03/26/2021
Roush Fenway Weekly Advance | Bristol Dirt
Roush Fenway Weekly Advance | Bristol Dirt
History will be made this weekend at ‘The World’s Fastest Half Mile,’ as the NASCAR Cup Series plays in the dirt for the first time since 1970. Bristol Motor Speedway has been revamped into a half-mile dirt facility, something that no one in the field has ever seen before in a Cup car. Jack Roush takes his 11 all-time Cup victories into the weekend, and 18 overall at the track, as Ryan Newman and Chris Buescher look to be the first to master the Bristol Dirt.
Qualifying Heat Races
Saturday, March 27 | 6 p.m. ET
FS1, PRN, SiriusXM Channel 90
Food City Dirt Race
Sunday, March 28 | 3:30 p.m. ET
FOX, PRN, SiriusXM Channel 90
- Ryan Newman, No. 6 Oscar Mayer Cold Cuts Ford Mustang
- Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang
Atlanta Recap, Bristol Dirt Preview
- Newman ran inside the top-15 for almost 80% of the laps in Sunday’s 400-mile event from Atlanta. He went on to finish 13th in the Kohler Generators machine, his second-best effort on the season.
- Buescher and the No. 17 put together their most impressive showing from start to finish on the young season, finishing inside the top-10 in both opening stages. Buescher went on to finish seventh for his first top-10 of 2021.
- Oscar Mayer returns as the primary partner on Newman’s Ford this weekend on the Bristol Dirt track for their second appearance of 2021. The last time they were on the car, Newman finished seventh at Homestead.
- Buescher will carry the familiar colors of Fastenal on his machine this weekend on the dirt.
Bristol Dirt Formats
- The NCS will run practice sessions and qualifying heats that will determine the starting lineups for each main event. The lineup for each of the four qualifying heats per series will be determined by random draw.
- Passing points – a common theme across weekly dirt track racing – will also play a role this weekend. Passing points are the amount of points collected based on how many cars drivers are able to pass during a qualifying heat. Those points will help determine the starting lineup for the main event.
- As for the qualifying heat races, the Cup Series will run four 15-lap heats with 9-10 cars in each race.
Prior Dirt Experience
Both Newman and Buescher have experience on dirt entering this weekend, which should prove to be valuable when the field takes to the track for its first racing action Saturday with heat races. Buescher is fresh off running a 604 late model in last week’s Bristol Dirt Nationals, while Newman is entered into Saturday night’s Truck Race. Buescher is a former winner back in 2011 on dirt in the ARCA Series, while Newman most notably ran the Chili Bowl in Oklahoma for the second season in a row.
Runner Up
Roush Fenway’s storied history at Bristol began on April 10, 1988 with the No. 6 NCS car earning a second-place finish. Since that time, in addition to the organization’s 11 NCS wins at the track, Roush Fenway Fords have finished second at Bristol on 15 occasions (7 NCS, 4 NXS, 4 NCWTS).
One-Two Punch
Roush Fenway’s most recent victory at Bristol came after sweeping the top two positions in the March 2014 event with former driver Carl Edwards taking the victory and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. coming home in second. Edwards led the final 78 laps of the event to earn the victory.
History and Hot Streaks at “Thunder Valley”
Roush Fenway’s history at Bristol has been one of hot streaks, including trips to victory lane in nine of the last 19 seasons at the famed short track. Roush Fenway swept the track in 2003 and put a NCS car in victory lane at least once in every season from 2002-2008.
Thunder Rolls
Roush Fenway has earned five victories, 23 top-five finishes, 37 top-10 finishes and an average finish of 15.8 at Bristol in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Former Roush Fenway driver David Ragan earned the organization’s most recent Xfinity victory at the .533-mile short track in the Aug. 2009 event.
Tale of the Tape
Roush Fenway has started 215 NCS races at Bristol, recording 11 total wins with 50 top-five and 88 top-10 finishes. RFR Fords have an average finish of 15.9 with 3396 laps led all-time.
