NASCAR at Bristol live updates: Joey Logano wins return to dirt racing; Stenhouse second

Note: Live updates on this story are complete. Full NASCAR race analysis and takeaways will be posted here.

After storms washed out heat qualifying races Saturday and postponed Cup and Truck races Sunday, NASCAR raced today.

In the Truck Series race, the Pinty’s Truck Race on Dirt at 12 p.m., Martin Truex Jr. won, with 1.1 seconds over second place finisher Ben Rhodes. Raphael Lessard finished third. (Results below).

The Food City Dirt Race, an event that marks the first time NASCAR’s Cup Series races on dirt in 51 years, took the green flag just after 4 p.m., and ran with a minimal amouth of caution flag laps, but finished with an overtime sprint. Race updates and results below.

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NASCAR Cup race at Bristol results

Stage 3

7:10 p.m., Overtime: Logano goes low, Hamlin high and Truex into the wall, almost. Logano with the big jump and Hamlin’s high line was a mistake. Logano wins, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. slides into second.

7:08 p.m., Lap 245: We are officially in “overtime” at Bristol. A single-file restart will help determine this return to dirt track racing. Joey Logano will lead the field to the green, with truck winner from earlier in the day, Denny Hamlin one car back. Unlike earlier, no lapped traffic anymore, which should favor Logano taking off at the line. Truex, Stenhouse and Suarez are the rest of the Top 5.

7:06 p.m., Lap 245: A late-race bobble from Denny Hamlin caused him to slide up the track and he rubbed the wall. But he was saved a moment later when we got a yellow flag come out for a car in the wall on the front straight.

7:04 p.m., Lap 244: Fewer than 10 to go now, and the cars are flying and sliding around the track. Joey Logano has the lead and has put a bit of distance between himself and Denny Hamlin in second. Martin Truek runs third. Seven cars are within 10 seconds of the front, and 19 cars are on the lead lap.

7:01 p.m., Lap 237: Martin Truex Jr. has been given the green light from his team to go after the lead, as if he’s been holding back for tire purposes. He’s made up more than a second on the lead as the leaders, Logano and Hamlin, have had to weave through lapped traffic.

6:59 p.m., Lap 230: Joey Logano continues to lead, but truck race winner Martin Truex Jr has made a move into third. He lead a lot of Stages 1 and 2 earlier. Lapped cars are about to become a factor here.

6:57 p.m., Lap 220: Reddick has moved his way into fifth position ahead of Ryan Newman, and just nestled in behind Martin Truex. Joey Logano continues to lead — barely — over Denny Hamlin.

6:53 p.m., Lap 210: Logano and Hamlin take off with the lead in the first few laps here in the final stage. They are battling hard with each other, and have a 2+ second advantage over Suarez and another second on Truex.

6:45 p.m.: NASCAR and Bristol Motor Speedway have announced that next year’s spring race at Bristol will again be a dirt track race .Bristol Motor Speedway president Jerry Caldwell announced the news over the track speaker, and fans are already able to make a deposit for races.

Stage 2

6:25 p.m., Lap 200: Joey Logano edges by Daniel Suárez for the lead with fewer than 10 laps remaining in the stage to capture a Stage 2 win. Suárez led 58 laps, which is more than he’s ever led in a Cup race. He finishes the stage in second. Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Newman, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Bubba Wallace, Erik Jones, Tyler Reddick and Chase Elliott follow. NASCAR gives teams 10 minutes to work on their cars while they water the track and use packer cars for the final shootout.

6:20 p.m., Lap 182: Denny Hamlin passes Martin Truex Jr. for third place. He runs behind Daniel Suárez and Joey Logano. The caution come back out for Cody Ware, who spun between Turns 1 and 2.

6:15 p.m., Lap 176: Daniel Suárez leads on the restart, fending off Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Ryan Newman, Chase Elliott, Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Dust is still engulfing the track.

6:09 p.m., Lap 162: The race barely goes green before the caution comes back out for Chase Briscoe spinning into the inside barrier on the frontstretch. NASCAR says it will go to single-file restarts for the remainder of the race. “We just have to be careful her and not get laid back with the single-file restarts,” Suárez.

