For the first time in its existence the NASCAR Cup Series will compete with the Next Gen car on the dirt surface of Bristol Motor Speedway for an Easter Weekend spectacular, the Food City Dirt Race, this Sunday, April 17 at 7 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Last season’s race at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt track was the first-time the NASCAR Cup Series had competed on dirt in over 50 years. Not since the checkered flag flew on NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty for winning the race on September 30, 1970 at North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, North Carolina had the NASCAR Cup Series competed on a dirt track.
With more than 23,000 cubic yards of dirt hauled in to create the temporary dirt track surface at Bristol, it was a sight to be seen when all 39 cars took the green flag last season. The event saw five lead changes among five different leaders, but it was Team Penske’s Joey Logano who took the checkered flag over Ricky Stenhouse Jr. by a scant 0.554-second.
This weekend’s Cup Series action at Bristol will kick off on Friday, April 15 with first practice from 4:05 p.m. – 4:55 p.m. ET and then followed by final practice from 6:35 p.m. – 7:25 p.m. ET. Both practices will be televised on FS1. Then on Saturday, April 17 Busch Light Pole Qualifying will be from 6 – 7 p.m. ET on FS1.
Looking back at the NASCAR Cup Series on dirt
The NASCAR Cup Series has had a long legacy of racing at dirt tracks prior to the Modern Era (1972-Present), from 1949 to 1970 the series competed in 501 races on dirt. The very first NASCAR Cup Series points-paying sanctioned race in the inaugural season of 1949 was on dirt at Charlotte (Old) Speedway, a 0.75-mile track in Charlotte, North Carolina and the event was won by Jim Roper driving a Lincoln.
Including this past season’s dirt race at Bristol, the 502 all-time dirt Cup races have produced 77 different winners. NASCAR Hall of Famer Lee Petty leads the series in dirt track wins with 46 victories; followed by Buck Baker with 42 and Herb Thomas with 41. Joey Logano is the only active driver with a win on dirt in the NASCAR Cup Series.
| Top 10 NASCAR Cup Series Winners On Dirt | ||
| Rank | Cup Dirt Winners | Wins |
| 1 | Lee Petty | 43 |
| 2 | Buck Baker | 42 |
| 3 | Herb Thomas | 41 |
| 4 | Tim Flock | 36 |
| 5 | Ned Jarrett | 35 |
| 6 | Richard Petty | 31 |
| 7 | David Pearson | 23 |
| 8 | Junior Johnson | 23 |
| 9 | Speedy Thompson | 18 |
| 10 | Fireball Roberts | 15 |
| Fonty Flock | 15 |
This week the competitors will be tasked with wrangling a Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt track that has been measured to exactly 0.5-mile, and this weekend’s event will be 125 miles (250 laps) in length. The race will be broken up into three stages. The first two stages are 75 laps each and the final stage is 100 laps.
In addition, NASCAR has instituted a special format for Busch Light Pole Qualifying that includes qualifying races, very similar to what the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series did at Eldora Speedway, to decide the starting lineup. The lineups for the qualifying races will be done by random draw on Friday, April 15 at 3 p.m. ET. There are four qualifying races scheduled with 36 entrants competing and each race will have nine competitors.
Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt – Qualifying & Race Formats
This weekend’s racing will have special formats for both the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races. Below are details on the 2022 Bristol Dirt qualifying and race formats:
· Qualifying Race Starting Lineup – Random draw determines qualifying race designation and starting position for the qualifying race. The draw will be in order of current owner points.
· Qualifying Races – Four qualifying races held at 15 laps each with only green flag laps counted – no overtime rule. Free pass and wave around procedures will be in effect.
· Points Earned During Qualifying Races – Drivers will accumulate points in the qualifying races based on finishing position and passing points. The points total of a driver’s passing points and race finishing position points determines the starting position for the feature event.
- Passing Points = The difference between assigned starting position and finishing position
§ Go forward – accumulate passing points
§ Go backward or finish where you started – zero passing points
- Race Finishing Position Points = Points received for the driver’s finishing position
| Finish | Points |
| 1 | 10 |
| 2 | 9 |
| 3 | 8 |
| 4 | 7 |
| 5 | 6 |
| 6 | 5 |
| 7 | 4 |
| 8 | 3 |
| 9 | 2 |
§ Tiebreaker – Owner Points
· Feature Main – Lineup based on combined points of Qualifying Race finishing position and passing points. Feature race will be 250 laps (NCWTS: 150 laps) divided into three stages (NCS: 75/150/250) / (NCWTS: 40/90/150). 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 cars/trucks. These non-competitive pit stops must be completed in a time designated by NASCAR. No fuel or tires except at stage breaks. Flat or damaged tires may be changed with approval by NASCAR. (Note: Teams will not be required to pit during the stage breaks. Teams that elect not to pit will re-start ahead of teams that pitted. Re-start order determined by the freeze at the conclusion of the preceding stage)
· Additional Event Highlights – Choose rule will not be in effect for the Bristol Dirt race. The overtime rules, free pass and wave around procedures will be in effect.
NASCAR and Easter weekend racing
This weekend’s Food City Dirt Race (Sunday, April 17 at 7 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) will be the NASCAR Cup Series’ 11th-time racing on Easter Sunday since its inception in 1949.
The last time the series competed on Easter Sunday was March 26, 1989 at Richmond Raceway – the race was rescheduled to the Easter Sunday date after being snowed out from its original date in February. The race was won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace.
On two other occasions – in 1953 at Charlotte Speedway and 1954 at Orange Speedway in Hillsboro – the race was held on Easter Sunday as a make-up date due to rain.
NASCAR Cup Series Races held on Easter Sunday
| Date | Track – Race Winner | Reason for Scheduling on Easter |
| Sunday, April 5, 1953 | Charlotte Speedway – Dick Passwater | Scheduled for March 22, 1953; Postponed due to rain. |
| Sunday, April 18, 1954 | Hillsboro – Herb Thomas | Scheduled for April 11, 1954; Postponed due to rain. |
| Sunday, April 17, 1960 | Wilson Speedway – Joe Weatherly | Scheduled Date |
| Sunday, April 2, 1961 | Hillsboro – Cotton Owens | Scheduled Date |
| Sunday, April 22, 1962 | Martinsville – Richard Petty | Scheduled Date |
| Sunday, April 14, 1963 | South Boston – Richard Petty | Scheduled Date |
| Sunday, April 18, 1965 | North Wilkesboro – Jr. Johnson | Scheduled Date |
| Sunday, April 6, 1969 | Hickory – Bobby Isaac | Scheduled Date |
| Sunday, March 29, 1970 | Atlanta – Bobby Allison | Scheduled Date |
| Sunday, March 26, 1989 | Richmond – Rusty Wallace | Scheduled for February 27, 1989; Postponed due to snow. |
In addition, 20 NASCAR Cup Series events have been held on Easter Weekend from Good Friday through Easter Monday (Easter Monday was a public holiday in North Carolina from 1935 to 1987).
The first time NASCAR held a Cup race on Easter Weekend was on April 12, 1952, when the event at Columbia Speedway was held on Saturday. NASCAR Hall of Famer Buck Baker was the race winner.
On Easter weekends in 1964, 1966, & 1967 the NASCAR Cup Series held races on Saturday at Greenville Pickens Speedway and on Monday at Bowman Gray Stadium.
The race held on Easter weekend, Saturday, April 11, 1971, was the first in NASCAR Cup Series history to be broadcast live from start to finish on national television on ABC Wide World of Sports.
