Starting from 10th PLace Car 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford won the 61st Annual Food City Dirt Race, his 27th win in 442 NASCAR Cup Series races. This is his 1st win & 4th Top 10 finish in 2021. 2nd Place Car 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Kroger Chevrolet, started from 13th place posted his 1st Top 10 finish in his series debut at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt. It is his 1st Top 10 finish in 2021. 3rd Place Car 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Freight Toyota, started from 2nd place posted his 1st Top 10 finish in his series debut at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt. It is also his 6th Top 5 finish this season.
4th Place Car 99 Daniel Suarez Camping World Chevrolet, started from 18th place great effort for someone who never raced in dirt before. 5th Place Car 6 Ryan Newman Oscar Mayer Cold Cuts Ford, started from 14th place followed by 6th place Car 24 William Byron Liberty University Chevrolet, started from 8th place. 7th Place Car 8 Tyler Reddick BetMGM Chevrolet, started from 27th place followed by 8th place Car 12 Ryan Blaney Advance My Track Challenge Ford, started from 3rd place. 9th Place Car 43 Erik Jones Tide/Food City Chevrolet, started from 24th place & lastly in the Top 10 was Car 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, in 10th place, started from 26th place. Canadian Car 77 Stewart Friesen Halmar International Chevrolet finished in 23rd place. Dirt Racer Favorites to win the race were Car 20 Christopher Bell Irwin Trade Strong Toyota & Car 5 Kyle Larson Freightliner Chevrolet had contact as they were working toward the front. Chase Briscoe (20th) was the highest finishing rookie. The 2021 season is the fifth different season in the NASCAR Cup Series Modern Era (1972-Present) to start with seven different winners in the first seven races; joining 2014, 2003, 2000 and 1991.
NASCAR Statement:
Bristol dirt weekend set to return for 2022 NASCAR season
ByStaff Report NASCAR.com March 29, 2021 at 6:45 PM
NASCAR’s debut on Bristol Motor Speedway’s dirt-track layout won’t be a one-off.
Track owner Speedway Motorsports Inc. announced that its spring NASCAR weekend in 2022 will be held on the dirt. The announcement was made during Monday’s Food City Dirt Race, the NASCAR Cup Series’ first event on a dirt track since 1970.
A limited amount of tickets for both the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events this weekend sold out, with capacity capped to allow for social distancing under COVID-19 protocols. Bristol also announced that tickets for the 2022 Food City Dirt Race were on sale now, with an exact date to be established later.
“There has been so much buzz and excitement around the inaugural Food City Dirt Race weekend that with NASCAR’s blessing, we are thrilled to announce that we will be bringing back dirt in 2022 as part of the NASCAR Cup Series spring schedule,” said Jerry Caldwell, executive vice president and general manager of Bristol Motor Speedway. “The dirt experience is unlike any other for NASCAR fans and could become a must-see event every season.”
NASCAR has held two Cup Series races annually at Bristol since the Tennessee track opened in 1961.
The Race had 10 Cautions for 37 Laps: 1st Caution on lap 42 for #10, 7, 38, 77, 78 Crash on the Backstretch [Red Flag: 00:06:30]. 2nd Caution on lap 49 for #6, 24, 4, 14 Crash on the Backstretch / Competition. 3rd Caution on lap 54 for #5, 20, 4, 42, 14, 47 Crash on Turn 2. 4th Caution on lap 101 for Stage 1 Conclusion. 5th Caution on lap 151 for Competition. 6th Caution on lap 154 for #00, 3, 5, 12, 18, 34, 37, 48, 51, 53 Crash on the Frontstretch. 7th Caution on lap 161 for #2, 14 Crash on the Frontstretch. 8th Caution on lap 187 for #51, 53 Crash in Turn 3. 9th Caution on lap 201 for Stage 2 Conclusion. 10th Caution on lap 247 for #66 Spin Frontstretch.
The Race had 5 Lead Changes among 5 drivers; K. Larson 0; D. Hamlin 1; K. Busch 2-8; M. Truex Jr. 9-134; D. Suarez 135-192; J. Logano 193-253.
