Joe Gibbs Racing driver Chase Briscoe is currently eighth on the Cup Series points table, having a dream run in the No. 19 Toyota Camry XSE. He secured a spot in the playoffs by winning the race at Pocono. Meanwhile, he has been using his time to pitch for dirt races to be added to the Cup Series schedule.
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Briscoe has strong roots in dirt racing. He grew up racing sprint cars in Indiana and even broke the record for being the youngest driver to win a 410 Sprint Car race at age 13. Owing to this background, he has been making a case for why dirt tracks need to be brought back. His most recent attempt at reaching the ears of the men in the suits came at the Knoxville Raceway.
When asked if he would support a NASCAR dirt race, he replied, “Yeah, absolutely. Anytime there’s been a NASCAR dirt race, I always try to make it a point to go run it. You know, I remember coming here and running the truck race a couple of years ago, and obviously, I always ran the Eldora races as well. So, yeah, I feel like even in the Cup Series, we need to have a dirt race.”
He continued to point out how dirt racing doesn’t get enough recognition in the Cup Series and that he would love to have an event, be it in Eldora, Knoxville, or Bristol. Interestingly, this isn’t the first time in recent days that he has expressed this line of thought. He conveyed a similar message during an episode of the Rubbin is Racing podcast last month.
Briscoe talks about the Cup Series dirt races in Bristol
It is not like NASCAR isn’t aware of the benefits that a dirt race would bring. But its past experience with the discipline did not exactly go as planned. The Cup Series races on the Bristol Motor Speedway’s dirt configuration three times, in 2021, 2022, and 2023. It failed to impress the fandom enough in each of these years, and the traditional concrete surface was brought back in 2024.
Briscoe said about the stint, “The first one was obviously not very good, but I mean, anybody who knows dirt racing knows we probably don’t need a race in the middle of the day. But yeah, I thought the last two were really, really good.”
Unfortunately for him, officials have confirmed that there are no plans brewing to get back to the dirt track in the near future. It remains to be seen if this stand will change.
