After 2022's Easter Sunday night edition of the Bristol dirt race delivered in both action and return on investment, plans are already being put in place for Bristol Motor Speedway on dirt to be a part of the NASCAR Cup Series schedule once again in 2023.
In a statement released Tuesday after the Food City Dirt Race, Bristol Motor Speedway announced that the track will prepare for a spring night race on dirt once again in 2023. With the release of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series schedule still a ways away, the track noted that dates for the event would not be revealed until later this year.
Bristol Motor Speedway president and general manager Jerry Caldwell cited both attendance and the race's television audience in committing to another primetime race on dirt next season.
"I'm so thankful for our owners, Bruton and Marcus Smith, for 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," Caldwell said. "Bristol Motor Speedway will prepare for a spring night race on dirt in 2023, giving the fans two great NASCAR shows on different surfaces."
After holding the first dirt race in the modern era of the NASCAR Cup Series in 2021, Bristol built on its newly-minted dirt race by moving it to primetime on Easter Sunday for 2022. Modifications to the track's banking made for more dynamic and compelling on-track action, and the race featured a thrilling finish that saw Kyle Busch take the checkered flag after Tyler Reddick and Chase Briscoe spun each other out while racing for the win in the final corner.
The payoff for once again converting Bristol to dirt -- and breaking from tradition by scheduling a Cup Series race for Easter -- came Tuesday when the race's television numbers were released. According to Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal, Bristol on dirt earned four million viewers, making it the most-watched NASCAR race at Bristol (of any kind) since the spring of 2016.
The continuation of dirt racing at Bristol Motor Speedway will make it the only track on the Cup Series calendar with two distinctly different racing surfaces. The dirt will be removed and powerwashed off the track's concrete surface for its annual 500-lap Night Race in September.
