NASCAR, Speedway Motorsports and other industry stakeholders have been discussing the possibility of running a dirt race at Bristol Motor Speedway in the coming years, sources say, although the talks are in the preliminary stages. Bristol first pulled off the idea of filling its now-concrete short track with dirt for a race when the World of Outlaws series raced there in '00 and '01. Speedway Motorsports President & CEO Marcus Smith hinted at bringing the idea to NASCAR last year in on a podcast with Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- though the comment was vague and the topic has not been discussed since. The earliest possible run date of the race was unclear.
Teams would have to develop a special package for cars to pull off the race, and it is not yet clear how enthusiastic they are about the idea. However, if NASCAR and other stakeholders like TV partners were to push hard for the event, some sources suspect that teams would eventually agree. NASCAR is racing at Bristol this weekend, with a Truck race on Thursday night, an Xfinity race Friday and the Cup event, the annual Bristol night race, on Saturday.
