NASCAR GOES DIRT

This weekend for the first time in more than 50-years NASCAR will conduct a race on the dirt, racing at a modified Bristol Motor Speedway.

September 30, 1970 was the last time NASCAR’s top-tier raced on dirt, ‘The King’ Richard Petty beat Neil Castles by more than two laps at North Carolina State Fairgrounds Speedway in Raleigh, NC.

Favourite for the event is multi-discipline star Kyle Larson. Driving for Hendrick Motorsports, Larson is highly successful in speedway competition, even racing out here last year during the summer season.

Others with extensive dirt track experience include Christopher Bell, Austin Dillon, Chase Briscoe and Stewart Friesen are expected to be contenders.

The race is a marathon, 250 laps in fact, which provides a variety of unknowns including how the temporary dirt track will hold up during the event.

The process to transform Bristol into a dirt track facility involved 2,300 truckloads of earth, while the usual 24-28 degrees banking has been flattened to 19 degrees. This is still steep compared to the usual standards of purpose-built dirt track facility.

‘Red dirt’ is used due to its low silt and sand content, not only for its ability to pack together well, but also its water holding characteristics.

Compared to the weight of a winged sprint car, a NASCAR Cup entry is considerably heavier at 1500kg.

Cup cars will be set-up similar to a short track configuration, but there will be no front splitter overhang, a debris deflector at a maximum of 18 inches long and six-inches high is fitted to the bonnet.

The rear spoiler is six-inches high and 51-inches long, while ducting will have screens or covers to keep the dirt out. Body side stiffeners are permitted, plus deck-lid hinges, spindle and steering arms can be reinforced due to the additional force expected to be sent through the car during the dirt race. The brake caliper mounting can also be modified.

Larson raced the dirt track he will race on Sunday, last weekend in a Late Model dirt racer finishing with two second places at the Bristol Dirt Nationals.

“I think I’m considered a favourite probably at most race tracks right now,” Larson told NASCAR.com.

“But I think with it being a dirt track, yes, I think people look at me with all the experience that I have on dirt as being even more of a favourite.

“But these cars are way different than what I typically race on dirt. They don’t drive anything like what I’m used to with a sprint car, midget or now a dirt late model.

“These cars are way heavier and have a lot less horsepower than I’m used to on a dirt track.

“I still think I’ve got a good shot, but I don’t really know if I have an advantage over anybody, other than just being able to kind of read the track surface, know kind of how that’s changing, where to find grip and things like that.

“Really, I think that’s probably the only advantage any of us dirt guys have over somebody who hasn’t had much dirt experience.”

Also, to adapt to running on dirt changes have been made through tyres and crew to adapt to the rigours of this type of racing.

In pit lane, road crew mechanics will handle the pit stops to give the oval counterparts a two-week rest after the first six rounds of the season. In addition, the normal pit boxes which are a fixture of NASCAR’s pit lane will be missing forcing teams to be better organised, be set-up and cleaned.

Strategy also comes into it as tyre changes can only occur during three-minute stage breaks. If a puncture or a tyre is damaged outside of this, this is the only one to be replaced.

Speaking of tyres, Goodyear is supplying two new codes this weekend marking a return to bias ply last used in 1989.

The tyres have a block pattern to bite into the dirt, while the left-side is significantly shorter than usual to build more stagger compared to the right. Based on a dirt modified tyre within Goodyear’s range, it has been widened by an inch to provide more grip for NASCAR.

NASCAR Cup teams will have three sets to use in practice, one set for a qualifying heat race and five for the race itself, which includes one transferred from qualifying.

Two 50-minutes practice sessions allow Cup drivers to familiarise themselves with the surface before the starting grid is set by four qualifying races through a combination of finishing position and passing points.

This is one of the few NASCAR events to have practice and qualifying sessions, with championship order deciding the grid at most races due to COVID-19 restrictions.

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