Bristol Dirt Race Review and Analysis
Easter Sunday and racing from the last great colosseum! The Nascar Cup Series hit the dirt under the lights at Bristol Motor Speedway. Located in Bristol, Tennessee, this primetime event was a thriller. Kyle Busch steals the race win and is now locked into the playoffs! Chase Briscoe and Tyler Reddick both running 1st and 2nd on the final lap both spun out coming to the checkered flag. Kyle Busch out of nowhere takes home the win in a shocker. Kyle Busch has now tied Nascar legend Richard Petty for 18 consecutive seasons with a win. This is Busch’s 60th career win and 1st of the 2022 season. We now have 8 different winners in 9 different races.
(Kyle Busch Taking The Checkered Flag)
A true heartbreaker for Tyler Reddick as he was so close to his first career win. Reddick, who has shown flashes in the last several races, was finally about to check the box of gaining a checkered flag. Chase Briscoe went for it all in the final corner by trying to slide job his way past Reddick for the win. As a result, both spun coming out of turn 4 giving Kyle Busch the victory. Reddick comes home 2nd as Briscoe comes home 22nd.
(Kyle Busch in Victory Lane)
Kyle Larson was a person who ran up front for most of the night. 37 stage wins for Larson as a career total with his #5 machine cruising to the stage 1 win. The stage 2 winner was Chase Briscoe. With a win coming at Phoenix earlier this year, Briscoe’s #14 was solid all night long. Drivers who have great dirt track experience were upfront contending for the win. Richard Childress Racing was an organization that did well tonight. Tyler Reddick and Austin Dillon both had stellar performances until trouble and heartbreak came later in the race for both. Dillon has put together great races this season, but finishes have been vigorous. The #3 machine was scored 31st as he failed to finish the race due to a mechanical failure.
Hard work, talent, and luck were on display for a lot of drivers tonight, but here are a few notable ones. Ty Dillon, who won the 4th qualifying heat race on Saturday finished 10th. Dillon, who grew up on dirt racing, hung around the top 10 all night long. A great finish for the Petty GMS Motorsports #42 team was badly needed. Another driver who had a great night was Joey Logano. Logano’s #22 car stayed out of trouble and contented in the top 3 as the laps winded down. Following Logano, in 4th was Kyle Larson. Larson, the most popular driver when it comes to dirt racing in Nascar, had a great performance. The #5 car was feared all night as charging to the front became a trend for his team. Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, and Michael McDowell all round out the top 10.
(Kyle Busch During Practice On Friday)
Some crucial moments in today’s race were the rain delays, Kevin Harvick, and Denny Hamlin's mishaps. The weather was a huge factor in tonight’s race as the event was paused at lap 151. With stage 2 coming to an end, some drivers elected to stay out and others came for tires. A quick pop-up shower came through the area, bringing everyone down pit road. This decision was influenced by a spin from Christopher Bell as the dirt became slick prior to the restart. Kevin Harvick saw issues early as his #4 car was caught up in a wreck. Harvick’s night ended early as Stewart Haas Racing’s ups and downs continued. Harvick was scored 34th, he is now 13th in the points standings. Denny Hamlin was another driver who saw issues over the course of tonight. Hamlin, who already has a win on the season, didn’t have the best heat qualifying race. This put him in the rear of the field at the start of tonight, which didn’t help at all. Hamlin later had a mechanical issue as he finished 35th. Both drivers after the race criticized Nascar for track preparation and officiating.
(Kyle Busch Post Race)
Today across the world Easter was celebrated. A calming and peace bringing holiday, Easter is when everyone comes together. For the first time since 1989 Nascar held a race on Easter. A celebration of Easter was held before the race. This celebration was highlighted by Chris Tomlin, Marcus Smith, Joe Gibbs, and Motor Racing Outreach the (MRO) chaplain. This was a great opening heading into pre-race coverage. Nascar did an excellent job of working around race fans' schedules by holding the race at night. Another positive sign for Nascar was its attendance from the fans in Bristol. It was reported earlier this week by motorsports/fighting reporter of sports business journal Adam Stern, that this Sunday’s race was tracking to be the best for a Nascar spring race ticket sale-wise. This is a major gain for Nascar as all fell in line for Nascar as Easter Sunday was a major success.
With a dirt race, there are changes. Not having live pit stops headlined the changes as the over-the-wall athletes that you normally see, weren’t at the race track this weekend. Going over the wall were mechanics and car engineers for each respective team. With this change, you couldn’t gain or lose spots on pit road over the course of the night. Teams had 6 minutes to make any adjustments they wanted but, only could fuel the car and change tires during the stage breaks. This was a huge break and opportunity for teams that have had penalties or struggles during pit stops before tonight.
(The Wreck That Took Out Both Drivers for the Win)
Track preparation was a huge question entering this weekend. Drivers, teams, media personnel, and fans questioned the track's preparation ahead of this weekend. The move to hold a second race on the Bristol dirt was majorly criticized by a large group of people. Both Bristol and Nascar officials prepped the track to an excellent condition for a Sunday night showdown. All weekend the track was highlighted as daunting, competitive, and satisfying. Many reviews from drivers after both practice and heat qualifying races were positive. This is something that is encouraging after the Bristol dirt idea didn’t sit well for some time. After practice, Friday afternoon driver’s voiced their concern with visibility while racing. In a corresponding move, Bristol Motor Speedway officials decided to paint white stripes on the outside wall. This was a huge help after comments like Ryan Blaney’s “They need to paint that white or neon or Easter egg colors”. Blaney ended up finishing 5th after Sunday.
In my opinion, tonight was unique. For the first time in 33 years, Nascar held a race on Easter. The Bristol dirt race was extremely intriguing as this night race didn’t disappoint. Nascar did a marvelous job with getting this race going again after two rain delays. The racing was edgy all night long leading to a great finish. Out of nowhere, Kyle Busch swept in for the win. Talladega next weekend should be just as exciting. Taking all action into consideration, I’d rate tonight’s action a 9 out of 10.
(A look at Talladega Superspeedway Ahead of Sunday)
Leaving the dirt in Bristol behind, we head to the high banks in Alabama. The 2.66 mile high banked Talladega Superspeedway located in Lincoln, Alabama is up next. Both the Xfinity and Cup Series will hit the high banks of Talladega! Qualifying will be on Friday in the evening for the Xfinity Series, followed by the Cup Series Saturday morning. Also, there is huge news coming from the Xfinity Series. Larry McReynolds, after spending the last two decades with Fox Sports in the booth for Nascar, will return as crew chief this upcoming weekend. Reynolds hasn’t crew chiefed a team since 2000. He is famously known as the former crew chief of Nascar legends Davey Allison and Dale Earnhardt Sr. Reynolds will be the crew chief for Dale Sr.’s grandson, Jeffery Earnhardt in the famous #3 car on Saturday. Staying in the Earnhardt family, Dale Earnhardt Jr. will join Mike Joy and Clint Bowyer in the Fox Sports booth for Talladega on Sunday. With Darrell Waltrip in the booth last night, the broadcast felt nostalgic. It was good to hear his voice as the broadcast and pre-race coverage was miles better than previous race weekends. Getting Dale Jr. in the booth for Talladega, a track that’s partially famous from the Earnhardt success is a great idea. After 9 races, a wild card track like Talladega will be something to see. Expect to see new faces up front and a wild rodeo for all of the 188 laps. For the 53rd annual Geico 500, tune in Sunday, April 24th at 3:00pm on FOX.
( All images credited to https://www.foxsports.com/nascar/cup-series.)
For next week's race information please view the link down below:
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