Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway
(⏰ 7 p.m. ET | 📺 FOX, FOX Sports App | 📻 PRN, SiriusXM)
Everything you need to know for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race in Tennessee, the eighth regular-season race of the 2023 Cup Series campaign.
Weekend schedule | TV schedule | Weather tracker | Bristol Dirt 101
🚨 Alert: Friday’s on-track sessions canceled due to weather
📍 Location: Bristol, Tennessee
📐 Track length: 0.533 miles
🎟️ Buy tickets: Find seats for Sunday
💰 Cup Series race purse: $7,808,640
📏 Race distance: 250 laps | 125.5 miles
🔢 Stages: 75 | 150 | 250
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🚪 Entry list: Dirt maven Jonathan Davenport among regular stars
📋 Starting lineup: Where drivers will start on Sunday | Heat race recaps
🚗 Pit stall assignments: See where drivers will pit
📦 Rules package: New rules for short tracks, road courses
🏆 Most recent winner: Kyle Busch
Key things to watch 🔑
Top story line
Once again, it’s the dirt-track aces vs. the field. Kyle Larson heads into the weekend as Racing Insights’ projected winner of the race, and it’s unsurprising given his storied dirt-racing background. Along with Larson, Chase Briscoe, Christopher Bell, Alex Bowman, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and a handful of others, including professional dirt racer Jonathan Davenport, catch the initial eye of the public when talking about who should win this race. But as you’ll see below, this race has a history of unpredictable finishes and drivers with almost zero dirt-track experience prevailing for historic wins. Sunday night’s showdown will be a battle between experience and earnest effort.
🎥 YOUTUBE EXCLUSIVE: Learn how Bristol transformed from asphalt to dirt
History tells us…
Sunday’s race is anybody’s to win. Racing on dirt for the first and only time this season, Sunday’s competition under the lights presents drivers with a unique opportunity to will their way into a win. Last season, Kyle Busch never led a single lap until Tyler Reddick and Chase Briscoe went spinning on the final lap of the race. In 2021, no one predicted Joey Logano beating the stacked field’s dirt-track aces — but he did. Both races on Bristol Dirt have had unprecedented finishes, and the trend suggests we will see that again this weekend. Getting off to a fast start and maintaining track position throughout the race should be the difference in who has a chance to fight for the trophy in the closing laps.
He may not be the betting favorite to win, but watch out for…
Daniel Suárez. Opening at 18-1 odds, Suárez sits around Tier 3 when discussing the opening favorites to win the race. So, while not entirely a long shot, he is positioned perfectly to soar into the race as an underdog. But Suárez has had more success on the Bristol Dirt than most, leading 122 laps across both starts (over 58 laps led in each) and has a fourth-place finish and 12th-place result to boast. So even then, his finishes are not indicative of how strong he’s usually been working his way around the daunting dirt track. If he can put together a complete race, he could be first on the board in the win column for Trackhouse Racing this season.
Saturday’s sessions
Heat races. Four heat races at 15 laps each wasn’t enough to tell which drivers could be falling down the board before Sunday’s race, but it was enough to tell who had the early handle on the daunting Bristol dirt track. To no one’s surprise, Kyle Larson showed his prowess with a stellar move in Heat 3 and set the tone for Sunday’s showdown, landing on the Busch Light Pole. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the afternoon was Austin Dillon, who controlled his heat race from start to finish and will roll off alongside Larson from the outside row. More on the heat races and passing points.
Inside the Race 🔍
Dirt on the track isn’t the only thing changing at Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend, and Steve Letarte and Todd Gordon are here to bring you up to speed.
Familiar favorites ⭐️
Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles.
– Paint Scheme Preview: Clean slate of schemes set to race on dirt | Pick a favorite
– Power Rankings: Ross Chastain is here to stay as elite Cup talent | Latest driver rankings
– Fantasy Fastlane: Start drivers with dirt backgrounds | Best plays, lineup advice | Fantasy Update
– Betting odds: See where dirt-ace Kyle Larson sits on the board | Top bets, underdog picks
– Stacking Pennies: Dirt-track superstar Jonathan Davenport joins | Listen to the podcast
💎 NASCAR 75: Honoring NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers … then revealing 25 more | Check out the list
Hot off the press 📰
Key stories and breaking news from the week leading up to the race.
– Penalty: Nos. 24 and 48 issues L-1 level after Richmond | Read more | Rule-book update
– Denny Hamlin: Appeals Panel upholds penalty issued | Read more
– Kaulig Racing: Appeals Panel upholds penalty issued to team, amends point deduction | Read more
– Kyle Busch: Last year’s victory at Bristol kept now-record streak alive | Read more
– All-Star Race: Format revealed for North Wilkesboro return | Read more
– NASCAR Legends: Story behind Richard Petty’s intricate autograph | Read more
– Official Partners: RTIC becomes official cooler and drinkware partner | Sugarland releases limited-edition moonshine
– Dale Earnhardt Jr.: New partnership with Sun Drop, set to race at North Wilkesboro | Read more
– Chase Briscoe: Stewart-Haas Racing driver recounts last year’s Bristol finish | Read more
– Daytona 500: Austin Cindric’s winning car joins ‘Glory Road’ at Hall of Fame | Read more
– Kyle Petty: Former driver comments on Truex-Small issues at Richmond | Listen to what he said
Get in on the action 💰
Think you know NASCAR? Put your mettle to the test with gaming, fantasy and Fan Rewards.
– Fan Rewards: New in 2023, get rewarded for your participation | Learn more
– Fantasy Live: Still time to get on the leaderboard and win big this season | Tips for 2023
– NASCAR BetCenter: Don’t miss your chance to make picks each week | Visit the BetCenter
– Going the distance: 2023 Cup Series championship odds | See them here
Dirt-track transformation 🚜
See how the historic track was adjusted and revisit some memorable history from Bristol.
– Winner, winner: All-time winners of Bristol’s spring race | See who has the most
– Do you remember?: Memorable moments at Bristol | Relive them here
– Prepping the track: See images from track transformation | Asphalt to dirt
– @nascarcasm: Top 10 lost-temper moments at Bristol | Jog your memory
– Bristol breakdown: Keith Roddon breaks down Next Gen’s dirt changes | Watch the video
Take some notes 📝
Four hard-hitting, race-relevant statistics, brought to you by the experts at Racing Insights.
– Hendrick Motorsports has led 46% of all laps raced in 2023 (798 of 1735).
– The last six night races were won by six different drivers.
– In the 2022 Bristol Dirt Race, Joey Logano led the entire Final Stage.
– Daniel Suárez and Kyle Busch are the only drivers to lead a lap in both Bristol Dirt races.
🔮 Predicting the winner: Using data to set a projected finishing order