What 12 NASCAR drivers have to say about the unpredictable Bristol dirt race

"These cars are going to be very messed up by the end of the race."

For the first time since 1970, the NASCAR Cup Series is racing on dirt.

Bristol Motor Speedway’s .533-mile concrete track was converted to a dirt one this winter, making Sunday’s Food City Dirt Race (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX) one of the most anticipated weekends on the 36-race schedule.

And a lot of the energy and hype ahead of the race stems from it’s unpredictability, because while drivers and their teams can speculate, no one really knows what to expect.

Of course, drivers are trying a bunch of different tactics in an effort to limit that expected unpredictability. And practice and qualifying rounds will happen this weekend at Bristol, unlike most races this season because of COVID-19 precautions.

But that’s not all drivers are doing to get ready.

Some are practicing on dirt in simulators and with iRacing rigs, others competed in various disciplines in the Bristol Dirt Nationals last week and a solid handful of drivers will race in the third-tier NASCAR Truck Series race on Bristol’s new surface Saturday night. Plus, some drivers have experience on dirt in NASCAR because the Truck Series previously has raced at Eldora Speedway, a dirt track in Ohio.

So ahead of this new spectacle on NASCAR’s schedule, here’s a look at what a dozen drivers have said recently about Bristol’s dirt-track race.