Stages:
Stage 1 Top 10: 19, 24, 11, 99, 12, 22, 23, 6, 47, 17
Stage 2 Top 10: 22, 99, 11, 19, 6, 47, 23, 43, 8, 9
NASCAR Cup Series Race Number 7
Race Results for the 61st Annual Food City Dirt Race – Monday, March 29, 2021. Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt – Bristol, TN – 0.5 – Mile Dirt
Total Race Length – 253 Laps – 126.5 Miles
Finish Start Car Team Laps Status
| 1. 10. Car 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 253 Running |
| 2. 13. Car 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Kroger Chevrolet 253 Running |
| 3. 2. Car 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Freight Toyota 253 Running |
| 4. 18. Car 99 Daniel Suarez Camping World Chevrolet 253 Running |
| 5. 14. Car 6 Ryan Newman Oscar Mayer Cold Cuts Ford 253 Running |
| 6. 8. Car 24 William Byron Liberty University Chevrolet 253 Running |
| 7. 27. Car 8 Tyler Reddick BetMGM Chevrolet 253 Running |
| 8. 3. Car 12 Ryan Blaney Advance My Track Challenge Ford 253 Running |
| 9. 24. Car 43 Erik Jones Tide/Food City Chevrolet 253 Running |
| 10. 26. Car 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 253 Running |
| 11. 20. Car 2 Brad Keselowski Discount Tire Ford 253 Running |
| 12. 16. Car 34 Michael McDowell Love’s Travel Stops Ford 253 Running |
| 13. 12. Car 21 Matt DiBenedetto Menards/Quaker State Ford 253 Running |
| 14. 11. Car 17 Chris Buescher Fastenal Ford 253 Running |
| 15. 6. Car 4 Kevin Harvick Busch Light Ford 253 Running |
| 16. 28. Car 1 Kurt Busch Monster Energy Chevrolet 253 Running |
| 17. 4. Car 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Messages Toyota 253 Running |
| 18. 22. Car 37 * Ryan Preece BUSH’S Beans/Kroger Chevrolet 253 Running |
| 19. 5. Car 19 Martin Truex Jr. Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota 253 Running |
| 20. 25. Car 14 Chase Briscoe # HighPoint.com Ford 252 Running |
| 21. 9. Car 3 Austin Dillon Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Off Road Chevrolet 252 Running |
| 22. 7. Car 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 252 Running |
| 23. 32. Car 77 Stewart Friesen(i) Halmar International Chevrolet 252 Running – Canadian |
| 24. 21. Car 41 Cole Custer HaasTooling.com Ford 252 Running |
| 25. 33. Car 00 Quin Houff Mane ‘n Tail Chevrolet 252 Running |
| 26. 39. Car 96 * Ty Dillon(i) Bass Pro Shops Toyota 252 Running |
| 27. 19. Car 23 Bubba Wallace DoorDash Toyota 251 Running |
| 28. 34. Car 53 JJ Yeley(i) Jacob Companies Chevrolet 249 Running |
| 29. 1. Car 5 Kyle Larson Freightliner Chevrolet 248 Running |
| 30. 37. Car 52 Josh Bilicki Junction Fuels Ford 247 Running |
| 31. 38. Car 66 * Mike Marlar liftkits4less Toyota 244 Accident |
| 32. 31. Car 51 Cody Ware(i) Nurtec ODT Chevrolet 242 Running |
| 33. 36. Car 15 Chris Windom NOS Energy Drink Chevrolet 62 Engine |
| 34. 15. Car 20 Christopher Bell Irwin Trade Strong Toyota 54 Accident |
| 35. 17. Car 42 Ross Chastain Clover Chevrolet 52 Accident |
| 36. 23. Car 10 Aric Almirola Smithfield Ford 39 Accident |
| 37. 35. Car 78 Shane Golobic Elk Grove Ford/NOS Energy Ford 39 Accident |
| 38. 30. Car 7 Corey LaJoie NASCAR TRUCKS AT KNOXVILLE Chevrolet 39 Accident |
| 39. 29. Car 38 Anthony Alfredo # Dude Wipes Ford 39 Accident |
Race Comments: Prior to the start of the race, the following vehicle(s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reason indicated: #5 (Engine Change), #21, #34 (Unapproved Adjustments). Failed to Qualify: None. Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 43 Mins, 53 Secs. Average Speed: 46.313 MPH. Margin of Victory: 0.554 Seconds. Caution Flags: 10 for 37 laps. Lead Changes: 5 among 5 drivers. Sunoco Rookie of the Race: Chase Briscoe, #14.
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race: April 10, 2021 – Martinsville Speedway
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