Brett Moffitt wasn’t always psyched about potentially running a dirt race in the state that he grew up in.
Some people might have expected him to be, but the Grimes native and 2018 NASCAR Truck Series champion would prefer to be in Newton.
“If you asked me (my thoughts on being in Iowa) before practice, I’d say we should be 40 minutes down the road at the speedway, but I think Knoxville did a really great job with track prep,” Moffitt said.
Moffitt was boisterous after practice – impressed with the race track and maybe as animated as he could get after an 85-minute practice session.
The session started off with slower times, but as drivers got used to the track, the speeds picked up, including Moffitt going to seventh on the leaderboard by the end of night.
“The track conditions were good on the race track,” Moffitt said. “I feel like the apron rolling on or off pit road was where most of the dust was coming from. I feel like if we can get that under control, the visibility will be really high compared to what we’ve been dealing with with these cars on dirt. I think it will be a great product.”
Moffitt attributes the faster speeds at the end of the session to rubber being laid down from the repetition of cars running on the track.
In dirt racing, laying down rubber is considered a bad thing. It forces drivers to move down to the bottom end of the track so they are to not blow out a tire by running in the rubber, creating a one-lane parade.
Although, Moffitt said that having some rubber on the track could be a positive thing when it’s all said and done.
“It just took that long to lay down those fast laps,” Moffitt said. “It started rubbering in. When it rubbers in, it starts to drive like an asphalt track. I feel like, for a show on dirt, that’s exactly what we need with these types of race cars.”
The Iowan will look to utilize what he learned on Thursday when he takes off from the pole of his qualifying race on Friday night.
He thinks the track will behave similarly.
“I feel like the heats are going to look more like the start of practice did and the feature is going to look more like the race track did at the end,” Moffitt said. “Overall, the track surface is super slick and with these heavy cars, that’s hard to do. Props to them.”
NASCAR stars like Chase Briscoe and Bubba Wallace have made their careers with wins on the dirt at Eldora Speedway.
Moffitt, who currently runs with Our Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series hopes that he can join in on the action.
“I think any time you can go run well, it’s going to help. In this sport, it’s very hard to make it to the top and then it’s even harder to stay there. I felt like this is a great opportunity with AM Racing – I know they bring great trucks to the track, especially at these dirt tracks. I’m just excited to be here, and if we can go to victory lane, that’s even better.”
Friday night’s heats are scheduled to kick off at 6:05 p.m. CT while the Corn Belt 150 will take to the track at 8:00 p.m. The night of racing at Knoxville is scheduled to be broadcasted on Fox Sports 1.
