Joey Logano Wins Inaugural Bristol Dirt Race

Joining the numerous changes to the 2021 schedule, was the Bristol Dirt Race – in which the iconic high-banked, 0.5-mile track was covered in 5 layers of dirt for a historic wildcard race. This event marked the first dirt race in 50 years for the NASCAR Cup Series. The new racing conditions came with a new set of rules and procedures including a scheduled caution every 50 laps so maintenance crews could spray water on the track to limit dust; and frozen-field pitstops that saw drivers exit pit road in the same position they entered in, regardless of the duration of their stop.

Unfortunately, the highly-anticipated race was postponed one day due to heavy rain and flood warnings in the Bristol area. Once the green flag flew, it was clear that the race was well worth the wait.

LAP 1: Qualifying was cancelled due to rain, which meant starting positions were determined by NASCAR’s formula (15% fastest lap position, 25% driver’s final race finish position, 25% owner’s final race position and 35% Owner Points position). The formula initially put the #5 of Kyle Larson in pole position, but he was sent to the rear of the field due to an engine change. When the green flag flew, it was Denny Hamlin who led the field.

LAP 9: Hamlin lost the lead to Martin Truex Jr. Meanwhile, the #18 of Kyle Busch had to make an unscheduled pitstop due to an overheating issue, which put the Toyota driver 2 laps down.

CAUTION – LAP 42: While trying to pass Stewart Friesen, the #10 of Aric Almirola got too low and clipped the curb in Turn 2. Almirola spun up the track and collected Corey Lajoie and Anthony Alfredo. All three drivers were out of the race after sustaining significant damage to their cars.

CAUTION – LAP 49: The yellow flag quickly came out again for the #6 of Ryan Newman who made contact with William Byron and spun on the front stretch. While trying to avoid Newman and Byron, the Stewart-Haas teammates of Kevin Harvick and Chase Briscoe also made heavy contact that caused lengthy repairs. This caution doubled as the competition caution, which was scheduled for Lap 50.

CAUTION – LAP 54: A pile-up in Turn 2 triggered the 3rd caution to come out just 4 laps after the restart. The #20 of Christopher Bell got loose and spun, collecting Kyle Larson, Ross Chastain, Harvick, Briscoe, and the #47 of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. While most drivers were able to continue racing, Bell and Chastain went to the garage where their days came to an end.

STAGE 1 END – LAP 100: Martin Truex Jr took the stage victory as well as the extra playoff point. William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Daniel Suarez, and Ryan Blaney rounded out the top 5. Truex held on to the lead during the restart to begin Stage 2.

LAP 135: As Truex’s tire performance began to wear and fade, the 2nd place car of Daniel Suarez was able to pass him for the lead. Suarez went on to set an impressive pace while taking care of his tires, which was unexpected since the Mexican driver had no previous experience racing on dirt.

CAUTION – LAP 150: The scheduled competition caution came out which allowed teams to pit for tires and fuel while maintenance crews sprayed generous amounts of water on the track to limit dust and improve visibility.

CAUTION – LAP 153: On the restart, several cars were collected when Ryan Blaney came down the track and spun himself across the nose of Kyle Busch’s Toyota. Alex Bowman, Austin Dillon, Michael McDowell, Kyle Larson, Ryan Preece, and a handful of other drivers were all collected in the pile-up.

CAUTION – LAP 161: Chase Briscoe’s bad day continued when he was turned by Brad Keselowski. Briscoe spun into the inside wall and triggered yet another caution. Keselowski came over the radio to say, “I’m blind”, referring to the large amount of dust coming off the track.

CAUTION – LAP 187: The #51 of Cody Ware and the #53 of JJ Yeley made contact in Turn 3 that brought out the yellow flag for the 8th time.

LAP 193: A back-and-forth battle took place for several laps between Suarez and Joey Logano as they competed for first place. Logano eventually was able to pass Suarez with just 7-laps to go in the stage.

STAGE 2 END – LAP 200: Logano won the second stage and picked up the playoff point. Daniel Suarez, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr, and Ryan Newman completed the top 5 and Logano remained in the lead to start the final stage. While under caution, NASCAR announced the series would return for another dirt race next year.

CAUTION – LAP 247: With just 3 laps remaining in the race, the caution came out a final time for the #66 of Mike Marlar who spun on the front stretch. The yellow triggered a 2-lap shootout to the end of the race.  

CHECKERED FLAG – LAP 250: Logano crossed the line 0.5 seconds ahead of Ricky Stenhouse Jr to claim the checkered flag for the inaugural Bristol Dirt Race. Logano’s victory marked the 7th different driver to win in 7 races so far this season.

RESULTS:

1. Joey Logano
2. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Daniel Suarez
5. Ryan Newman
6. William Byron
7. Tyler Reddick
8. Ryan Blaney
9. Erik Jones
10. Chase Elliott
11. Brad Keselowski
12. Michael McDowell
13. Matt DiBenedetto
14. Chris Buescher
15. Kevin Harvick
16. Kurt Busch
17. Kyle Busch
18. Ryan Preece
19. Martin Truex Jr
20. Chase Briscoe
21. Austin Dillon
22. Alex Bowman
23. Stewart Friesen
24. Cole Custer
25. Quin Houff
26. Ty Dillon
27. Bubba Wallace
28. JJ Yeley
29. Kyle Larson
30. Josh Bilicki
31. Mike Marlar
32. Cody Ware
33. Chris Windom
34. Christopher Bell
35. Ross Chastain
36. Aric Almirola
37. Shane Golobic
38. Corey Lajoie
39. Anthony Alfredo