Bristol Dirt? Mother Nature doesn’t care, as she didn’t let up on Bristol Motor Speedway over a March 27-28 weekend filled with rain.
Constant precipitation from Saturday afternoon into Sunday ultimately forced the postponement of the NASCAR Cup Series and Camping World Truck Series’ Bristol dirt races. Drivers will have to wait another day before attempting the first Cup race on this track type since 1970.
The Trucks are waiting it out, too, as the Pinty’s Truck Race on Dirt was pushed from its original 8 p.m. ET start time on Saturday to 9 p.m. ET the following day. Now, they will take the green flag shortly after noon ET on Monday (March 29). The Cup Series’ 250-lap Food City Dirt Race, meanwhile, is set for 4 p.m. ET that afternoon. It will be the first time in more than 50 years that NASCAR’s premier series has raced on dirt.
NASCAR has postponed everything today for Bristol dirt … Trucks at noon ET Monday on FS1, Cup at 4pm ET Monday on FOX … Prerace show will still air today at 2pm ET on FOX … @NASCARONFOX
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) March 28, 2021
Despite beautiful, sunny skies on Friday for Cup and Truck practices, ominous clouds and eventually rain moved in and swept away both series’ heat races that were scheduled for Saturday afternoon. The heavy rain, combined with lengthy track prep and flash flood warnings for the area, ended up forcing NASCAR’s hand and the postponement of all Bristol dirt track activity.
I have NEVER seen the water this high before at @BMSupdates #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/gbTupU0B0i
— DannyBTalks (Daniel Baldwin) (@DannyBTalks) March 28, 2021
The last time a race at Bristol was postponed to Monday was in 2018, where Kyle Busch went to victory lane the day after a Sunday rainout.
Kyle Larson is set to lead the Cup field to green after the lineup was set through the sport’s qualifying metric. However, the No. 5 team changed the engine in their Chevrolet after Friday’s practice and he will drop to the rear.
John Hunter Nemechek is slated for the Truck Series pole, but is on baby watch with Cup driver Christopher Bell on standby to relieve him.
Bristol Dirt Truck Race Starting Lineup
Bristol Dirt Cup Race Starting Lineup
RACE WEEKEND CENTRAL: BRISTOL
Adam Cheek joined Frontstretch as a contributing writer in January 2019. A 2020 graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, he covered sports there and later spent a year and a half as a sports host on 910 the Fan in Richmond, VA. He's freelanced for Richmond Magazine and the Richmond Times-Dispatch and also hosts the Adam Cheek's Sports Week podcast. Adam has followed racing since the age of three, inheriting the passion from his grandfather, who raced in amateur events up and down the East Coast in the 1950s.