6:03 p.m., Lap 152: Two laps into the green flag, the caution comes back out for a massive pileup on the frontstretch involving Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott. Michael McDowell, Austin Dillon, Kyle Larson, Cody Ware, J.J. Yeley, Alex Bowman and Quin Houff also are reportedly involved in the accident. The field was engulfed in a cloud of dust in the sunny spots of the track and drivers report they were unable to see anything. All cars are able to drive away after the wreck.

5:49 p.m., Lap 150: The competition caution comes out. “Great job,” Suarez’s radio says. The driver reports his car is “quite a bit tighter” and his team radios back that they will make some minor adjustments. All cars pit during the yellow flag.

5:43 p.m., Lap 136: Daniel Suárez passes Martin Truex Jr. after Truex slows approaching lapped traffic. Suárez gets to his tail, pushes into the inside line and makes his pass rounding Turn 4. William Bryon follows Suárez to take second place. Niether Suárez, Truex nor Byron have significant dirt racing experience. Meanwhile, dirt racer Kyle Larson and Mike Marlar ride multiple laps down.

5:34 p.m., Lap 111: Martin Truex Jr. continues to lead but Daniel Suárez is lurking in second, followed by William Byron in third. A shadow is slowly falling over the track, covering the backstretch entirely at this point.

Stage 1

5:21 p.m., Lap 100: Martin Truex Jr. wins the first stage of the Bristol dirt race after his dominance of the Truck Series race. William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Daniel Suárez, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Bubba Wallace, Ryan Newman, Ricky Stenhouse and Chris Buescher follow to close the stage.

5 p.m., Lap 62: Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell collect in the Turn 2 wall. Bell and Larson, two experienced dirt drivers and race favorites, pit to make repairs under the yellow flag. Larson says he thinks he’s done for the day with damage. His crew chief Cliff Daniels encourages his team to make repairs and return to the race. Ross Chastain exits the race, as he was collected in the wreck. Christopher Bell also exits. Martin Truex Jr. continues to lead as Daniel Suárez drives into second.

4:46 p.m., Lap 55: Ryan Newman spins in almost the exact same spot at Almirola earlier. His car is relatively unscathed but others check up behind him. Kevin Harvick runs into Chase Briscoe as he drives high to miss Newman’s car. Kyle Larson is also able to skirt the spin. The caution is back out.

4:34 p.m., Lap 41: Aric Almirola goes for a major spin on the backstretch and he is hit multiple times by oncoming cars. He exits his No. 10 car as it sits parked between Turns 2 and 3 to be towed off. Anthony Alfredo’s car will also need a tow. Both drivers will exit the race. Almirola explains on FOX that he lost visibility and hit a “silly bump” (or, durtle) to prevent cars from driving too low. Shane Golobic and Corey LaJoie also exit the race due to the wreck. The red flag comes out. Martin Truex Jr. returns to the lead with Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin and Alex Bowman following.

4:12 p.m., Lap 10: The race goes green with Denny Hamlin leading. But Kyle Busch quickly slips by him for a few laps. His engine starts overheating and he makes an unplanned, quick pit stop to for his team to clean the grille. Busch goes a lap down as Martin Truex Jr. takes the lead.

Pre-race

4:08 p.m.: Country music singer Randy Houser performs the national anthem virtually ahead of a four-jet flyover live at the track.

4 p.m.: Driver introductions are underway as packer cars continue to make laps. Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson receive rousing cheers, while Bubba Wallace, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin are met with loud boos. Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. receive a mix of both.

3:30 p.m.: As expected, Kyle Larson will start at the rear due to an engine change. Michael McDowell and Matt DiBenedetto will also start at the rear for unapproved adjustments. The Wood Brothers explained on Twitter that the team hit its fender backing off the lift gate coming off the hauler.

“It creased the fender and as such, was an unapproved adjustment,” Wood Brothers wrote. “But on the flip side, who’s to say we didn’t run into it on purpose and figure out a way to add front downforce. So rules is rules.”

DiBenedetto was slated to start 12th. McDowell was slated to start 16th.

NASCAR announced Saturday that it would adjust the stage lengths, add two competition cautions and increase the tire allotment count for Sunday’s Cup Series race. That will give NASCAR some time to prepare the track during the cautions. Race stages will end on laps 100, 200 and 250 with competition cautions on laps 50 and 150.

The track has been watered, tilled, and re-packed between races.

NASCAR Cup starting order for Bristol

DNQ: None, # denotes rookie, (i) ineligible for points in series

NASCAR Truck race results

Final stage

2:12 p.m., Lap 150 FINAL: Martin Truex Jr. won the Bristol truck race on dirt with 1.1 second over second place finisher Ben Rhodes. Raphael Lessard finished third.

