Video: World of Outlaws took to the legendary high banks of the Bristol Motor Speedway in 2001 (Update)

UPDATE Long-time racing fans may remember that Bristol Motor Speedway was once covered in dirt for a pair of World of Outlaw events back in 2001 and 2002. And while the races proved to be successful, track executive Kevin Triplett says he does not currently foresee a scenario where dirt could return to the speedway over the next several years.

Taking fan questions on the first episode of the official #AskBristol podcast, Triplett (the Vice President of Public Affairs) admitted that the conversion could take place but it would take a special series of circumstances.

"We never say never," Triplett said. "We've learned working for Bruton Smith that 'never' is a word that doesn't get used a lot. With that said, we would have to do a lot in order to do that again — for several reasons."

Triplett said that it took an 'incredible' amount of work to convert Bristol to dirt, moving 8,000 cubic feet of red clay onto the concrete track surface. And while he isn't afraid of the labor, Triplett admitted that running dirt races just a few weeks before a Sprint Cup event was a logistical challenge.

"We held those events in the middle of the summer, and cleaning that much dirt six weeks before the NASCAR weekend was a very challenging thing to do," Triplett said. "It was successful. Our fans seemed to enjoy it and we enjoyed bringing that to them. And while we could do it again, with football games and concerts moving forward, the dirt races are just further down the list."

A total of 14,000 truckloads of material were required to convert the track to dirt and did a considerable amount of damage to the streets leading into the venue. The track was widened by 12 feet to 14 feet and then banking was reduced from 36 degrees to 23 degrees.

12/21/14

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