"Dirt takes our sport backwards" – Kyle Busch quotes Richard Petty while expressing his disappointment with such races

NASCAR heads to Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday for dirt racing. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch, a five-time Food City Dirt Race winner, has expressed his reservations about dirt racing before the race.

A week ago during an interview with The Athletic, Busch quoted Richard Petty’s two-year-old comment about dirt racing is taking NASCAR backwards. Busch went on to state:

“I know a little bit more about the dirt landscape than I did a year ago. But otherwise, the same. Cut the cord. Dirt takes our sport backwards.”

He concluded:

“It’s a mess. Our cars, tracks, it’s not indicative of putting on a good dirt show. I’ve seen good dirt shows.”

Watch the video here:

Earlier this week, several drivers had spoken up about the way the Food City Dirt Race is conducted. Sunday’s race will mark the first dirt race with Next Gen cars, so how the track will behave is uncertain.

Former NASCAR driver Richard Petty in 2020 told Autoweek that he does not agree with NASCAR’s idea to race on dirt. Those comments made headlines. In an actual statement, Petty stated:

“There’s some politics involved and I don’t want to annihilate NASCAR on this. I guess I’m looking at it from an old-time deal because we spent years and years and years trying to become a professional sport. Years and years to get away from that stigma. But dirt-track racing is not professional, so we’re going backward. It would be like taking a professional football team and going back to play at a high school field.”

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Kyle Busch on pole position for Food City Dirt Race

Two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch will start Sunday's race at Bristol Motor Speedway from 11th place. During Friday’s practice session, Busch #18 Chevrolet Camry was second fastest at 87.091 mph.

Meanwhile, Stewart-Haas Racing driver Cole Custer and Busch’s teammate Christopher Bell will start on the front row on Sunday.

The 36-year-old Busch has recorded top-10 finishes in the last two short-track races. Hopefully for him, he will continue with the same energy in Bristol and win the first race of the 2022 season when the race begins on Sunday at 7:00 pm EST.