The NASCAR Cup Series will use a dirt-racing-type format to set the starting grid for Sunday’s Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, the series’ first race on dirt since 1970. The grid for the main event will be determined by four 15-lap heat races Saturday, with the lineup for those heats determined by blind drawings.
Quin Houff and Kyle Larson will be on the front row for the first heat race.
“Even me being a dirt racer, I really don’t know what to expect,” Larson said. “These cars are way different than what I’m used to racing on dirt. They are way heavier with a lot less power than I’m used to. I think the only thing that transfers from my previous dirt experience to this weekend is how to read the surface and how it changes and evolves throughout the weekend and the race. I may be able to adapt to that quicker than a pavement racer.”
The first heat Saturday is scheduled to take the green flag at approximately 6 p.m. ET, with the other three races to follow in short succession.
Brad Keselowski will start on the pole for the second heat. Mike Marlar will start next to him on the front row to qualify for his Cup Series debut race.
“This is such a cool opportunity for me being a dirt racer from East Tennessee being able to compete in the top series of NASCAR at Bristol,” Marlar said.
Alex Bowman and J.J. Yeley will start the third heat race on the front row, and Corey LaJoie and Matt DiBenedetto will be up front for the final heat.
Thirty-nine cars are on the entry list for the Food City Dirt Race, so all who make qualifying attempts in one of the heat races will get starting positions for Sunday’s race. The first three heat races Saturday will be contested by 10 drivers, with nine drivers in the fourth heat.
