Does NASCAR really need a Bristol dirt race?

NASCAR’s three national series all saw memorable finishes at Bristol Motor Speedway this past weekend. With these races having taken place on pavement, is the dirt race even needed?

NASCAR may have had its most entertaining race weekend to date when all three national series competed at Bristol Motor Speedway last week. Questionable finishes, last-lap crashes and new rivalries highlighted the weekend.

And these races all took place on the pavement, not the dirt like we saw for the first time back in late March.

The “bump and run” aspect of racing at the “Last Great Colosseum” was on display once again at the 0.533-mile (0.858-kilometer) high-banked oval in Bristol, Tennessee.

On the final lap of the Xfinity Series race, Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger and Team Penske’s Austin Cindric collided coming to the finish line, with Allmendinger sliding across first to take the win — and the regular season championship.

Even though Allmendinger had to have his post-race victory interview from the infield care center, he couldn’t help but echo the famous phrase, “It’s Bristol Baby!”

So with all of the excitement coming from the pavement race, is a dirt race really even necessary?

Even though there have been critics of the dirt race, including the “King”, Richard Petty himself, saying that “dirt track racing is not professional”, current drivers disagree.

Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman had this to say after practicing for the Bristol Motor Speedway dirt race a few months ago.

"“I had a blast. I thought it was a lot of fun. The tire wear is a little concerning, but other than that, everything went great I thought. These cars are a lot of fun. They’re really drivable on dirt. It got a little rough, but it’s just character in the race track. I enjoyed the hell out of it.”"

Additionally, this track furthers the diversity in the schedule, which allows us to see which tracks drivers excel at and find out who is really the best overall.

Despite mixed reactions, the dirt race at Bristol Motor Speedway is here to stay, and current drivers seem to enjoy NASCAR going back to its roots by racing on dirt.

With the dirt race having already been confirmed for next year, drivers with dirt background such as Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell can all be expected to be among the favorites.