This weekend’s Pinty’s Truck Race on Dirt at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt track (8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) marks the first of two races on the special surface this season for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The series will also visit Knoxville Raceway in Iowa on June 18.
In total the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series has run nine races on dirt at three different tracks – Eldora Speedway (2013-2019, seven races), Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt (2021, one race) and Knoxville Raceway (2021, one race) producing nine different winners – at Eldora Austin Dillon (2013), Bubba Wallace (2014), Christopher Bell (2015), Kyle Larson (2016), Matt Crafton (2017), Chase Briscoe (2018) and Stewart Friesen (2019); at Bristol Dirt (Martin Truex Jr., 2021); at Knoxville Raceway (Austin Hill, 2021).
Of the nine races run on the dirt in the series, two of the former race winners will try to qualify for this weekend’s race at Bristol – Matt Crafton (Eldora Raceway, 2017), and Stewart Friesen (Eldora Raceway, 2019). Last season’s Bristol Dirt winner, Martin Truex Jr. is not entered this season guaranteeing a new winner at the .5-mile track this weekend.
Four NASCAR Cup Series regulars will be taking a turn on the dirt with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series this weekend as well – Chase Elliott (No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet), Harrison Burton (No. 17 Team DGR Ford), Austin Dillon (No. 20 Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet) and last year’s NASCAR Cup Series Bristol Dirt winner Joey Logano (No. 54 Team DGR Ford).
All the action begins on Friday, April 15 with first practice from 3:05 p.m. – 3:55 p.m. ET followed by final practice from 5:35 p.m. – 6:25 p.m. ET. Both practices will be televised on FS1. Then Cometic Gaskets Pole Qualifying will take place at 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 16 on FS2.
Setting the field and race format for the Camping World Trucks at Bristol
A total of 38 trucks are currently entered for Saturday night’s Pinty’s Truck Race on Dirt (8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) to vie for a spot in the field for the 150-lap feature race.
To set the field, Saturday afternoon will feature four qualifying races, starting at 4:30 p.m. ET. A random draw determines a driver’s qualifying race designation and starting position for the qualifying races, and the draw will be done in the order of current owner points. Qualifying random draw is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET on Friday, April 15.
Each qualifying race will be 15 laps, with only green flag laps counting and the overtime rule will not be in effect. Free pass and wave around procedures will be in use. For positions 32nd – 36th provisionals will be applied.
Drivers will accumulate points in the qualifying races based on finishing position and passing points. Then, the lineup for the feature race will be based on combined points of qualifying race finishing position points and passing points.
Passing points are defined as the difference between the assigned starting position and the finishing position of the trucks. There will only be positive passing points awarded for moving forward – if a driver finishes in the same or a lower position, they will receive zero points.
Finishing points are awarded as such:
| Finish | Points |
| 1 | 10 |
| 2 | 9 |
| 3 | 8 |
| 4 | 7 |
| 5 | 6 |
| 6 | 5 |
| 7 | 4 |
| 8 | 3 |
| 9 | 2 |
| 10 | 1 |
The feature race will be 150 laps divided into three stages (40/90/150). The running order will be frozen at the conclusion of each stage. During the stage breaks, teams can change tires, add fuel and make adjustments to their trucks. Trucks cannot add fuel or change tires except at stage breaks.
Husband and wife team to tackle Bristol dirt
For the second year-in-a-row, the Friesens – Stewart and Jessica – a married couple, will attempt to compete against each other in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt. Jessica Friesen, a well-known sprint car and modifieds dirt racer, will be making her 2022 season debut in the Camping World Truck Series driving the No. 62 Halmar Friesen Racing Toyota alongside the familiar No. 52 of Jessica’s husband Stewart Friesen.
The Friesens have competed against each other before, finishing first and second in a race at Utica-Rome Speedway two days after their wedding in 2014. Then last season, Jessica and Stewart competed in the same NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Knoxville Raceway. Jessica ultimately finished one spot better than her husband Stewart in the event taking home 26th and 27th-place finishes respectively.
It was the first time a husband-wife duo competed in the same NASCAR national series race since Elton Sawyer and Patty Moise last did it at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 1998.
This weekend, the Friesens will look to add another race to the list they have both competed in when they attempt to compete in this Saturday’s Pinty’s Truck Race on Dirt at Bristol. Last season, Jessica attempted to qualify for the Bristol event but did not make the race. Stewart started last season’s race in seventh and finished 12th.
