The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Sprint Car Series returns to Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend for the second year in a row. (Photo by Paul Arch)
BRISTOL, Tennessee – One of the most anticipated events of the season, the Bristol Bash takes center stage this weekend.
The Greatest Show on Dirt returns to The Last Great Colosseum for an epic doubleheader featuring the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series.
Fans will witness a star-studded field of gladiators battling it out for $25,000 in paydays at the grimy Bristol Motor Speedway on both Friday and Saturday.
• After a 20-year hiatus from the Bristol Dirt, the World of Outlaws returned last year and David Gravel promptly swept the weekend in his Big Game Motorsports #2. Gravel finished first and second, winning his two heats and starting front row Do both nights and park in Victory Lane after each feature.
This weekend, Gravel has a chance to overtake Sammy Swindell as the most successful sprinter in Bristol Motor Speedway history with a third win.
• Two weeks ago, reigning NASCAR Cup Series Champion Kyle Larson finished fourth at the Dirt Bristol in the Cup Series. Now the Team Hendrick superstar is trading in his NextGen No.5s for Paul Silva’s No.57 sprint car and Kevin Rumley’s late-model No.6 when he returns to Bristol this weekend as the only driver with dual duty.
A native of Elk Grove, California, he is a 25-time sprint winner and two-time late model winner and the only driver in history to have won both World of Outlaws series.
• Ten-time World of Outlaws Champion Donny Schatz becomes the only driver to compete in each of the eight sprint car events at Bristol Motor Speedway. Even more impressively, the Fargo, ND native has been a contender to win every one of his previous appearances at the high-banking speed facility.
In the features he has completed, Schatz’s Bristol average is a 3.0, with one win in 2001 to his credit.
The Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing, No. 15 Ford Performance was one of three drivers to finish in the top five on both nights last year, with his best race finishing second on the second night.
• One of several travelers heading to Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend is the country’s hottest sprint car driver – Anthony Macri. The Dillsburg, Pa. rider has racked up as many as eight 410 wins this year, with six of those wins coming during a 10-day stretch that ended April 24.
Two of those wins were All Star sanctioned and “The Concrete Kid” has an April finish average of 1.6. It will be Macri’s first visit to Bristol Motor Speedway.
• Carson Macedo and Jason Johnson Racing head into Bristol with the most momentum after back-to-back wins. The Albaugh entry currently sits second in the championship standings and already has a best four wins of the streak this season.
With Philip Deitz at the wrenches, Macedo impressed in his Bristol debut last year, finishing third on night one and sixth on night two.
• Leader Brad Sweet and Rookie of the Year leader Spencer Bayston pull off two of the most impressive streaks of the tour to Bristol. Both drivers finished eighth in Tennessee last year and will hope to improve as they attempt to extend their distances.
Since a season-opening foray into work territory that resulted in a 16th place finish, Sweet and the No. 49 Kasey Kahne Racing have been nearly flawless with 14 consecutive top-7 finishes.
Though winless, it was only on their first outing together that Bayston and the No. 5 team of CJB Motorsports proved themselves legitimate contenders throughout the season. The 23-year-old has a career-best six consecutive top 10 finishes, including a best second-place finish of the season at Lake Ozark.
• For Logan Schuchart and Aaron Reutzel, this weekend represents a fresh chance for a Bristol win after coming so close in 2021. Both riders were David Gravel’s biggest rivals when they stopped victory last year, but just missed sealing the deal.
Schuchart controlled the first 23 laps of last year’s finals before losing $25,000 due to engine problems.
After finishing on the podium on both nights last year in the No. 83 Roth Motorsports, Reutzel returns to Bristol this week in the No. 8 RSR, Toyota Racing, Mobil1.
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