Food City Dirt Race Picks, Odds & Predictions 4/9/2023

Bristol Motor Speedway

Bristol, TN

NASCAR is going dirt racing this weekend! For the thirst straight season, NASCAR is bringing something to the fans that they don't often get to experience and that is dirt racing on this infamous track. In late 2020, the speedway and the sanctioning body of NASCAR came up with this incredible idea and it was to turn this track into a dirt track by hauling in loads of dirt and clay to this half mile oval track. While we would normally see drivers race for 500 laps on the Bristol asphalt, the distance has been shortened to 250 laps. They did this because at the time, nobody knew what to expect. Now we have the 250 lap race which seems to be fitting. There will still be stages at which will be 75 laps for the first stage, 75 for the second stage and 100 for the final stage. Because of the contact of this sort of racing, there were 10 cautions two years ago when this race first took place. The second time around there were 14 cautions, so one can see why this race was shortened.

This week will hold a practice and qualifying. Because of the racing surface and this unique event, NASCAR granted drivers with the opportunity to get some practice in. Those practices will be held on Friday where drivers will get two sessions to get some work done prior to the race on Sunday. In addition, there will be four heat races for qualifying on Saturday and they will be 15 laps each. In determining the starting grid for the race on Sunday, drivers will get passing points in the qualifying races that will be added together.

Toyota Owners 400 Recap

Holding of the field for the final 25 laps, Kyle Larson was able to notch his name in the win column at Richmond courtesy of a fast final pit stop. Larson went head to head with his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Josh Berry and secured the victory after a pair of restarts in the final laps. It was the first short track even of the NASCAR campaign and Larson walked away the winner. Behind Berry was Ross Chastain, while Christopher Bell and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top 5 of this race.

NASCAR Playoff Standings

Kyle Larson launched himself into second place with the win and 222 points so far. William Byron sits in the top spot with two wins and and 228 points. In third place sits Joey Logano with 22 points as well, while Kyle Busch (215 points) and Tyler Reddick (187 points) fill out the top-5.

Food City Dirt Race Odds

Kyle Larson - +550
Tyler Reddick - +600
Christopher Bell - +650
William Byron - +1,000
Joey Logano - +1,000
Chase Briscoe - +1,000
Kyle Busch - +1,200
Ryan Blaney - +1,500
Ross Chastain - +1,500
Denny Hamlin - +1,800
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. - +2,000
Martin Truex Jr. - +2,500
Daniel Suarez - +2,500
Alex Bowman - +2,500
Chris Buescher - +3,000
Brad Keselowski - 3,000
Kevin Harvick - +4,000
Josh Berry - +4,000
Austin Dillon - +5,000

Kyle Larson is listed as the favorite of this race for good reason. He is one of the most decorated drivers on dirt that NASCAR has to offer. He has multiple wins under his belt on this surface and we expect him to do well this weekend.

Guy's Pick: Take Kyle Larson (+550)

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