NASCAR put 23,000 cubic yards of dirt over Bristol Motor Speedway’s half-mile high-banked concrete layout to give us a Sunday night special called the Food City Dirt Race. It’s the ninth race of the season and the second year in a row NASCAR has tried the dirt gimmick.
FOOD CITY DIRT RACE PICKS & PREDICTIONS
I’d much rather see two races a season on Bristol’s concrete with the new car, but just because they put dirt tires on and slip and slide around the track in what sometimes looks like a constant drift doesn’t mean I’m not going to watch it. Odds are posted on the 250 lap event so I’m going to do my darndest to make some money on it.
It’s still NASCAR on Sunday night with all the drivers, crew chiefs, and teams I like. They’re still making left turns, the track just has dirt on it. I have an idea of what drivers have dirt experience and which don’t, but that’s about it. I’m making six to seven wagers using 10 units staggered with my top bets getting more units.
I could get it over quickly and go bet a horse race or play one spin of roulette, but I got lucky last season with Joey Logano winning, a pick I made because he had one of the best cars using the 750 horsepower package, so I’m going to try it again.
But I do have to draw the line somewhere. If the NASCAR suits come up with another brilliant gimmick for next year with figure-8 racing, monster truck pulls, or a demolition derby, I’m out. And if we have to dirt race again, do it at an old track like North Wilkesboro or Rockingham – revive an old track with dirt.
So let’s get this thing started. We’ve got two practices on Friday and qualifying Heat races on Saturday which should help find a few gems for Sunday's race.
Below are a few drivers I like to do well and I let them tell their own dirt story with odds courtesy of Caesars sportsbooks.
FOOD CITY DIRT RACE BETTING RESOURCES
- Date: Saturday, April 16, 2022
- TV-Time: FOX, 7:00 p.m. ET
- Venue: Bristol Motor Speedway
- Location: Bristol, Tennessee
- Distance: 133.25 miles
- Laps: 250
FOOD CITY DIRT RACE BETTING ANALYSIS
#13 CHASE BRISCOE (12/1)
He was 20th last season but he’s better than that. He’s got real dirt skills that should be amplified with the confidence of having a Cup win. “I don’t really know what to expect, just because I’ve never driven a car that has this type of suspension on dirt,” Briscoe said. “So how it drives on dirt and what you feel is probably totally different than what I’ve experienced. The other big component is the tires. The sidewall is so much shorter and stiffer than what we had before, from a side-bite and lateral grip standpoint. It’ll be totally different how the car reacts and the grip level that you have compared to anything I’ve raced. But we’ve got a couple of practices and heat races to figure it out.”
#18 KYLE BUSCH (14/1)
He was 17th in last season's dirt race and led seven laps early. “The dirt guys, I would say, definitely have an advantage,” Busch said. “The more experience you have on dirt, the more trust you have in what the vehicle can do on dirt and what your driving style is, or what your driving technique can be, and how you can trust the grip level that the dirt has versus what your car has. I think there are a lot of things the dirt guys can really pick up on. You always see in those truck races the guys who are good at it, that put some time into it, are better than the ones that do not. I can’t name them all, but (Kyle) Larson, Christopher (Bell), (Tyler) Reddick, even Bubba (Wallace). Bubba never really had any dirt experience, but he did a good job in the Eldora race for us. Those guys will shine, and I think they will be faster during points of the weekend, but I think it’s all going to be circumstantial on how it comes down to the end and what exactly happens toward the finish.”
#48 ALEX BOWMAN (17/1)
He was 22nd in last season’s dirt race, but he’s a wild card for me this week because he’s racing in the Truck Series this weekend as well and the experience should help him. He’s got Hendrick equipment so the car should be fast. “There are a lot of new challenges with the Gen-seven car,” Bowman said. “The car is designed to look like a streetcar and has parts that are similar to the production car, so it makes it tough to take it on dirt. The guys at Hendrick Motorsports do a great job of putting together really fast cars and giving me what I need to be competitive every week. We don’t have any notes for the event, but I think some of the changes to even, like making it a night race, will help us put on a better show for the fans. Hopefully, we can get another win this year and take home another cool trophy.”
#4 KEVIN HARVICK (25/1)
He was 15th in last season’s dirt race and talks about his dirt experience. “I ran Tony Stewart’s Prelude to the Dream at Eldora four times, and the last one was in 2009,” said Harvick about his dirt experience. “I actually ran a lot of races on dirt around that time. The only one I ever won was at Dave Blaney’s track (Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio) and that was in an IMCA car. But I ran the IMCA car several times that year, probably four or five times. I’m fairly certain I ran in my hometown of Bakersfield (California), I ran at Blaney’s track in Ohio, I ran at Macon in Illinois, I ran in Minnesota – all that stuff was around the time when I raced in the Prelude.”
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