2023 Food City Dirt Race

The 2023 Food City Dirt Race was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on April 9, 2023, at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. Contested over 250 laps on the 0.533 mi short track, it was the eighth race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Background
Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Bristol is among the most popular tracks on the NASCAR schedule because of its distinct features, which include extraordinarily steep banking combined with short length, an all concrete surface, two pit roads, and stadium-like seating.

In 2021, the race shifted to a dirt surface version of the track and was renamed the Food City Dirt Race.

Entry list

 * (R) denotes rookie driver.
 * (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.

Practice
Due to inclement weather, both practice sessions scheduled for Friday were cancelled.

Qualifying heat races
Qualifying race procedure similar to that used by the Chili Bowl qualifying nights and Bryan Clauson Classic. Starting order for heat races based on random draw. Grid determined by a combination of passing points and finishing points. Ties broken by owner points.

Stage Results
Stage One Laps: 75

Stage Two Laps: 75

Final Stage Results
Stage Three Laps: 100

Race statistics

 * Lead changes: 4 among 4 different drivers
 * Cautions/Laps: 14 for 71 laps
 * Red flags: 0
 * Time of race: 2 hours, 40 minutes and 40 seconds
 * Average speed: 46.68 mph

Television
The Food City Dirt Race was carried by Fox in the United States. Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer and three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing Tony Stewart called the race from the broadcast booth. Jamie Little, Regan Smith and Josh Sims handled pit road for the television side. Larry McReynolds provided insight from the Fox Sports studio in Charlotte.

Radio
PRN had the radio call for the race which was simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice and Mark Garrow called the race in the booth when the field raced down the frontstretch. Rob Albright called the race from atop the turn 3 suites when the field raced down the backstretch. Brad Gillie, Brett McMillan, Matt Prieur, Lenny Batycki and Heather Debeaux covered the action on pit lane for PRN.

Standings after the race

 * Drivers' Championship standings


 * Manufacturers' Championship standings


 * Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.