Preview

NASCAR Cup

Video: Transforming Bristol into a dirt track

Bristol Motor Speedway is about to host the first NASCAR Cup Series race on dirt in over 50 years.

Published: Mar 27, 2021, 7:54 PM

Copy link

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share on WhatsApp

Share on Linkedin

Share on Pinterest

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

It's not the first time 'The Last Great Colosseum' has been covered in dirt however. It was done at the turn of the century, but never before for a NASCAR event.

The last Cup race on dirt took place at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, N.C. on September 30th, 1970.

It took 23,000 cubic yards of dirt to make the Bristol Dirt Track a reality, battling through rain and snow in the months of January and February to get the job done. 

One of the biggest challenges will be keeping moisture in the track, which has taken several thousand gallons of water.

“We’ve shallowed it up and we will be at 19 degrees when it is all said and done. The thickest fills will be 9- and 10-feet and our smallest fill will be a foot," said said Steve Swift, owner Speedway Motorsports’ senior vice president of operations and development.

“It’s never a great time to place dirt in the middle of the winter. So far we’ve been blessed. We are way ahead of where we thought we would be with the weather and we are on schedule and pushing forward.”

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Read also :

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share on WhatsApp

Share on Linkedin

Share on Pinterest

Share on Viber

Previous article Ryan Blaney tops Friday's final practice at Bristol Dirt Track

Next article NASCAR makes competition changes for Sunday's Cup dirt race

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news



Gibbs, Spire and Gabehart argue over contempt and injunction

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Charlotte II

2 h

Gibbs, Spire and Gabehart argue over contempt and injunction



William Byron to run Jeff Gordon throwback Axalta scheme at Phoenix

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Charlotte II

2 h

William Byron to run Jeff Gordon throwback Axalta scheme at Phoenix



Alexander Rossi takes over IR-28 testing as IndyCar pushes new chassis to the limit at Sebring

IndyCar

Indy IndyCar 2 h

Alexander Rossi takes over IR-28 testing as IndyCar pushes new chassis to the limit at Sebring



Daniel Suarez will return to Spire Motorsports for 2027 NASCAR Cup season

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Charlotte II

3 h

Daniel Suarez will return to Spire Motorsports for 2027 NASCAR Cup season

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts

Subscribe