Las Vegas Cup winner Kyle Larson will get some additional time on the dirt track at Bristol Motor Speedway by competing in the March 27 Camping World Truck Series race.
Larson, a two-time Chili Bowl champion and winner of the 2016 Truck dirt race at Eldora Speedway, also is competing in the Bristol Dirt Nationals this week. He’s driving in the Super Late Model division. He’ll be joined by Cup champions Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott.
This will be Larson’s first Truck race since 2016.
Other Cup drivers who plan to compete in the Truck race on the Bristol dirt at Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick, Ryan Newman and Chase Briscoe.
MORE: NASCAR drivers get dirt training in preparation for Bristol
“I really appreciate the opportunity given by Niece Motorsports,” Larson said in a statement from the team. “I’m excited to get back into a truck at one of my favorite race tracks.”
Larson will drive the No. 44 Chevrolet Silverado for Niece Motorsports.
“Kyle is obviously one of the best drivers out there today,” said Niece Motorsports General Manager Cody Efaw in a statement from the team. “His resume on dirt speaks for itself. We are looking forward to him joining the organization at Bristol and contending for a win.”
Larson enters this weekend’s Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway (3 p.m. ET on Fox) fifth in the points. He has four top 10s in the first five races.
Larson will be viewed as among the favorites to win the Bristol dirt race because of his extensive dirt racing experience. Primarily driving sprint cars, he won 46 of 97 races last year.
“I think it’s easy for race fans and media to probably point at us (Larson and Christopher Bell) as being the favorites just because of our dirt experience,” Larson said earlier this month. “But honestly, I don’t think we are really because a midget and a sprint car drive way different than a full-bodied stock car in general. And then you put it on dirt and it’s going to be way different.
“So, just because the surface is dirt doesn’t mean that we’re going to be great; because the cars are way slower responding than what we’re used to with a sprint car or a midget. A midget is a little over 1,000 pounds and a sprint car is about 1,400 pounds with 950 horsepower, where a stock car is 3,500 pounds and 750 horsepower.
“It’s just going to be a lot lazier than what we’re accustomed to. I think there are advantages about being dirt guys because we’re able to read the track surface and know when it’s changing and know where there may be grip on the race track where other people don’t have that experience might not know. But I honestly think it’s going to look a lot like a pavement race but on dirt.”
