NASCAR drivers with dirt track experience include Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, Tyler Teddrick and Austin Dillion. Larson is the most successful on the list.
The drivers who compete on dirt tracks, such as at the Bristol Dirt Race, face unique challenges compared to racing on traditional asphalt tracks.
Dirt tracks are typically much more unpredictable, with constantly changing track conditions due to the dirt surface being affected by weather, wear and tear, and driver movement.
As a result, drivers need to be highly adaptable and able to adjust to changing track conditions on the fly. Many racers who are so good at Asphalt like Dale Earnhardt Jr tend to shy away from dirt roads.
Besides, drivers who excel on these tracks often have a background in dirt racing or come from racing families with experience in the dirt. For instance, drivers like Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell grew up racing on dirt and have adapted their skills to compete at the highest levels of NASCAR.
Here we have compiled the list of the eight best NASCAR drivers on dirt tracks, highlighting the recent 2023 Bristol Motor Speedway.
8. Kyle Busch
Kyle Busch is a skilled NASCAR driver with a wealth of experience in dirt track racing.
As a child, he started racing on dirt tracks and competed in various disciplines such as go-karts, quarter midgets, and Legend Cars.
In June 2012, Busch won the eighth annual Prelude to the Dream at Eldora Speedway, triumphing over Tony Stewart in the pay-per-view all-star event.
During the previous season, Kyle Busch pulled off an impressive win by snatching victory from Tyler Reddick and Chase Briscoe in the Food City Dirt race's final moments at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee on April 17, 2022.
The NASCAR Cup Series recently took on Bristol Motor Speedway with a unique twist. The traditional short track was covered in dirt, adding new excitement to the already thrilling race.
According to fansided, Busch was out on suspension at the 2023 Food City Dirt Race.
7. Joey Logano
Joey Logano is a NASCAR driver who began his racing career in go-karting at age six. He rapidly progressed to racing on dirt tracks in quarter midgets.
On March 19, 2010, Logano achieved his first Coors Light Pole Award for the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Despite not winning any races, he secured seven Top 5s and 16 Top 10s, earning him a commendable 16th-place finish in the final points standings.
During the final lap of the 2021 Daytona 500, Logano led his teammate Keselowski. However, Brad Keselowski tried to overtake him with momentum from Michael McDowell, resulting in a fiery crash.
Although McDowell skillfully avoided the wreckage and won the race, Logano finished 12th. Logano later redeemed himself by winning the inaugural Bristol Dirt race.
In 2022, Logano returned to the Truck Series and drove the David Gilliland Racing No. 54 to an impressive sixth-place finish at the Bristol dirt race.
Logano won the ThorSport Racing No. 66 dirt race at Bristol in the 2023 season after leading 138 of 150 laps.
6. Austin Dillon
Austin Dillon started racing in the Bandolero Mini Cars and Legend Cars Series. He took up dirt track racing at Dale McDowell's school.
Dillon announced that he would compete in the 2022 Pinty's Truck Race on Dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway in a truck owned by Young's Motorsports.
Although he initially thought he would drive the team's No. 02 truck, it was later revealed that Kaz Grala would be behind the wheel for that race.
Moreover, his last race was the 2023 Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Dirt, where he placed third and tied Bell for the most points scored in the race with 52.
Dillon comes from a family with a strong racing background: his grandfather Richard Childress owns the RCR team, his brother Ty Dillon races full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, and his father, Mike Dillon, is a former driver and current general manager at RCR.
5. Tyler Reddick
Tyler Reddick is a NASCAR driver with a dirt track racing background. Reddick grew up in California and began racing at a young age, starting in go-karts before moving on to dirt-modified cars.
Eventually, he progressed to competing in other racing categories, including mini sprints, midgets, late dirt models, and sprint cars.
Reddick's achievements are pretty impressive, considering his young age. He secured the pole position at the Eldora Speedway World 100, becoming the youngest driver to achieve this feat.
Also, he emerged as the youngest driver to triumph at the East Bay Winter Nationals and the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. Additionally, Reddick is the youngest driver to qualify for a World of Outlaws sprint car racing race.
Reddick's outstanding performance in the closing laps during the Bristol dirt race saw him jostle for the lead with Chase Briscoe. Unfortunately, Briscoe lost control, causing both drivers' vehicles to slide in the final turn, resulting in Reddick securing second place behind Kyle Busch.
Over the last two years, Reddick has been one of the most dependable drivers in NASCAR's Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. As a result, Reddick holds an average finish of 4.5 in this category.
