“I Won’t Be in Bristol for a Dirt Race on Easter” – Upcoming NASCAR Cup Race Continues to Divide the Paddock

Published 04/16/2022, 8:25 AM EDT

This weekend is the NASCAR Cup Series race at the Bristol Motor Speedway dirt track. However, things are going to be quite different for this particular race. First and foremost, the race will take place on Easter Sunday. Secondly, this race will kick off at night time, which is the first night race for the track.

However, it is worth mentioning that Easter Sunday races have taken place in the past. In fact, the Bristol race will be the 12th race in NASCAR history to kick off on the holiday. The very first one happened in 1953 at the Charlotte Speedway, and the last Easter race was in 1989.

With everyone knowing this race should be run at night, it was decided to see if running on Easter Sunday night would attract a stronger TV audience with little competition from other sports. With race at night, it allows time during the day for holiday/family time. TBD if works. https://t.co/8g4eocP124
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) April 15, 2022

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According to Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass, the Easter night race is actually a NASCAR experiment. The sport was hoping to see if hosting the race on a holiday would attract a larger TV audience.

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Of course, there is also a slight compromise, as hosting the race at night could mean that drivers can spend time with family during the day.

What else did the NASCAR community say about the Bristol Easter race?

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Admittedly, there were a few who were not overly fond of having a race on Easter. People like Dale Earnhardt Jr and Rodney Childers confessed that they were not big fans of the move. Now, another voice has joined their side, namely spotter, Brett Griffin. Dale Jr blamed NASCAR for this and said that they put themselves in that position. Griffin was particularly scathing in his comments and even threatened to not show up.

Sunrise in Johnson City. Sunset atta dirt race that shoulda been run on an entirely different weekend. I might do a lot of dumb shit next year. But I won’t be in Bristol for a dirt race on Easter.
— Brett Griffin (@SpotterBrett) April 15, 2022

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From NASCAR’s perspective, it’s easy to understand why they took this controversial position. While it has traditionally been an off week for the sport, the MLB, NHL, and NBA play during the weekend. So, the stock car series obviously wanted to take advantage of the fact that the spectator attendance is projected to be high. As a result, NASCAR was hoping to build up TV audiences as well.

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Written by:

Dhruv George is a senior Motorsports author for EssentiallySports, having authored nearly 12000 articles spanning different sports like F1, NASCAR, Tennis, NFL, and eSports. He graduated with a PG Diploma in Journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications. Dhruv has also conducted interviews with F1 driver Pierre Gasly and Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino.

Edited by:

Pritam Priyedarshi