Drivers to watch for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol dirt

With only one Cup race complete on Bristol Motor Speedway’s dirt surface, there isn’t a plethora of data points heading into this year’s event.

Ahead of Sunday night’s race (7 p.m. ET, Fox), though, there are some drivers who stood out more than others as Cup cars flung mud around the half-mile, clay-covered bullring.

Here are the drivers you should have your eye on entering this weekend’s dirt race:

Joey Logano

Logano is the only active driver with a NASCAR Cup Series win on dirt, making him an immediate favorite for the second race at Bristol Dirt.

The Team Penske driver had a couple poor races at COTA and Richmond, but an impressive rebound at Martinsville Speedway saw the No. 22 Ford finish second while challenging William Byron for the win in overtime.

Logano had to hold off charges from Denny Hamlin and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in overtime a year ago in the dirt at Bristol and claimed the checkered flag. The 2018 champion doesn’t have tons of dirt experience, but participated in dirt late model races to prepare for last year’s event and will rejoin the Camping World Truck Series for its Saturday race this weekend.

William Byron

Byron is far better known for his ability in an asphalt late model, but the No. 24 Chevrolet had a decent showing at Bristol last spring.

Byron has now won two of the last four Cup races and established himself as a regular front runner in the series. If last year’s Bristol race proved anything, it’s that major dirt experience isn’t a requirement to run well in a Cup Series dirt race — evidenced by Logano, Daniel Suarez and Martin Truex Jr.

Momentum is in Byron’s favor. Whether that translates to the Bluff City red clay Sunday night is unknown, but hard to go against the only driver in the series