DGR NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race Advance: Bristol Dirt

Hailie Deegan, No. 1 Monster Energy F-150

• Deegan makes her fifth start of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season in the No. 1 Monster Energy Ford F-150 on Saturday night in the Dirt Race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. The rookie driver will participate in a qualifying heat race to determine her starting spot.
• Deegan has four starts at Bristol. One ARCA Series start in September of 2020 where she earned a sixth-place finish. Two K&N East Series starts in 2019 with a best finish of ninth, and one in 2018 resulting in a 22nd-place finish.
• Deegan has three starts at a dirt track in a stock car – two in the K&N Pro Series West at the Las Vegas Dirt Track, which included one win and a pole award. She has one start in the ARCA Menards Series at the Springfield Dirt Mile in Illinois.
• Last weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Deegan started 28th and finished 21st in her first start at the mile-and-a-half track.
• Veteran crew chief Mike Hillman Jr. has called five Truck Series dirt races in his career, all at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio which was previously on the truck schedule.
• Click here for Deegan’s career statistics.

Deegan on Bristol Dirt:

Will any of your time racing on the dirt track at Las Vegas translate to racing dirt at Bristol?

“The Las Vegas dirt track and the Bristol dirt track will be two totally different feelings. Vegas dirt feels and looks completely different because it gets so dry there. There’s a very noticeable different in the colors of the dirt – Vegas dirt is a lot lighter. When you get to tracks where they bring the dirt in, its more like clay and holds the moisture so much better.”

What is a noticeable difference for you between dirt and pavement?

“Dirt is tough and it’s very uncomfortable for people that are used to racing on pavement. People that have raced on a lot of dirt are comfortable being uncomfortable. Pavement is super smooth and there’s a lot of grip. On dirt, you feel a little out of control but you’re trying to be precise.”  

Check out this week’s vlog on Deegan’s YouTube channel as she reveals her Ford Mustang Mach-E.

Tanner Gray, No. 15 Ford Performance F-150

• Gray has one career start at Bristol Motor Speedway coming in 2020 where he started 16th and finished third.
• Starting positions for the 150-lap main event on Saturday night will be determined by passing points after four qualifying races. The lineup for the qualifying races will be determined by random draw on Thursday afternoon.
• Through five starts this season, Gray has a best finish of 12th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He finished 19th last weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
• While the 21-year-old driver doesn’t have experience on dirt in a truck, he turned quite a few laps in 600cc micro sprints in his younger years, and still owns one to race at Millbridge Speedway in his spare time.
• Click here for Gray’s career statistics.

Gray on Bristol:

“I think I’m equally as excited as I am anxious heading into this race. I’m excited because I think it will be really fun and it’s something different compared to what we usually race. At the same time I have no idea what to expect when we hit the track. Thankfully we have practice and heat races so we can get as many laps as possible and adapt to racing on dirt.”

Kevin Harvick, No. 17 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford F-150

• Harvick returns to the Truck Series for his first race since his lone 2015 series start` at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway in August. The veteran driver started seventh and finished runner-up in the 69-lap event. 
• Harvick has support from long time partner Hunt Brothers Pizza for his first dirt race in a truck. The California native will also carry a Hunt Brothers Pizza on-board camera for Saturday night’s event.
• The Ford driver has 123 career Truck Series starts which includes 14 wins, four pole positions, 48 top-five and 62 top-10 finishes. Harvick will utilize his Cup Series spotter, Tim Fedewa, for the truck race. 
• Seth Smith will be calling the shots from atop the pit box this weekend for the No. 17 F-150.
• Click here for Harvick’s career statistics.