This Week in Motorsports: April 11-17, 2022
· NCS/NCWTS: Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Event – April 16-17
PLANO, Texas (April 13, 2022) – For the second straight season, the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series are headed to Bristol to compete on the dirt.
NASCAR National Series – NCS | NCWTS
Bell will be one to beat… Christopher Bell continues to move up the point standings with strong runs, and he will be one to beat on the dirt. The Oklahoma-native got his start competing for Toyota in dirt midgets for Keith Kunz Motorsports, winning the 2013 USAC National Midget Championship. Bell also won his first career NASCAR race on dirt, when he drove a Toyota Tundra to victory in the Truck Series at Eldora Speedway in 2015.
Truex looks to add Cup Series dirt win… Martin Truex Jr. ran both races on the Bristol dirt last season and came away with his first-ever Truck Series win as he drove the Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) No. 51 Tundra to victory lane. Truex also had a strong run in the Cup Series race on dirt, winning a stage and leading nearly half of the laps (126 of 253) before suffering a flat tire on the final restart.
Two Friesens at Bristol… For the second straight season, both Stewart and Jessica Friesen will compete against each other at Bristol Motor Speedway. The duo made history as the first married couple to qualify and race against each other in Truck Series history when Jessica qualified at Knoxville Raceway one season ago. Stewart will be looking for a big win in a milestone race for him with Toyota. It his 50th career start in a Tundra this weekend.
Kofoid to make debut… Toyota development driver Buddy Kofoid will make his NASCAR debut this weekend in the Truck Series race at Bristol. The California-native is the reigning USAC National Midget Champion, a title he is looking to repeat this season. He will be behind the No. 51 KBM Tundra that Truex wheeled to victory one season ago.
Toyota drivers off to a strong start… Reigning champion Ben Rhodes took over the points lead from fellow Toyota driver Chandler Smith at Martinsville last weekend, and it has been a stellar start to the season for Tundra drivers as they currently hold eight of the 10 Truck Series Playoff spots. Behind Rhodes and Smith sit Stewart Friesen (fourth), John Hunter Nemechek (fifth), Christian Eckes (sixth), Ty Majeski (eighth), Matt Crafton (ninth) and Tyler Ankrum (10th).
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