NASCAR confirms Bristol dirt race return for 2022

Bristol Motor Speedway didn’t need the checkered flag to wave Monday night on its inaugural dirt race for the Cup Series before announcing it will happen again in 2022.

The full schedule for next season remains unknown, but the spring dirt weekend at Bristol is now locked in. The exact dates were not revealed. Both the Camping World Truck and Cup Series competed on dirt Monday after a weekend full of rain canceled its qualifying events and postponed the main races, however the announcement confirming the 2022 race only made mention of the Cup Series event.

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“There has been so much buzz and excitement around the inaugural Food City Dirt Race weekend that with NASCAR’s blessing, we are thrilled to announce that we will be bringing back dirt in 2022 as part of the NASCAR Cup Series spring scheduled,” said Jerry Caldwell, executive vice president and general manager of Bristol Motor Speedway. “The dirt experience is unlike any other for NASCAR fans and could become a must-see event every season.”

Bristol is the first of two dirt races this season for the Truck Series, which will also run at Knoxville Speedway in July. For the Cup Series, it was the first time since 1970 teams have competed on dirt.

Socially-distanced grandstand tickets for both the Truck Series and the Cup Series events at Bristol sold out.