Worries mount that Bristol dirt race will be a total disaster

NASCAR feverishly tried to save its ballyhooed first Cup Series dirt race since 1970 from turning into a total disaster, the likes not seen since the 2008 tire debacle at Indianapolis made for one of the worst events in the sport’s history.

The Cup Series is slated to race Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway, where 2,300 truckloads of red Tennessee clay have filled the famed bullring for an experimental — some might allege gimmick — stab at grassroots racing.

But the dirt, the 28-degree Bristol banking and the leaden 3,400-pound cars appear to be a terrible fit.

Yes, drivers had a blast playing in the dirt, some for the first time since they were kids. But four Friday practice sessions ultimately showed the tires can’t sustain the heavy wear. The three layers of dirt acted as a cheese-grater and the tires in turn dug deep divots into the surface. NACAR made several procedural changes Saturday in a desperate bid to save the show.

“We didn’t want to end up in a situation where we had 20 blown right rears and we’re talking about the Bristol dirt show 20 years later like we’re talking about the thing that happened at Indy,” said Scott Miller, NASCARs vice president of competition.

The issues slowly started to snowball during roughly four hours of Friday practice. At first, it was just too dusty. Then tires began to wear down to the cords while digging deep divots into the track surface.

“The track is kind of coming up and just crazy big divots. It’s definitely not smooth,” said Ryan Blaney, fastest Cup driver Friday.

NASCAR collected team feedback issued procedural changes for Sunday’s 250lap race. NASCAR extended the first stage by 25 laps, the second stage by 50 laps and added two competition cautions. It also allotted teams one extra set of tires.

The added competition cautions create additional opportunities for track prep.

“We need this show to be great,” Miller said. “We need to err on the side of caution.”

NASCAR is also facing weather challenges — heavy rain has drenched the dirt delayed the start of Saturday activity. Qualifying heat races for the Truck Series barely made a lap before thick mud caked the windshields and reduced visibility to zero.

“I honestly thought they’d go into the corner and never turn,” said Larson, one of seven Cup regulars entered in the Truck Series.

NASCAR stopped the heat race and sent late model cars onto the track to turn laps and pull some of the water out of the dirt.