Easter Sunday brings the Food City Dirt Race from Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee. William Byron was the NASCAR Cup Series’ big winner last week, delivering the victory at the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 on Saturday at Martinsville Speedway. A late caution ended up sending this to overtime, and Byron made it through one last restart and an error on the white-flag lap to secure the win. He led 212 of the race’s 403 laps, taking over from teammate Chase Elliott, who had won the pole and led the initial 185 laps. Overtime lasted two laps, and Byron beat Joey Logano by 0.303 seconds, as Logano could not approach close enough to get that final move. This week, the drivers will deal with 23,000 cubic yards of dirt on top of the half-mile concrete course at Bristol. Check out the NASCAR betting odds along with our wager suggestions.
NASCAR News: Cup Series Food City Dirt Race Preview
| Driver | Odds |
|---|---|
| Kyle Larson | +550 |
| Christopher Bell | +800 |
| Joey Logano | +900 |
| Chase Elliott | +1000 |
| William Byron | +1200 |
| Tyler Reddick, Martin Truex Jr, Chase Briscoe, Alex Bowman | +1400 |
| Ryan Blaney, Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin | +1600 |
| Daniel Suarez | +2000 |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr | +2500 |
| Bubba Wallace | +3000 |
| Ross Chastain, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski | +3500 |
| Erik Jones, Austin Dillon, Austin Cindric | +4000 |
| Kurt Busch, Aric Almirola | +5000 |
| Chris Buescher | +6000 |
| Ty Dillon | +10000 |
| Cole Custer | +15000 |
| Todd Gilliland, Harrison Burton, Justin Haley | +25000 |
| Justin Allgaier | +30000 |
| Noah Gragson, Corey LaJoie | +50000 |
| Josh Williams, J.J. Yeley, Cody Ware | +100000 |
Chase Briscoe came in 20th here last year, but he should do better than that this time around. Now that he has a Cup Series win under his belt, and he has dirt racing skills. The changes with the car this year mean that the sidewall will be stiffer and shorter, and the suspension will handle differently. After some practice heats, though, I like Briscoe to find a way to contend and maybe even break through.
Kyle Busch led seven laps in the early going last year before falling back to finish 17th. He does not have as much experience as some of the other Cup Series drivers on dirt; the truck series drivers end up getting the most experience on the surface, but Busch is a driver who figures courses out quickly and finds ways to contend.
Alex Bowman is an interesting wild card here; he finished 22nd here in 2021 but is also running in the truck series race this weekend, and coming in off that extra practice should give him a boost. He’s running in Hendrick equipment for the Cup Series race, so he should have plenty of speed.
Daniel Suarez is another sleeper to look at; he almost picked up his first victory on this track here in 2021, leading 58 laps before Joey Logano came on to close things out. Suarez finished second in Stage 2 to Logano, and this year, his upgrades from Trackhouse Racing mean that he should be able to sit right up front at the end again.
Kyle Larson is the favorite here once again this year, thanks in large part to the fact that he runs on dirt frequently as a hobby. He grabbed the pole a year ago but then saw Denny Hamlin blow by him before settling for 29th. It will be interesting to see if his adjustments turn out better this year.
Christopher Bell is another driver with a great deal of dirt experience, but he only came in 34th here last year. An early spin and crash saw his day go dismally, but I expect him to handle himself much more effectively this time around.
Joey Logano is the defending champion; in 2021, he took sixth in the first stage before winning the second stage and the overall race, leading the last 61 laps. He also has prior dirt experience in addition to this race, and his setup should be excellent once again.
Martin Truex Jr led 126 of 263 laps a year ago, setting a race high, but he was using a 750 HP car that was effective in many races on short tracks last year. This new car might not deliver as well; changes to the banking to make the high side more open and encourage side-by-side driving could also lead to a different race experience.
NASCAR Betting Odds
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