Five to watch: Short-track sensations

The NASCAR Cup Series is set to have six races held at tracks less than a mile in length this season with one new wrinkle - dirt. For the first short-track race of the season, Bristol Motor Speedway will be converted to a dirt track, marking the first Cup Series race to be contested on dirt since 1970. Last season, only five races were held at short tracks when the spring Richmond Raceway race was shifted to Darlington Raceway due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here's a look at five drivers to watch when the Cup Series makes two visits each to Bristol, Martinsville Speedway and Richmond in 2021.

Brad Keselowski dominated the short tracks last season with two wins and 397 laps led in the five races. Team Penske had a handle on the 750 horsepower, low-downforce rules package at the short tracks with Joey Logano posting three top fives and leading 300 laps, along with Ryan Blaney’s two runner-up finishes at Martinsville. Keselowski is tied with Kevin Harvick for fourth in short-track wins among active full-time drivers with seven. Three of those wins have come in the last 11 short-track races.

Martin Truex Jr. leads all drivers with four wins and 1,072 laps led in the last 10 short-track races. Last year, Truex posted two top fives, including a win in June at Martinsville after battling back from a pit road penalty. In the fall at Martinsville, Truex led 129 laps and was vying for his third straight win at the .526-mile track, but had to pit for a loose wheel while running second late in the race.

Chase Elliott only has one win in 31 short track starts, but that victory was a big one. Elliott led 236 laps last fall at Martinsville en route to the checkered flag that sent him to Phoenix Raceway where he won the championship. Elliott was the only driver to finish in the top 10 in the last four short-track races in 2020 with a 4.5 average finish in that span. Elliott also scored the win last season in the non-points NASCAR All-Star Race that was held at Bristol.

Kyle Busch leads all active drivers with 16 wins and 5,510 laps led at short tracks. Busch, who scored his last short-track win in the 2019 spring race at Bristol, had a solid season last year with two top fives, four top 10s and 268 laps led in the five races. Ben Beshore, Busch's new crew chief for 2021, led Harrison Burton to four Xfinity Series wins last season, including Martinsville.

Kyle Larson did not compete on a short track in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2020, but all eyes will be on him for the first dirt race at Bristol Motor Speedway. That race will mark his first short-track start as a member of Hendrick Motorsports. Since the beginning of last year, Larson has won 48 events on dirt in various types of race cars, including going back-to-back in the Chili Bowl Nationals. He also won the 2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series dirt race at Eldora Speedway. Larson does have one short-track Cup Series win at Richmond Raceway in 2017.