But Then Again When You Ever Going to Counter Mud and Dirt on a Paved Road

• The NASCAR Cup Series will contest its first race on dirt since 1971 on March 28 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
• The track ' s traditional concrete surface has been covered with multiple layers of clay to create a temporary 18-degree banked dirt track.
  
• Inclement weather canceled the heat races that were originally crafted to prepare the starting lineup for both the Loving cup Series and Truck Series events.

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For the showtime time since 1970, the NASCAR Loving cup Serial will race on clay this weekend, only it's not going to accept place on a traditional dirt track.

Instead, Speedway Motorsports Inc. has temporarily converted Bristol Motor Speedway into a half-mile clay track, covering its concrete surface with nearby 'Barefaced City Dirt' for a Cup Series/Truck Series doubleheader replete with rut races to gear up the starting lineups.

The inclusion of a clay race is merely 1 of many changes to the Loving cup Series schedule this flavor, in addition to seven races on road courses, and with a downtown metropolis street course event also under consideration for hereafter seasons alongside the debut of the next-generation race motorcar.

Information technology's been 51 years since the highest level of NASCAR raced on clay, dating back to the 1970 Home State 200 at the N Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, when Richard Little defeated Neil Castles by two laps.

Chris Graythen Getty Images

"That was a different time, and I remember we all knew that after Raleigh that night in that location weren't going to exist whatsoever more dirt-track races," the seven-time champion told Autoweek. "We knew it was last ane that (48-race) flavor and we sort of already knew there wouldn't be any more than the side by side season. (Petty Enterprises) didn't even have a dirt-rail automobile at that time; all of ours were set up for asphalt. We used a Plymouth we'd sold to Jabe Thomas earlier in the year. His owner (Don Robertson) let us employ of one his cars that night. Really, I don't recall much about the race itself."

Fiddling, by the way, wasn't a fan of this idea when it first came out.

That race was seen as the stop of an era, with NASCAR abandoning its clay roots for state-of-the-art pavement facilities like Daytona Superspeedway, Talladega Superspeedway, Darlington Raceway, and Rockingham Speedway.

Another quarter century would pass and paved curt tracks like North Wilkesboro Speedway and Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville would also be removed from the schedule in favor of similarly synthetic intermediate tracks like Chicagoland Speedway and Kentucky Speedway.

Information technology didn't have long for aerodynamics and technology to suppress the amusement value at these 1.v-mile tracks and fans pushed for a return to short tracks while likewise introducing more than route courses in addition to Watkins Glen and Sonoma.

First came the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, which came at the expense of the fall race on the original intermediate length D-shaped oval, with Chicagoland and Kentucky falling off the schedule in 2021 to make room for traditional road courses like Circuit of the Americas and Road America.

NASCAR will presently begin a reconfiguration of 2-mile Auto Club Speedway in Southern California into a one-half-mile short track. Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville, which terminal hosted the Loving cup Serial in 1984, is nearing closer to a revival that could come across it render to the highest levels of the sport.

The Truck Serial was the outset to render to NASCAR's dirt runway roots, contesting a successful 7-yr stint at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.

It was inevitable that the Cup Series would follow adapt, and with attendance beginning to dwindle at Bristol, the decision was made to convert that result to a dirt race—20 years after the rails final covered its surface in dirt for the World of Outlaws.

The Food City Dirt Race is i of the most predictable and unpredictable NASCAR races in decades, and so here is a primer for what to expect every bit Thunder Valley and Cup Series gets dirty.

How did NASCAR set the starting lineups?

Unfortunately, a torrential downpour canceled the heat races that were intended to set the starting lineups for both races and postponed the Truck Series race to Sunday night at 9 p.1000.

As a issue, Trevor Collins, Jessica Friesen, and Ryan Newman failed to make the race. JR Heffner withdrew earlier in the afternoon.

The starting gild was determined past the formula has been used since last flavor with the absence of qualifying. The formula combines owner points, previous week'due south stop, and fastest lap of the previous week's race.

Information technology'south worth noting that Kyle Larson will start at the rear of the Cup Serial race due to an engine change.

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What'due south the format for the features?

First, the feature is what dirt fans telephone call 'the principal event.' It's also called an A-Principal or A-Feature. Similar to an ordinary NASCAR result, both the Cup Series and Truck Series races will be divided into three stages, only changes to the format were implemented after Friday practise produced a tremendous amount of tire wear.

Here's the updated format:

• Competition caution on Lap 50
• Phase 1 ends at Lap 100 instead of Lap 75
• Competition caution on Lap 150
• Stage 2 ends at Lap 200 instead of Lap 150
• Laps will non count in one case NASCAR sends the gratis laissez passer automobile around during the competition cautions on Lap 50 and 150
• An additional set up of tires has been provided to teams—a full of six overall

What rules packet is the Cup Series using?

This is a modified version of the college horsepower, depression downforce rules formula used on short tracks and road courses.

However, there will exist no splitter overhang and a debris deflector volition be permitted at a maximum of 18 inches by 6 inches. Different dirt Belatedly Models, Cup cars will apply windshields. The rear spoiler will be 6 inches by 51 inches, which is dissimilar from that used on superspeedway (9 x 61) and short tracks and route courses (2.75 x 61). Screens will be placed over various ducts to go on dirt and mud out. The right sides of the cars, which are expected to be tested by the outside retaining wall, volition exist given trunk stiffeners. Deck-lid hinges will be used, and spindle and steering arm assembly can be reinforced.

There will not exist pit stops this weekend

Over-the-wall coiffure members won't even be at the rail this weekend every bit this race will not feature traditional pit stops.

In one case a stage ends, the running order will exist frozen, and the field will exist allowed to come down pit road for whatsoever refueling, prepare-upwards adjustments, or repairs. The social club on pit road will be the order off pit road unless a penalization is called. Those who choose not to pit volition start ahead of those who came downward pit road.

NASCAR did consider implementing pit stops just NASCAR senior vice president of competition Scott Miller explained his team couldn't state on the right format.

"We kind of toyed around with the idea of could we or couldn't we have pit stops like we normally see every week," Miller said. "Honestly, with dirt cars on a dirty physical pit route, having pit crews trying to run out in that location and do all of that, I but don't retrieve that would have been in our best interest, specially the first time around."

Is this a one and done?

There has been some speculation that this was intended to be a one-off result since in that location volition be no need for the electric current generation cars after this flavour. Further, there may be reluctance to put the Adjacent-Gen cars on dirt, given that there could be a considerable corporeality of carnage this weekend.

Miller says such a determination hasn't been made.

"If we have an effect that is equally fantastic every bit we all are hoping that it will be, which we all believe that it volition be, then we will figure out a way to make it continue on," Miller said.

"If we have problems, we'd have to wait at it for what the hereafter is. I think it'southward safe to say if we have an overwhelming successful event, we'll figure out a way to carry on with it."

And what constitutes a success?

"I mean, it has to come off good from a Goggle box perspective and omnipresence perspective, fan feedback perspective, a ratings perspective," Miller said. "It's only all of those things."

OK, so how can we picket?

The NASCAR Food City Dirt Race will take place at 3:30 p.m. ET on Dominicus. It will air on FOX. The pelting delayed Truck Serial race is scheduled to accept identify at 9:00 p.m. ET on FS2.

Will you be watching this week? How do you feel about the NASCAR Cup Series on dirt? Tell usa in the comments section below.

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Source: https://www.autoweek.com/racing/nascar/a35942173/everything-you-need-to-know-about-nascars-bristol-dirt-race/

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