by Zach Evans / RacingAmerica
The Short Track U.S. Nationals are returning to Bristol Motor Speedway for one last hurrah.
The 5th Short Track U.S. Nationals: The Last Lap will take place on Saturday, April 6, 2024 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Along with the Vores Compact Touring Series, the CRA Street Stock Series and Midwest Modifieds Tour will be part of the event.
The Short Track U.S. Nationals first took place in 2017 and ran until 2020. For all intents and purposes, the event went away as a result of the dirt racing each spring at Bristol Motor Speedway over the past three years, between the NASCAR weekend and other series that took part.
With the Bristol dirt races going away as part of the 2024 schedule, conversations began to bring back the Short Track U.S. Nationals, even if just for one more year.
“It truly is a great day,” said Dan Redmond of the Vores Compact Touring Series. “I think it speaks to the caliber of CRA, Midwest Modifieds, and our series that Bristol wanted us back and wanted to do this one last time.”
“On behalf of Bristol Motor Speedway, we’re excited to have these great partners,” said Bristol Motor Speedway’s Trey Hatcher. “The friendships we’ve built over the last few years, and we wanted to do this one more time.”
This was particularly important for Steve Vore and Dan Redmond of the Vores Compact Touring Series. Many of their competitors were unable to take part in the 2020 version of the event, which took place in September of that year due to COVID regulations.
“[Steve Vore] is such a catalyst in these grassroots efforts across a lot of tracks,” said Hatcher. “Everyone should know without him, a lot of this wouldn’t happen.”
While the Vores Compacts and CRA Street Stocks took part in all five years of the Short Track U.S. Nationals’ original run, the Midwest Modifieds Tour (under a different name) only went to Bristol in 2017 and 2018. That adds to the excitement for those teams to return to “The Last Great Colosseum.”
“We’ve got to thank Dan and Steve for putting their faith in us as Midwest Modifieds, me, Bud [Gray] and all our racers, to do this,” said Brian Nester of the Midwest Modifieds Tour. “This is going to be the last time we get to do this at Bristol. We’re thankful to be a part of it with you guys.”
The CRA Street Stocks will also be take part in the event, a staple among the grassroots racers at the first four editions of the event.
“On behalf of Bob Sargent, Scott Menlen and everyone with Champion Racing Association, I can’t express how happy we are to be a part of this event,” said Greg Wood of Champion Racing Association. “I want to give a huge thanks to Steve Vore for getting the ball rolling on this event. We’re really thrilled to have our Street Stocks back at Bristol again.”
The Short Track U.S. Nationals will be a one-day show on Saturday, April 6. Sunday, April 7 is available as a rain date if necessary. While there will not be on-track activity on Friday, April 5, the speedway will be open for optional hauler parking, technical inspections and tire mounting.
However, everyone involved hopes to make it a special weekend as part of the “Last Lap” at Bristol.
“Michael Waltrip Brewery in Bristol, Tennessee, we’re going to have a party there before ‘The Last Lap,” said Redmond. “We’ve got several other things beyond Bristol we’re working on for all three series, and I think it’s going to make it a very exciting 2024 for short track drivers in the Midwest.
Teams that register before the early entry deadline will receive a complimentary official event poster, designed and hand-drawn by Joseph Perry of Texas. More information regarding registration will be announced at a later date.
