Friday 5: Dirt race at Bristol gets another chance but what comes next?

Dirt racing in the Cup Series gets a second chance this weekend.

Whether it deserves another will be among the key questions after Sunday’s race.

Rain, mud, tire wear and then dust spoiled last year’s attempt at Bristol Motor Speedway. Even with a new time (at night) and date (Easter), this year’s race remains under a microscope.

If Sunday night is the last time Cup competes on dirt — at least at Bristol — that will be fine for some drivers. 

“The most exciting thing about the dirt race is it’s almost over,” former champion Kevin Harvick said last weekend at Martinsville Speedway.

“I don’t think we belong on dirt, still. It wasn’t near as bad as what I thought it would be last year. It was very tolerable as far as driving it and racing it and doing all the things that we do. I don’t agree with racing on dirt.”

Two-time Cup champion Kyle Busch is more direct.

“It’s a mess … it’s not indicative of a good dirt show,” he said. “I’ve seen good dirt shows.”

Reigning Cup champion Kyle Larson raised questions about Cup cars on dirt this week on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. While he said on “Dailed In” that he thinks the racing will be “a lot better than what it was last year,” noting the night start and a tire better suited for the cars on dirt, he admits there remain “a lot of unknowns.”

One of Larson’s concerns is that the cars still have windshields. Last year, mud covered the windshields of Camping World Trucks two laps into the first heat race. NASCAR canceled the Truck and Cup heat races.

“We just shouldn’t race on dirt if we’re not going take the windshields out and actually have a dirt race with moisture in the track and being able to produce a real dirt race,” Larson said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “I feel like we’re wasting