Truex delivered a dominating performance in the No. 51 truck, winning both stages and leading 105 laps of the 150-lap race. His last race in the Truck Series was in 2006, when he ran a single event at Michigan.

“I’m a little surprised to be here to be honest with you,” Truex Jr. said on his post-race winning press conference.

He became the 36th driver to win a race in all three of NASCAR’s national series Monday. Truex, who will start fifth in the Cup race at 4 p.m. on FOX, said that at the start of the race his team was blowing past guys.

“And I was like, ‘Okay, this is cool,’” Truex said, but he wasn’t expecting to be able to maintain his tires for as long as he did.

But as the track wore out and became less tacky, Truex was also able to preserve his tires. Still, the driver said that the slickness also made passing more difficult and that the he preferred the conditions at the beginning of the race.

“Maybe we need a couple monsoons,” Truex joked.

Lessard agreed that it was a fun event to race and called it his favorite race at Bristol so far. Truex said he had a “blast” and proved that truck racing nor dirt experience can beat a fast car with a talented driver.

“It’s still a race car and (about) who can get around the fastest,” Truex said. “And today it was us.”

2 p.m., Lap 133: The red flag comes out for Andrew Gordon, who spins around Turn 4 and hits the inside barrels near the pit road entrance. The water truck is also running as trucks park between Turns 2 and 3. “It’s getting dustier,” Chase Briscoe says of the track conditions. He’s in sixth place.

1:51, Lap 120: Martin Truex Jr. was running with two seconds over Ben Rhodes in second place before the caution comes out for a spin by Chandler Smith. Smith got loose up top, collecting Johhny Sauter, then slides into the inside retaining wall to bring out the yellow flag. Smith’s truck will need a tow.

1:35, Lap 100: Mike Marlar slows in the middle of the pack, potentially with a flat tire. Kyle Larson, Danny Bohn and Brett Moffit all get collected in a wreck between Turns 3 and 4. Larson gets out of his truck, as does Bohn. Their days are done and their trucks are towed off the track as NASCAR cleans fluid from the accident under the red flag.

“I committed up top and there was somebody parked there,” Kyle Larson tells FS1. He says he was running mid-pack about where they’d probably finish and that he learned something about passing for the Cup race: “If we can get some more grip a little bit lower (should help),” Larson says. “Hopefully it won’t be as dusty.”

1:30p.m., Lap 92: Martin Truex Jr. retakes the lead. He passes Grant Enfinger while fending off Ben Rhodes in the mix in the third. He rides to the front for a few laps, and then, a WRECK.

Stage 2

1:20 p.m., Lap 90: Martin Truex Jr. takes the outside lane for the final restart with six laps left in the stage. It pays off. He pulls away from Ben Rhodes in second. The finishing order for the stage is: Truex Jr., Rhodes, Austin Hill, Chase Briscoe, Sheldon Creed, Todd Gililand, Stewart Friesen, Raphael Lessard, Austin Wayne Self and Grant Enfinger. Enfinger and Chase Purdy stay out while other trucks pit. Chandler Smither and Johnny Sauter come back down to pit road.

1:12 p.m., Lap 80: The caution is back out for Myatt Snider spinning as the second stage winds to a close. That happens just after Martin Truex Jr. re-takes the lead from Ben Rhodes, clawing back after losing his spot on the inside lane. “Man oh man,” Truex says of all the spins and cautions.

1:06 p.m., Lap 72: Martin Truex Jr. leads Ben Rhodes, and was starting to pull away before another caution comes out. Norm Benning has a tire go down. Kyle Larson’s fender is torn off and he has right front damage.

1 p.m., Lap 64: The race goes green, but briefly before another caution flag comes back out for Jennifer Jo Cobb. Her truck is stopped low in Turn 2 before she gets a push and rejoins the field. Martin Truex Jr. will lead from the top lane on the restart.

12:50 p.m., Lap 50: John Hunter Nemechek and Derek Kraus get together between Turns 1 and 2, as well as Timothy Peters. Nemechek cites Matt Crafton for inciting the incident: “I don’t know. Matt just flat ran over me,” Nemechek tells FS1. “I’ll keep that one in the memory bank. The 19 (Kraus), I guess he and his spotter both need a pair of glasses.”

