It’s March, which means the inaugural Bristol Motor Speedway dirt races for the NASCAR Cup and Camping World Truck series are upon us later this month.
Before both series hit the track, Bristol will host the Bristol Dirt Nationals, a multi-day slate of events featuring some of the best dirt racers in the country.
As expected, a handful of drivers competing in the NASCAR races there the following week will also contest the Dirt Nationals — some in order to practice for the event in their own series, others because they’d probably be entered anyway (hey, Kyle Larson).
Below is a constantly updating list of drivers on the Dirt Nationals entry list who either run full time now in a NASCAR national series or have experience in any of the three series in the past. This is meant not only to showcase which drivers are hitting the dirt the week before but also to provide potential guesses as to who could show up on the Cup and Truck entry lists as dirt ringers (like Chris Windom, for example, already has) based on their participation in the Nationals.
The Bristol Dirt Nationals kick off in just under two weeks, running March 15-20. The following weekend, the Camping World Truck Series runs its first of two 2021 dirt races on March 27, followed by the Cup Series’ return to dirt on March 28.
Current NASCAR national series full-timers
Chris Buescher (No. 17, Roush Fenway Racing, Cup)
Kyle Busch (No. 18, Joe Gibbs Racing, Cup)
Matt Crafton (No. 88, ThorSport Racing, Truck)
Cole Custer (No. 41, Stewart-Haas Racing, Cup)
Austin Dillon (No. 3, Richard Childress Racing, Cup)
Kyle Larson (No. 5, Hendrick Motorsports, Cup)
Joey Logano (No. 22, Team Penske, Cup)
Former NASCAR national series full-timers
Joey Coulter (2011-2014; five Xfinity starts, one top 10; 91 Truck starts, one win, 19 top fives, 43 top 10s. One top five and one top 10 in two Eldora Speedway Truck starts.)
Jeremy Mayfield (1993-2009; 433 Cup starts, five wins, 48 top fives, 96 top 10s; 36 Xfinity starts, one top five, five top 10s; three Truck starts, one top 10.)
David Reutimann (2002-2014; 235 Cup starts, two wins, 12 top fives, 26 top 10s; 127 Xfinity starts, one win, 18 top fives, 45 top 10s; 79 Truck starts, one win, 17 top fives, 38 top 10s.)
David Stremme (2003-2014; 200 Cup starts, three top 10s; 146 Xfinity starts, 20 top fives, 50 top 10s; four Truck starts, one top 10.)
NASCAR national series part-timers, past and present
Steve Arpin (2010-2012; nine Xfinity starts, two top 10s; five Truck starts, one top 10.)
Scott Bloomquist (2013; one Truck start. One Eldora Truck start.)
Jonathan Davenport (2013; failed to qualify for one Truck race.)
Justin Hobgood (2003-2010; 15 Xfinity starts; 11 Truck starts, one top 10.)
Nick Hoffman (2010-2018; four Truck starts, one top 10; one top 10 in one Eldora Truck start.)
Doug Keller (2001-2003; 17 Truck starts.)
Jody Knowles (2014-2015; five Truck starts; two Eldora Truck starts.)
Darrell Lanigan (1996-2000; four Xfinity starts.)
Bobby Pierce (2015-2017; eight Truck starts, one top five, two top 10s; one top five and two top 10s in three Eldora Truck starts.)
GR Smith (2010; one Truck start.)
Kyle Strickler (2018-2019; two Truck starts; two Eldora Truck starts.)
Tim Ward (2019; one Truck start; one Eldora Truck start.)
Rutherford is the managing editor of Frontstretch, a position he gained in 2015 after serving on the editing staff for two years. At his day job, he's a journalist covering music and rock charts at Billboard. He lives in New York City, but his heart is in Ohio -- you know, like that Hawthorne Heights song.
Sounds exciting