Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

Coming back in 2021 as part of the NASCAR schedule with the Cup cars. One has to wonder if they'll have the WoO back. Would be quite the sight to see but man, could be scary as well.

I didn't see anything on NASCAR's site about this.   So they're running the Cup cars on dirt now?  Not sure why they would do that, but if it brings the WoO back to Bristol I'll watch that for sure.   Even if I hadn't stopped watching NASCAR completely I still would have no interest in watching any of their cars run on dirt.    

Even if Kyle is in one?

It's not confirmed yet but Jayski reported last night and he's usually pretty good on this stuff: https://twitter.com/jayski/status/1311071460945993734

It's confirmed. March 28th I believe is the date.

Where's my beer or scotch on the rocks? God-damn it! 40 
plus years of dirt track racing in these old veins might 
get me condemned by the EPA.

Unpopular opinion, todays sprint cars on a bristol track could have a catostrophic outcome. Im not saying I dont want to see sprint cars on the dirt at Bristol but with the engines having 200 more horse than they did 20 years ago there will be some unintended consiquences on these cars.

Watching Kyle in a car that's lapping Bristol at 5 seconds a lap slower than a sprint car won't be a big thrill for me.   

If the Bristol dirt track were a  normal dirt track, similar to last time they tried this.....I might agree. 

But we all see what they do to Eldora for the 150 lap truck race.....I can only imagine that it will be that much harder and slicker for a 300-500 lap Cup race.    it wouldn't surprise me to see them put down the PJ1 traction compound at some point during the weekend in an effort to get the Cup cars off the wall.    


If...and big IF....they run sprints, Silver Crown or late models,  I expect the same super hard, super slick hard packed surface like the Springfield Mile during the state fair in a drought year.

I find the truck race at Eldora very entertaining.  I would imagine the Cup race on dirt at Bristol would be entertaining as well.  They need to do something different than 1-1/2 mile cookie cutter conveyor belts.  They are trying.  Unfortunately, they are about 15 years too late in listening to their fans and being arrogant about it-----but at least they are finally trying.  

It's a sign how much dirt racing has grown (or how much Nascar has fallen) over the past 10 years. No way they would have considered a cup race on dirt back then.

I may be all wet about this but didn't they have almost the same HP in the early 2000s with way less weight giving a higher HP to weight ratio creating many unbreakable track records that still stand today? Don't get me wrong engine tech has surely progressed some but probably not at the rate that weight has been added. Tech advancements have been higher in safety and shocks. I don't see it as any more dangerous but still kinda sorta dangerous.

They were at Bristol in 2000-2001. Sprint cars were running the same speed then as they are now. They are fast there. Put your purse down take your dress off and love it!

I think the arrogance mostly came from Brian France and all of his minions all of those years. It seems that ever since Phelps has taken over, things have gotten better slowly. The new car they are going to come out with has a lot of teams thinking that it will save costs and improve the business model, but then again we have heard that before. Schedule wise they could not really do anything until 2021 anyway due to the agreements they had locked in with the speedways. I like the idea of having dirt on Bristol but part of me wishes they would have just gone to an already existing track whether it be Eldora or Knoxville. I read an article years ago, maybe it was the 10year anniversry of the last dirt race there and the track people talked about what a logistical nitemare it was getting the dirt in & out of the place.

It would be nice though if Nascar would showcase the WoO at Bristol (Sprints & Late Models) as well. That whole arrogance of thinking that they were the only form of racing that was major league did not win them any awards with a lot of fans. Not sure about the speeds but I would say at least a conversation would be nice about it. I think it would do them some good to call out some of these other racing series and work out a co-op with them to showcase racing in general. Doing things where they schedule night races at Iowa Speedway the same nights the Outlaws are at Knvoxville does no one favors. There are many people like you and I that if we had the opprotunity would probably attend the Trucks & Xfinity races then head to Knoxville that night to watch the Outlaws.

At least they are making California a short track now, probably doing away with Chicago, and taking another 1.5 track date as well.

Returning to their roots.  

I mean it's obvious why they are putting dirt on Bristol over running Eldora or Knoxville- it has 6 times the seating capacity. Let alone having garages and other amenities

Since they are bringing dirt in, couldn't they do it however they wanted?  The shape of the track would be the same but they wouldn't have to have the same banking.  If you spread the dirt all the way down to the apron, I would think you could drastically reduce the banking.  Which I would think would slow the cars down.

I agree it makes more sense to use another dirt track.  Knoxville would obviously be the best choice for eye candy on TV but Eldora would be a great choice because it has already run a few truck races.  But, they won't stoop to that level and will try to showcase their own track in Bristol.  Then, they will have the goofs on TV act like Nascar has discovered something new and exciting with racing on dirt!  What a concept. 

Serously though, I am glad they are taking this leap and this might, just might, give them a shot at turning their viewship in the other direction.  They will never get to the level they enjoyed in the 90's and early 2000's.  But, they don't have to get back to that level to survive and thrive.  I agree with your Iowa Speedway/Knoxville comment as well.  Pure arrogance by not reaching out and trying to help themselves out.  Knoxville is in no need of fans from Iowa Speedway.  But, from what I've heard since it opened, Iowa Speedway could use some financial assistance.  Don't know if that's true.  

Thank you.  Your comment is so refreshing to read.  I get so sick of reading comments of people saying "I quit watching 10 years ago, I don't care about it anymore".  Which is fine, I'm not saying people have to watch it or like it, I just get tired of hearing people ripping on it.  And in my opinion the entire product is improving.  Sunday night for the first in at least ten years, I switched the football game off and watched the race instead.

Bingo, that's exactly what I've thought.  I guess I try not to rip on CEOs or top management because it's a much harder job than anyone realizes, things most of us would think are so easy to do are not as easy to do or there's other issues most people don't realize.  But I've gotta say Brian France was/is a POS.  Most of the things that happened on his watch were not good for the sport.  And since he's left the things that have happened have been mostly positive.  I've loved the schedule shakeup this year and what's coming next year.  I like most people am tired of the mile and a half tracks but they've made the racing much better there.  It's been fun to watch this year at least for me.

They are definitely going in a better direction than when Brian France was there.  The bleeding has stopped.  Now time to repair the wound.  They are making some strides.  Kyle Larson needs to be back in their sport for their sake though.  Not that I want to see him leave dirt, but he deserves to make a living at the top level.