NASCAR returns to the dirt track at Bristol Motor Speedway for the third consecutive year, but will this finally be the one where a “dirt driver” finds his way to Victory Lane?

When NASCAR announced that a dirt race at Thunder Valley would be part of the 2021 schedule, the natural assumption was that drivers with extensive dirt experience would dominate the proceedings.

Specifically, pundits pointed to Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell as the most likely winners. After all, Bell had won three straight Chili Bowl Midget Nationals from 2017-19, and Larson was the defending winner of the event.

True to form, Larson won the pole for the inaugural event at Bristol, and Bell worked his way forward from the 15th starting position. But Larson and Bell collided at the front of the field on Lap 53, and Joey Logano — whose experience on dirt was minimal — won the race.

Last year, Kyle Busch stole the victory when Chase Briscoe overdrove the final corner and spun Tyler Reddick, who had dominated the race with 99 laps led. Larson finished fourth in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, and Bell drove the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to seventh in an event that was interrupted by rain.

“Last year, I had moments in the race where I was really fast, and it was a lot of fun,” Bell recalled. “Then I had moments in the race where I was struggling, and it wasn’t very enjoyable.

“Hopefully, a dirt guy can finally win. It’s been funny, we’ve gone twice now, and a dirt guy has not won. Hopefully, I can change that.”

Larson pointed out that racing NASCAR’s Next Gen car — markedly different from the open-wheeled cars and late models he typically drives on dirt — might tend to minimize his advantage.

“People probably look at me as being a favorite, but it’s so different from the dirt racing that I do throughout the week,” said Larson, who won last Sunday’s Cup Series race at Richmond. “I don’t really think I have an advantage like some people might think.

“Either way, I know our race cars are fast everywhere we go, and that gives me the most confidence. Hopefully, the track conditions are right, we can put on a good race, and I can find my way to the front. Getting a win there would be pretty neat.”

FOOD CITY DIRT RACE
The Place: Bristol Motor Speedway
The Date: Sunday, April 9, 7 p.m. ET
Defending Champion: Kyle Busch
TV: FOX
Radio: SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 250 laps (125 miles)

FIVE BEST BETS
Kyle Larson (+500 at BetMGM)
Larson is arguably the top “dirt drivers” in the Series and boasts two wins in the Chili Bowl Nationals, the biggest midget car dirt race of the year. He earned the pole two years ago before the incident with Bell, then finished fourth last year. Larson is a previous winner at Bristol and is coming off a win at Richmond last weekend. So, it stands to reason that he leads the field with 10.7 percent of the total outright winner bets at the sportsbook and is second with 12.5 percent of the money.

Tyler Reddick (+600)
Reddick was leading last year’s race and had dominated with 99 laps led when he was spun by Chase Briscoe, and ultimately finished second. He’s one of four drivers with top 10s in each of the first two dirt races at Bristol, and also has three top-5s in the past four weeks.

Christopher Bell (+600)
Bell had the collision with Larson two years ago and finished seventh in 2022 before posting a fourth-place in the second Bristol race last year. He has five top-6 finishes through the first seven races this year. Bell leads the field with 18.8 percent of the money backing him to win.

Chase Briscoe (+1000)
Briscoe finished 22nd last year after spinning Reddick while racing for the lead on the last lap. Another driver with deep dirt track experience, Bell is one of the favorites to claim his second win of the year.

Joey Logano (+1200)
Logano doesn’t come from a deep dirt track background like some others, but he managed to win this race two years ago. He’s BetMGM’s second biggest liability this week, having drawn 9.6 percent of the bets and 11.7 percent of the money.

LONGSHOT PICK
Kyle Busch (+1400)
Busch won five times on the hard surface before Bristol moved a Series race to dirt, and then promptly won the second iteration of that in 2022. His odds have led to 9.4 percent of the total bets supporting Busch to add yet another victory to his Bristol resume.

–Field Level Media (NASCAR NewsWire contributed to this story)