The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
NASCAR got dirty, and it was great
Well, that was ... something.
No, forget that. I’m not going to toe the line. After seeing NASCAR’S first dirt race in51 years Monday at Bristol, I am all in on more dirt racing.
Well, me and Joey Logano, of course. “How about Bristol on dirt?” an always-smiling Logano said after his historic win.“this is inc redible, unbelievable racetrack.”
In predictable NASCAR fan fashion, some loved it, and some, I’m quite sure, hated it. But NASCAR’S return to the dirt, for this young fan at least, was everything I hoped it would be.
Monday’s rain-delayed race gave us great visuals, really good racing (yes, the ending could have been better, but we say that after most races), and the signature Bristol bumpand-run was still alive and well.
For a weekend that started with Mother Nature literally throwing a wet towel on everything, I’d say Monday’s Main Event was a success.
First gear
That doesn’t mean there weren’t challenges. Of course there were! Credit where credit it due, though, because NASCAR was able to adapt to most of them in real time.
After reviewing Friday’s two practice sessions, officials gave each team an extra set of tires due to higher-than-anticipated tire wear. Officials also extended stage lengths and added a pair of competition cautions to be able to better prep the track.
The sanctioning body also called a quickaudibleduringmonday’sracewhen dust kept getting kicked up during Stage 3 restarts, leading to single-file restarts over the final 85 laps.
Could the racing up front have been better? Sure. Five lead changes among five different drivers (three of which led all but eight laps) isn’t great. But, there was three-wide racing throughout the pack all afternoon and plenty of slipping and sliding, so I’ll take it.
There have been plenty of snoozers in this sport over the years (don’t make me name
names!), but this wasn’t one of them.
Second gear
Raise your hand if you thought Martin Truex Jr. would be the best dirt racer in both races on Monday?
Yeah, me neither.
Truex won all three stages and led 105 laps in the Truck opener, and then led a racehigh 126 laps in the Cup show before finishing 19th.
Yes,truex was in the always dominant No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports truck, but any time you lead 231 laps in one day across two different series, you’re gonna raise a few eyebrows.
“I guess they had to put dirt on Bristol to get back into Victory Lane here,” he said. “I’m still really surprised.”
Third gear
Everybody just assumed Bubba Wallace and Michael Jordan would be the new kids on the block this year that made waves, but how about Daniel Suarez, Pitbull and Justin Marks?
The No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevy was fast again on Monday, leading 58 laps and finishing fourth.
Suarez now has collected four top-17 finishes (no small feat for a brand new team), and worked his way to 20th in the points. Perhaps it’s time to start taking that team seriously.
Fourth gear
On the other end of the spectrum, it’s safe to officially press the panic button for Aric Almirola.
The driver of the No. 10 Stewart-haas Ford wrecked out of Monday’s race early in the first stage, finishing 30th or worse (36th) for the fourth time in seven races.
Almirola has yet to record a top-10 this season, sits 28th in the points and the next track, Martinsville, is one of his worst (five top-10s in 24 career races).
The struggles of the Stewart-haas stable have been well documented in these space s over the first two months, and, unfortunately, Almirola is leading the charge.