Kris Wright optimistic about Bristol Motor Speedway debut
BRISTOL, Tenn: On the heels of his career-best finish two weeks ago at Lebanon I-44 Speedway, Kris Wright is heading to Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway for Thursday night’s Bush’s Beans 200 realizing it will likely be his biggest ARCA Menards Series challenge yet.
Embracing a road course, a high-speed 2.0-mile track and a couple of short tracks this summer between ARCA and the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, Wright is quickly adding tracks to his stock car resume but when it comes to Thunder Valley, the rookie understands he’s about to tackle a whole new world.
“I’m actually excited about heading to Bristol Motor Speedway this week,” said Wright who will make his fourth career ARCA start in the No. 12 Chevrolet.
“I realize Bristol is going to be like nothing that I’ve experienced before, but I’m heading there with an open mind and a lot of confidence that I can get the job done for our partners and the Chad Bryant Racing team.”
With the ARCA Menards Series race embedded with the competitors of the ARCA Menards Series East on Thursday night, Wright will have to tackle nearly double the competition in the Bush’s Beans 200, but the sports car standout sees the extra competition as a good thing.
“The more the competition the better I feel like it can help me become a better stock car racer,” he said. “My track time is going to be limited on Thursday before the race, but I know that there is going to be several different drivers in the race that have turned laps at Bristol in the past.
“I need to use that to my advantage. In practice, I need to get behind an experienced driver and just follow and see if I can run their line. It’s also about getting our car dialed in. Without any qualifying, we’re going to be starting mid-pack and I just want to make sure the car feels good so we can get after it when the green flag waves.”
As an added benefit this week at Bristol will be the addition of a teammate for Wright at Chad Bryant Racing. Derek Griffith, the impressive short track phenom will also make his ARCA Menards Series debut at Bristol this week.
But, with Griffith’s background hailing from short tracks around the country, Wright is keen at having the opportunity to chat with his teammate about the fundamentals of not only Bristol but short track racing as a whole.
“I’ve heard a lot about Derek and look forward to racing with him on Thursday night at Bristol,” mentioned Wright. “I know he’s never been at Bristol before – but his forte his short tracks so I know there’s going to be a number of things that I can learn from him for not only Bristol but hopefully down the road too.”
In addition to Bristol, Wright will drive a Chad Bryant Racing car in the upcoming ARCA Menards Series races at Memphis (Tenn.) International Raceway and the season-finale at Kansas Speedway.
He will also compete in the last race of the ARCA Menards Series West season at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway in November.
PPG, Mastertech, iHeart Radio and First National Bank will all support Wright’s efforts on Sept. 17 at Bristol.
For more on Kris Wright, please visit, kriswrightmotorsports.com, like him on Facebook (Kris Wright Racing) and follow him on Twitter (@kriswrightraces).
For more on Chad Bryant Racing, please visit ChadBryantRacing.com, like them on Facebook (Chad Bryant Racing) or follow them on Twitter (@ChadBryantRace).
The Bush’s Beans 200 (200 laps | 106.6 miles) is the 16th of 20 races on the 2020 ARCA Menards Series schedule. Group practice begins Thurs., Sept. 17, 2020 with a forty-five-minute practice session from 6:00 p.m. – 6:45 p.m. The race is set to take the green flag shortly after 9:30 p.m., televised live on FOX Sports 1, while ARCARacing.com will stream live timing and scoring throughout the entire day’s festivities. All times are local (Eastern).