Story By: BRANDON BROWN / XR – BRISTOL, TN – It’s big money time at Bristol, baby. The return of the Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals in 2022 shows growth in many ways. More than $1 million will be distributed to competitors during the March 20-April 2 event held at the dirt-covered Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tenn.
XR Super Series Late Models will compete on Friday and Saturday of both weekends (March 25-26 and April 1-2), racing for $50,000-to-win and $2,500-to-start each night. The total purse for the Super Late Model portion of competition adds up to $150,000 nightly. With four nights of racing scheduled, that adds up to $600,000 total.
“This is an event that’s truly larger than life, and we want the prize money to reflect that,” said XR Chief Operating Officer Dan Robinson. “From bottom to top, in each and every class, we want to reward these drivers for racing with us at the Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals.”
That’s not all that XR Super Series Late Models are competing for, as a $100,000-to-win points championship will be awarded at the end of the event. Prize money will be paid out to the top 24 competitors in points, provided that the driver attempts all four nights of racing. If a driver meets those criteria, they will walk away with at least $5,000 in points fund money. The total amount of points fund money up for grabs totals $300,000.
The 2022 Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals points fund will take effect if three of the four schedule Super Late Model features are held. If less than three of the four features are held for any reason, a points fund will not be paid. Drivers will also have to attempt to qualify for three of the four features in order to qualify for the points fund.
All 10 support classes at the Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals will have a progressive pay scale. Classes with less than 100 cars will have a $5,000-to-win and $500-to-start main event; classes with 100-149 cars will have a $7,500-to-win and $750-to-start main event; and classes with 150+ cars will have a $10,000-to-win and $1,000-to-start main event.
These figures work out to $20,000 in total purse for 100 cars or less, $30,000 in total purse for 100-149 cars, and $40,000 in total purse for 150 or more cars. Total purse money for support divisions will be at least $160,000, with opportunity for growth with more car count.
Adding up the XR Super Series purses, XR Super Series total points fund and support division money comes, that totals more than $1 million to be paid out to drivers throughout the entirety of the 2022 Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals.
Tickets to the Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals are on sale online now at www.bristoldirt.com. Adult tickets are just $40 and kids 12-and-under are $5 online. All-Access Passes, Pit Passes and more are available online now. Tickets will be available on each race day at the track.