NASCAR: The best and worst changes to the 2021 schedule

Bad change: Bristol Motor Speedway dirt track

Date: Sunday, March 28 | Race 7 of 36

Wait, the dirt guy that likes NASCAR thinks this is bad?

Let me first say this. I am looking forward to watching this race. The Cup Series hasn’t raced on dirt in 50 years, so to see them tackle a different type of track will be fun. And it is cool that they are doing it at Bristol Motor Speedway, a track that saw a lot of success with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series in the early 2000s.

But if NASCAR and Speedway Motorsports Inc. want to race on the dirt, why did they choose Bristol Motor Speedway, of all places? They could have gone to a legitimate dirt track!

For those who don’t follow dirt track racing, Speedway Motorsports Inc. owns three complexes that have dirt tracks: Charlotte Motor Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway.

Charlotte Motor Speedway is the most notable one of the three, as its dirt track hosts the DIRTCar World Finals every year to end the dirt racing season. Speedway Motorsports Inc. could put a significant amount of fans in the stands.

If NASCAR wants more fans like they get at Bristol Motor Speedway, they could’ve gone to a track such as Knoxville Speedway, which has enormous stands on both straightaways. The Truck Series is scheduled to go there this summer.

Luckily, one week before the race weekend, Bristol Motor Speedway is putting on the Dirt Nationals, a massive short track event. Stock cars will be one of the classes racing there, so that could give us a sneak preview of what we could see a week later.