Drivers open up on Bristol dirt: ‘Used to dirt, but … on a tractor’

With such a unique event on NASCAR's schedule, drivers were sure to have plenty of thoughts on the second annual Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway (Sun., 7 p.m. ET, FOX). Read on to hear their thoughts about Sunday night's showdown.

"I’ve been going to school to learn how to dirt race – how to read the dirt, what has grip, what does moisture look like, what’s the blue groove, what’s slicked off – I don’t know all of those terms. Fortunately for me, a lot of the No. 1 team guys are old dirt racers, sprint car guys that came over because of Kyle (Larson) to be on the No. 42 team and are now on the No. 1 team. I work with (Tyler) Reddick, (Alex) Bowman, Larson and Josh Wise. Between those four guys, they’ve forgotten more about dirt racing than I have ever learned, so I’ll lean on them a lot. I’m used to dirt, but it has been on a tractor.”

— Ross Chastain, driver of the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

“I talked to my good buddy Dale McDowell. He was influential in my dirt racing career growing up and helped teach me how to race on dirt. Dale won $50,000 in a late model race at Bristol a couple of weeks back, so I’ve been picking his brain on what he thought about the track and what we need to be good. A lot of what Dale has told me aligns with the asphalt track that we run at Bristol. ... I love the dirt stuff, so it will be fun. I’m running the NASCAR Truck Series race, too, so it will be good to get a little bit more experience with the track and the transitions it takes. I’m looking forward to seeing how it turns out.”

— Austin Dillon, driver of the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

"I think running the dirt late model at Bristol a few weeks ago just helps me get eyes on the track to see what’s different. It’s a temporary track and it’s never going to be exactly the same as it was the year before. Getting to run some laps to see how the dirt transitioned throughout the night was helpful and hopefully it pays off this weekend."

— Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

"Probably one of the hardest things is having Kyle Larson in your car knowing you have the highest expectation to live up to – which is a great thing. The other big thing in dirt racing that doesn’t get as much attention is what we have to do to make sure the car is durable and will last the whole race – like the right cooling to the proper systems in the car – like gear cooling and engine cooling. That’s step one. Step two, of course, is to have a fast car and to tune on it correctly during the race to be there at the end."

— Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

“I come from a dirt background, so this race really brings me back to my roots. It’s a cool race because the teams get the chance to work on the cars during the breaks. You’ve got teams trying all kinds of things to improve the car in ways that we don’t get to on a typical race weekend. ... This race feels so different than our usual race weekends, but points matter and your finish matters so I’m excited to get out there and get us points and a W on dirt.”

— Tyler Reddick, driver of the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

"Last year, I think we got pretty fortunate to run where we did. We had a lot going on there at the end of the race and were kind of hanging on. This year, I think, is just going to be a completely different ball game with this car. Being able to adapt quickly is going to be the key, because I think this year is going to be different than last. Whoever hits on that quickly and figures out what it’s going to take to be fast is likely going to be rewarded for it."

— Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

“I’m looking forward to trying it out again. With a little better weather conditions from what we faced last year and changing from day to night for the race, I think it’s going to be a better event overall. It will be good to get those two practice sessions on Friday and be able to work on the car a little bit. Between the new car and the changes they made to the track, it’s going to be completely different than what we saw last year.”

— Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

“I’m really looking forward to racing at Bristol this weekend in our No. 16 Chevy Truck Month Camaro. There are a few unknowns going into the weekend with the new car, but I think with practice and the heat races, that will give us a good amount of track time to get a feel for everything. Our goal is to keep the car in one piece for the whole race and be there at the end.”

— Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

“There’s going to be a lot of differences, I think. They put progressive banking in to try to help the high side work and get more side-by-side racing. We’re obviously racing at night, so it’s probably going to be pretty cool and hopefully we’ll be able to keep some more grip in the track. ... And then we’ve got the new car, so we’ll have that change as well. It was a ton of fun last year. I’m really looking forward to trying it again.”

— Martin Truex Jr., driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

"The Bristol dirt race is a one-of-a-kind event. I’m excited to see how night time changes the race, and I hope to put on a great show."

