho-hum. A look at the sparse crowd Sunday indicates the tepidness among fans, though part of that could be explained by the Easter holiday and Bristol’s recent history of inclement weather that included washing out all on-track activity on Friday.
The racing on the track varies from good to, at times, very good. There is also merit to having a dirt race on the Cup Series calendar, giving NASCAR the most diverse schedule at the top level of motorsports.
“We have to have a dirt race — at least one,” Chase Briscoe said after finishing fifth. “Now, if it’s (at Bristol) or not, it really doesn’t make a difference to me. But especially after tonight, it’s shown it can put on really good racing. It’s just a matter of the track prep and all those things that go along with it.”
Said Austin Dillon, who finished third: “I don’t care what anybody says — that was an amazing show throughout the field. I felt like it was some great racing.”
But if the fan support is middling, the buzz has dwindled, and the racing on Bristol’s concrete surface is often better than dirt, then is it worth continuing the experiment?
“These types of events are great once,” Kevin Harvick said. “… They’ve done a good job with the event; there’s nothing wrong with the event, but something like this at the same spot just isn’t as popular as it usually is the first time.”
Although critics will loudly state otherwise, the Bristol dirt race was no abject failure. The thought process three years ago was that smothering Bristol’s concrete surface with Tennessee red clay, then having the Cup cars race, surely was going to capture some attention. And that Fox Sports, one of NASCAR’s two television partners, was pushing hard for the race to happen only made it more of a risk worth taking. It’s hard to say no to a TV partner, especially one whose contract is coming up for renewal.
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And just because a Bristol dirt race didn’t work out as intended doesn’t mean the idea of a Cup race on non-paved tracks should go away completely.
If a Cup dirt race is to happen, it’s best to have it on a purposely built track that’s better suited for this type of racing. The two most cited venues are Knoxville Raceway in Iowa and Eldora Speedway in Ohio, each of which have previously hosted Truck Series races. Eldora, owned by Tony Stewart, proved especially popular with drivers when NASCAR’s third-tier division ran there from 2013-19.
“I would like to see concrete Bristol back. I think a lot of us would say the same thing about that,” Bell said Saturday. “But if they want to keep a dirt race on the schedule, there’s plenty of other venues that we could go to and put on just as good of a race.
“I think Eldora would be top of my list and probably top of the majority’s list. … I would think that it would be probably one of the closest real dirt tracks that has all the amenities that we need as a sanctioning body.”
A decision on Bristol dirt will come in the coming weeks and months. Maybe Sunday changes the minds of those who determine where, and on what surface, NASCAR will race in 2024.
What is certain is that Bristol will have two dates on next year’s schedule, deservedly so for a track that’s among the very best in NASCAR — regardless of its configuration.
“This is also one of the best short tracks we have on the schedule,” Bell said during the winner’s press conference. “I don’t know, maybe we have three Bristol races. I’m good either way on it.”
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(Photo: James Gilbert / Getty Images)