4. Chase Briscoe
Chase Briscoe started his racing career in 2001. He drove a quarter midget and won his first heat race and feature event on the same day.
He then progressed to mini sprints and, at 13 years old, began driving a 410 sprint car.
In his rookie season, he had an impressive record of 8 top-five and 17 top-10 finishes, including a win in the season's final race where he became the youngest person to win a 410 sprint car race, breaking Jeff Gordon's record.
Briscoe returned to the Truck Series in 2018 for one race, driving the No. 27 truck for ThorSport Racing at Eldora Speedway, which he won in a photo finish against his teammate Grant Enfinger. He repeated the race the following year, finishing 7th.
In last year's Food City Dirt Race at Bristol, Briscoe led 59 laps but finished 22nd.
According to Fox Sports, he also finished in the top five along with Reddick, Stenhouse Jr., and Dillon at the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series April schedule with the Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
3. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. started racing at a young age, beginning with kart racing at just six years old.
He quickly found success, accumulating 47 wins and 90 podium finishes before moving up to sprint car racing in 2003.
He started his sprint car career in 360-cubic-inch winged sprint cars, and in 2003, he won the Dirt Winged Sprint Car Rookie of the Year and National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Driver Poll awards.
Stenhouse excelled in sprint car racing, winning 410 winged sprint car divisions and the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Driver Poll Wild Card in the 360 in 2006. He also won dual Rookie of the Year honors in the United States Auto Club sprint car and midget series in 2007.
In addition to his success in NASCAR, Stenhouse also co-owns Stenhouse Jr. Marshall Racing, a World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series program he co-founded in 2017 with Richard Marshall.
He's been consistently successful at NASCAR's Bristol Motor Speedway over the last few years, finishing in the top five twice in the previous three years. In 2021, he finished second in the Bristol Food City Dirt Race.
2. Christopher Bell
Christopher Bell is another NASCAR driver with dirt track experience. Bell notched his first 2023 Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Hailing from Norman, Oklahoma, he started his racing career at a tender age, racing in quarter midgets and micro sprints. As a teenager, he rapidly climbed the ladder and soon began participating in dirt late-model and sprint car events.
In 2010, he bagged the Lucas Oil ASCS2 Championship and won the prestigious 66 Mike Phillips Memorial micro-sprint car race in 2011.
Later in 2013, Bell joined the USAC racing circuit with Keith Kunz Motorsports, taking over from the talented Kyle Larson. He then switched to CH Motorsports' sprint car racing program in October and emerged as the USAC National Midget Champion that same year.
Bell switched to asphalt Super Late Models for Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2014 and participated in the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series. He won his first WoO Sprint Car Series race at Jacksonville Speedway on May 7, 2014.
As a Super Late Model driver, he triumphed in races at New Smyrna Speedway, South Alabama Speedway, and Southern National Motorsports Park.
Bell, one of the best dirt track racers, was also crowned the winner of 24 USAC Midget races and 26 total dirt races, including the prestigious Turkey Night Grand Prix, in the same year.
In 2017, Bell achieved the milestone of winning the Chili Bowl Nationals, becoming the first Oklahoman to do so since Andy Hillenburg in 1994. He went on to win the Chili Bowl again in 2018 and 2019, cementing his position as one of only three drivers to have won the race thrice.
1. Kyle Larson
Kyle Larson started his racing career on dirt tracks at a young age, competing in go-kart races in his hometown of Elk Grove, California.
His family was involved in racing, with his father, Mike Larson, a successful sprint car driver. Kyle quickly showed a natural talent for racing, and as he got older, he moved up to more powerful race cars.
Larson began competing in midget car races in the United States Auto Club (USAC) series in 2010.
He earned the nickname "Yung Money" from a USAC series official due to his exceptional talent during his early career. In addition to his USAC success, he competed in World of Outlaws sprint cars.
At a young age, Larson won his first sprint car race at Placerville Speedway and the 2011 4-Crown Nationals at Eldora Speedway, becoming only the second driver in history to succeed in all three types of USAC cars in a single night.
He also won two silver crown races that season and was awarded the 2011 Rookie of the Year title. Impressively, he set the sprint car track record at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, California, in 2010.
In 2021, Larson joined Niece Motorsports to race in the new Bristol dirt race, driving the No. 44 truck. Due to heavy rain, the heat races were canceled, and he started the race in 28th place. Despite the challenging circumstances, Larson persevered and finished the race in 35th place.
