NASCAR Postpones Truck Series Dirt Race Due to Rain, Heavy Mud
The Camping World Truck Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway will not take place as scheduled. [...]
The Camping World Truck Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway will not take place as scheduled. NASCAR has canceled the qualifying races for both Truck and Cup drivers. Additionally, the planned Pinty's Truck Race on Dirt moved from 7 p.m. ET to Sunday.
"Tonight's NASCAR Cup Series and Camping World Truck Series qualifying races from [Bristol Motor Speedway] have been canceled. New Sunday schedule: 3:30 PM ET: Food City Dirt Race (FOX) Approx 9 PM ET: Pinty's Truck Race on Dirt (FS2)," racing's sanctioning body tweeted on Saturday evening. NASCAR will now determine the starting lineups for the two races using a formula instead of qualifying races.
🎼 "Let's get a little mud on the tires ... and the grille ... and the windshield ... and 🎼 pic.twitter.com/qwhwJamqlf
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 27, 2021
The announcement took place after mud disrupted the first of three Truck Series qualifying races. The drivers headed around Bristol Motor Speedway after inclement weather delayed the starting time. They completed one lap and then started the second before the caution flag came out. The reason is that mud was caked across the windshields of several trucks, completely blocking the drivers' vision.
The drivers pulled to pit road after completing one full lap, bringing out the red flag. The crews began scraping the heavy mud off of the windshields, hoods, and grills of the trucks. Meanwhile, the late series racecars took some laps around the track to try to settle the racing surface.
The work did not last as long due to even more issues. The rain began to fall and forced the teams to cover their respective trucks. NASCAR ultimately decided to cancel the qualifying races and look forward to Sunday in hope of better weather.
Prior to the cancellation, several drivers spoke to Fox Sports about the track and the driving conditions. Kyle Larson, a favorite for Sunday's race, said that he fully expected all of the trucks to miss the first corner and just slam into the wall at full speed. Kevin Harvick took a different approach. He said that the short-lived race was "probably the most uncomfortable I've ever been in a race car." Harvick said that the vision issues created very unsafe conditions and that he had to simply look left and go off of what he knew about the track.
The rescheduled race, which fans can watch online with a fuboTV trial, will tentatively take place Sunday at 9 p.m. ET. FS2 will provide the coverage. Prior to the Trucks heading out onto the track, the Cup Series Food City Dirt Race will take place at 3:30 p.m. ET.
