The NASCAR Cup Series moves to Bristol Motor Speedway for Sunday night’s 2022 Food City Dirt Race. The green flag is set to drop a little after 7 p.m. ET (FOX). Below we analyze the 2022 Food City Dirt Race odds and lines, with NASCAR picks and predictions.
NASCAR elected to change Bristol’s spring race to a dirt surface last March. It was the first time the Cup Series ran on dirt since the 1970 season.
Penske Racing’s Joey Logano came away with the victory last spring, a race shortened to 253 laps due to heavy rains and flash flooding in the area. The average speed was just 46.313 mph.
You can expect faster speeds Sunday night as NASCAR learned quite a bit about running these type cars on a dirt surface. Mud flaps were installed on the NextGEN cars this weekend, too.
2022 Food City Dirt Race: What you need to know
- Normally we’d look at Average-Finish Position, top-5 and top-10 finishes from a track, but that’s all out the window on a dirt surface. Instead, we’ll simply look back to last season’s inaugural dirt run to see who was more comfortable and who was an unmitigated disaster.
- Manufacturer didn’t mean much on the dirt, as Ford was first, Chevrolet was second and a Toyota ran third.
- Logano led the final 61 laps of the rain-delayed event, holding off Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Denny Hamlin for the victory. Logano beat Stenhouse by .554 seconds en route to the checkered flag.
- Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez and Roush Fenway Racing’s Ryan Newman rounded out the top 5. Newman isn’t even in the field this season.
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Food City Dirt Race – Expert pick
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 3:31 a.m. ET.
It would be a little lazy to go with Logano, who won last season’s rain-shortened event. It will be interesting to see who can win this year on Easter night in a full 500-lap race.
I like the favorite here. Expect Hendrick Motorsports’ KYLE LARSON (+380), the 2021 Cup Series champion, to pick up checkers this weekend. It hasn’t been that long since he was racing on dirt tracks on a regular basis. He picked up a Truck Series win at Eldora Speedway on the dirt surface in 2016, and regularly drove the surfaces in the lower levels.
Larson was 29th last season in this event, but it was a new event, delayed and muddy. Conditions will be more optimal, and he will take advantage.
Food City Dirt Race picks – Long shot
RICKY STENHOUSE JR. (+2000) was the runner-up on this dirt surface last season in a race which was an absolute mess.
Stenhouse, like Larson, has a long history of racing on dirt tracks, starting out on the surface in 2003 while also seeing dirt tracks rather frequently at the lower levels.
He reportedly likes it, is excited about the track and is basically the opposite of Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch, who would rather race on the moon than on dirt.
Food City Dirt Race prop picks
Note: As of this publishing, top-10 finish odds were not posted yet. Below are suggested plays if and when they get posted.
CHASE BRISCOE TOP-10 FINISH
Briscoe is a tremendous play this weekend. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver has been in midget and sprint cars on a dirt surface for a long time. He and teammate Cole Custer will make dirt legend and team owner Tony Stewart proud with solid finishes this weekend. Briscoe was second in Friday’s first practice session.
COLE CUSTER TOP-10 FINISH
Custer is worth a look for a second consecutive weekend. He picked up the pole in qualifying Saturday, and will have the all-important first choice of pit stalls, too. There are several advantages of picking first, as he’ll be in a stall which isn’t up against two cars on either side, but with an opening in front. That extra room makes a huge difference.
TYLER REDDICK TOP-10 FINISH
Reddick ended up seventh in the dirt race in 2021. He has a lengthy history of racing on dirt. Reddick led the first practice session with a best speed of 89.925 on Friday.
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