BRISTOL DIRT RACE REVIEW
Dirt Race Diaries!
Date: 4-17-2022.
Name of the race: Food City Dirt Race.
Track: Bristol Motor Speedway.
Laps: 250.
Pole winner: Cole Custer.
Outside pole: Christopher Bell.
Stage 1 winner: Kyle Larson.
Stage 2 winner: Chase Briscoe.
Stage 3 winner (won the race): Kyle Busch.
Top 5: Kyle Busch, Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, and Ryan Blaney.
FYI: The next stop on the cup series circuit was the return of the Bristol dirt race, to the joy or begrudging groan of all fans alike. This same race last year was considered by many as one of the worst (or at least less popular) races of the year overall, mainly for the racing quality and overall poor management of the track surface throughout the race. Some drivers, including last year's winner Joey Logano (who previous to the 2021 race had zero dirt experience), stated that the track felt simply like a "slicker version of classic Bristol" leaving many to be disappointed. Heck, even reigning champion Kyle Larson, an experienced dirt racer, stated the week before that it was not a true dirt race. Would this year's race be different? Better? More interesting? That certainly was the question leading into the weekend, and overall, there was improvement! Stewart Haas Racing driver Cole Custer won the pole on Saturday after besting everyone in his heat race and would lead the field to the green on this Easter evening race. Eventually, dirt aces Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, and Chase Briscoe would charge to the lead as Custer would overheat and DNF, and the three would stay up there for the majority of the race. Teammate Kevin Harvick would be taken out early in the race and would finish 34th, continuing his winless streak. The reigning champ would eventually take his number 5 Hendrick Cars Camaro to the top spot and unsurprising to many would win stage one, with Ty Dillon and Bell finishing second and third. Going into this race, driver of the number 99 Daniel Suarez, was expected to perform, as he was well on track to win the year's previous race, and again would contend for the top spot throughout the second stage, hoping that the impending rain in the area would cut the race short, declaring him the winner. However, the rain would be short-lived, and racing would resume, with Chase Briscoe battling the whole field back after a flat tire in stage one and claiming the second stage victory. In typical Bristol fashion, tempers would flair as Cody Ware would spin down the backstretch after he thought that the 2020 champ Chase Elliott had made contact with him sending him around, to which he would retaliate during the caution laps and try to spin Elliott's Kelly Blue Book Chevy. Tyler Reddick, driving the number 8 3CHI Camaro for Richard Childress Racing, still searching for win number one of his career, was consistently towards the head of the pack all night, and would contend with Briscoe for the rest of the night, as the rain rolled back in for the second time. Once the red flag lifted yet again, Briscoe and Reddick would duke it out, leaving Suarez literally in the dust, as Kyle Busch would enter the top 3. Going into the last lap, Reddick would lose ground to the upcoming lap-down traffic, giving Briscoe his golden opportunity to pass for the win! However, it was all for naught, as the 14 would slide up the track, taking out the 8, causing them both to spin and lose their track position, allowing Kyle Busch to "back into" his first win of the season and the 60th of his career! This begs the question, was the 2022 Bristol Dirt Race better than last year's inaugural showing? Should it stay on the schedule? And what would you do differently if you were running the show to make the Bristol Dirt Race the best it can be?
Next race: Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday afternoon (4-24-2022).