Bristol Motor Speedway will be trucking in more dirt next year for the return of the track’s 2023 spring NASCAR Cup Series race.
“I’m so thankful for our owners, Bruton and Marcus Smith, allowing our Bristol Motor Speedway team to put on an amazing Easter celebration and NASCAR race weekend that exceeded our expectations with strong ticket sales and primetime viewership on FOX,” said Jerry Caldwell, president and general manager of Bristol Motor Speedway. “Bristol Motor Speedway will prepare for a spring night race on dirt in 2023, giving the fans two great NASCAR shows on different surfaces. The dates for our NASCAR events will not be available until later this year. To guarantee the best seats for more amazing dirt racing next year, guests may contact the ticket office or visit our website at BristolMotorSpeedway.com to renew their tickets today.”
The 2022 dirt race on Sunday, won by Kyle Busch, in a thrilling finish, that saw Busch race past final-lap leaders Tyler Reddick and Chase Briscoe, was a TV ratings hit, drawing 4.007 million viewers, up 28 percent from last year’s dirt race, and up 20 percent from the mid-April 2022 race weekend, which last year featured the Richmond Raceway.
In an interview Tuesday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR’s chief operating officer, enthusiastically backed adding more dirt races on the Cup Series schedule moving forward.
“We are definitely interested in continuing to look at dirt. We’re still dissecting what took place this weekend and what we can do and where we could be,” O’Donnell said. “But all in all, the direction as of today is certainly to remain on dirt.”
Story by Chris Graham
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