Nemechek and Kraus are done for the day. The red flag is out for heavy fluid on the track.

12:42 p.m., Lap 44: Martin Truex Jr. snakes the lead from Stewart Friesen, again passing him on the outside lane, after the race goes green. He starts pulling away, but then the caution comes out...

12:35 p.m., Lap 41: Stewart Friesen will lead the restart after choosing to stay out. His wife, Jessica Friesen, was set to race in the heats and attempt to qualify for the main race on Saturday, but the rain dashed her chances when the heats were canceled. She is in the stands today, according to FS1, and on the radio for her husband. During the pit stops, mechanics go over the wall and trucks that stay out stop behind pace car in Turn 3 before the other trucks catch up.

Stage 1

12:26 p.m., Lap 40: Martin Truex Jr. wins the first stage, passing Sheldon Creed on the outside lane rounding the final turn before the flag. Creed led nearly all laps in the first stage, but Truex raced up from a 15th place start. The finishing order for the stage is Truex Jr., Creed3, Zane Smith, Stewart Friesen, John Hunter Nemechek, Austin Hill, Ben Rhodes, Matt Crafton, Grant Enfinger and Johnny Sauter in the top-10.

12:23 p.m., Lap 35: Austin Wayne Self gets into the back of Chandler Smith to send Smith spinning around Turn 2 to bring out another caution. Kyle Larson and Hailie Deegan are able to avoid Smith’s spin from behind. It will be a one-lap dash to the end.

12:16 p.m., Lap 27: Carson Hocevar comes to pit road as another caution flag comes out for his overheating truck. Sheldon Creed continues to lead, but Stewart Friesen continues to attempt to chase him down from second place. “Falloff is the same right now,” Friesen’s radio says before the green flag. “ ... You’re just more sideways in the middle than he is.”

12:11 p.m., Lap 12: The No. 15 truck driven by Tanner Gray goes for a spin between Turns 3 and 4 and the caution flag comes out. Gray’s truck has some front damage, but he gets back on track and the field runs under a yellow flag. Sheldon Creed continues to lead the field, followed by Stewart Friesen and Austin Hill.

12:07 p.m., Lap 5: Sheldon Creed takes the early lead, dropping below John Hunter Nemechek. Stewart Friesen challenges for the second place spot and is able to take it before the tenth lap. Nemechek’s radio notes the bottom lane has the advantage.

Late models on the track, driver intros

11:50 a.m.: God Bless the U.S.A. plays at the track, with a video of a jet flyover rather than the real thing, before the command to fire engines is given. Tony Spiteri, VP of Marketing for race sponsor, Pinty’s Food, tells drivers to start engines. John Hunter Nemechek is leading the field on the inside line for pace laps.

11:35 a.m.: Driver intros are underway in front of a significantly smaller crowd than the turnout for heat races on Saturday. Cup drivers in the Truck Series race, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Larson, receive the loudest cheers from fans in the stands.

11:15 a.m.: Four late model cars race around the track without issue, indicating the dirt is in raceable condition for the lighter cars. The water truck returns to spray the high line around the wall. We’ll see how the trucks fair. On Saturday, the trucks made one lap before NASCAR threw the caution for excessive mud on truck windshield after rain earlier in the day.

Trucks/cars to the rear

The No. 10 truck driven by Jennifer Jo Cobb will drop to the rear for unapproved adjustments. NASCAR has not yet announced which Cup teams will drop to the rear for the start of that race. Cup teams had the option to stay in the impound Saturday overnight or make adjustments before the race and undergo another inspection.

Kyle Larson will drop to the rear for the start of the Cup race due to an engine change following Friday’s practices. Stages for the Truck Series race will end on laps 40, 90 and 150.

A world of difference

Thanks to sunny skies and overnight prep work by NASCAR and Bristol Motor Speedway crews, the dirt track is dry enough that water has actually already been re-added to it to get the half-mile oval in better racing shape ahead of the first race of the day at noon. The process of preparation involved a combination of tilling, packing and re-moisturizing the surface. As of 11 a.m. Monday, nine “packer cars” are making laps on the speedway as trucks sit lined up on the grid. It looks like there will be racing today.

NASCAR Trucks starting order for Bristol

DNQ: Trevor Collins, Jessica Friesen, Ryan Newman, J.R. Heffner, # denotes rookie, (i) ineligible for points in series