— Christopher Bell, driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

"Even though we raced there last year, this weekend’s race is still a pretty big unknown with the Next Gen car. We ran well last year, but other than watching the videos from the test that NASCAR had a little while ago, it’s hard to know how this new car will race on dirt. I know NASCAR looked at making some changes to the car, but I’m not biased either way. We’ll all be in the same situation when we get there and it will be all about how you manage the heat races to set you up for the actual race on Sunday. My hope is that the dirt late model race on Thursday may help me get up to speed a little bit faster so we can start fine tuning during practice at Bristol on Friday.”

— William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

"I’m really excited to get back to Bristol. William did a good job there last year, especially for not having much experience on dirt. I grew up around it, so we tried to lean on that a bit more last year. Now we’re going to try a blend of last year’s car and the Next Gen car. We have some notes from the NASCAR test that they did last week.”

— Rudy Fugle, crew chief of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

“I’m excited to do some dirt racing, which is my bread and butter. I was able to race my dirt modified car at Bristol a few weeks ago and was able to get some track time. I think the Next Gen car will be pretty fast and have a good amount of grip. Hopefully we can all put on a good show for the fans.”

— Justin Haley, driver of the No. 31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

“I think it’s going to be important to get through your heat race good and kind of start your race off good because, if you start behind, it can definitely kind of throw you for a loop, and then you’re kind of fighting and maybe you do something that you don’t want to and you get yourself in a bad position. I think the heat race is important, and then it’s going to be a lot about attrition. I think just staying clean is going to be one of the biggest things, and not making mistakes and just being there at the end, because there are going to be a lot of guys who do make mistakes and it’s going to be a matter of limited mistakes. Last year, it was a lot to take in, being our first time on dirt there. And this weekend, we wipe the slate clean going back with the Next Gen car.”

— Cole Custer, driver of the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

“I get a good legit shot at it this time around. Last year, I was just trying to get here and have an opportunity; which I am thankful for. This time around with Petty GMS, I’m very excited to take good advantage of my background which is dirt racing and do it with a great team. I’m looking forward to the opportunity this weekend. Bristol has changed the banking around a little bit, so from a dirt racer’s side, it should be racier. I know the track has been working hard to make sure we have multiple grooves to race in, compared to last year when we ended up around the bottom. When you re-do the track along with having a new car, everyone is going to have to learn as we go. It’s the same as every other race this season, our team will have to learn a lot on the fly.”

— Ty Dillon, driver of the No. 42 Petty GMS Racing Chevrolet

"We learned a ton at the dirt race last year at Bristol as far as what could be better about the track, what went well, what didn’t go well. They have made good changes. I think with the race being at night will be really good with visibility and keeping the dust down. They have also made some changes to the racetrack - adding some banking at the top side to hopefully widen the surface out for us and give us some more options there. I enjoyed it last year. Obviously, it’s going to be a different race car, but I think the racing is going to be similar. I don’t see this race car doing much different on the dirt than what our old car did - similar weight and power. I’m looking forward to getting back.”

— Erik Jones, driver of the No. 43 Petty GMS Racing Chevrolet

“We weren’t the fastest in practice at the dirt race at Bristol last year, but I was really happy with our No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet. I felt like it did everything it needed to do to be fast in the race and it showed when it came down to crunch time. We had a shot at winning. We were running down the No. 22 (Joey Logano) for the lead when the checkered came out. I feel really good about my guys and our team. We know what we need in our race car and I’m looking forward to getting to Bristol (Motor Speedway) and getting back on the dirt. I don’t race as much dirt as (Kyle) Larson or (Christopher) Bell do on a weekly basis, but I did grow up doing just as much as they did. I enjoy racing dirt. It’s a challenge and it’s something different. It kind of shakes things up for the Cup Series."

— Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driver of the No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet

"There are a lot of new challenges with the (Next Gen) car. 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."

— Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

"I am a lot more ready than I was last year. It was funny, all the guys with dirt experience seemed to struggle last year and the drivers who dirt racing was something new to seemed to do better. I don't know if that will continue. Those guys are pretty smart and will figure it out. It's going to be a lot of fun and the fans should see a really good show Sunday night."

— Daniel Suarez, driver of the No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet