Logano claims NASCAR Cup win in overtime on Bristol dirt track
Joey Logano held off Ricky Stenhouse Jr during overtime for victory at the Bristol Motor Speedway, in the NASCAR Cup Series' first dirt race in over 50 years.
The race had been delayed to Monday following persistent rain around the Tennessee venue, flooding the parking and camping areas, along with the dirt-paved circuit.
Logano first picked up the lead of the race towards the end of the second stage, as leader Daniel Suarez - who had remained in first throughout a competition caution, a mid-stage pile-up and a Cody Ware spin - was pipped with seven laps remaining before the second interval by the Penske driver.
As Logano was cruising to victory, having largely routed the field in the final stage, a late-race accident brought out a caution and sent the race into a two-lap overtime.
On the restart, Hamlin - running fourth at the time - went to the high line in Turns 1 and 2 hoping to gain momentum for a pass for the lead, but failed to make any progress.
Martin Truex Jr, who was running third and had dominated the Trucks race beforehand, also drifted high but encountered a flat tyre that sent him falling back through the field.
That left JTG Daugherty's Ricky Stenhouse Jr as Logano’s only serious challenger over the final two laps - but Logano had little trouble holding on for the victory, his first of the 2021.
Logano also became the seventh different winner in the season’s first seven races.
Hamlin ended the race third, with Daniel Suarez fourth to secure the new Trackhouse Racing team's best result since joining the Cup Series. Roush Fenway's Ryan Newman rounded out the top five.
William Byron was the highest-placed Hendrick driver in sixth, ahead of Richard Childress Racing's Tyler Reddick. Ryan Blaney, who had started from the front, was eighth, ahead of Erik Jones and Chase Elliott.
Elliott's contact with 23XI Racing's Bubba Wallace part-way through the second stage triggered a multi-car crash, although all of the cars involved managed to stay in the race.
Truex, buoyed by his surprise race win in Trucks having taken part in the race to gain experience on dirt, claimed the first stage win ahead of Hendrick's William Byron - but only finished 19th after his late puncture.
During that opening stage, a collision between Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson - two dirt specialists, having raced extensively in series such as World of Outlaws - took out two of the pre-race favourites on lap 53. Ganassi's Ross Chastain was also sucked into their crash.
Larson, having set the pole time, was sent to the back after an engine change to his Camaro ZL-1, but quickly made his way through the field to fight with Bell.
The #5 Hendrick driver, who was suspended last season, managed to stay out after his crash with the Joe Gibbs Racing driver - but then got involved in the collision caused by Elliott and Wallace in stage 2.
Hamlin remains on top of the drivers' standings, having only finished outside of the top 5 once all season, as Logano now moves up to second in the points ahead of Truex, Larson and Brad Keselowski - who finished 11th at Bristol.
NASCAR Cup Bristol dirt race results - 253 laps
| Cla | Driver | Manufacturer | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Joey Logano | Ford | 1:55'21.828 | |
| 2 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Chevrolet | 1:55'22.382 | 0.554 |
| 3 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 1:55'23.143 | 1.315 |
| 4 |  Daniel Suarez | Chevrolet | 1:55'23.446 | 1.618 |
| 5 | Ryan Newman | Ford | 1:55'23.640 | 1.812 |
| 6 | William Byron | Chevrolet | 1:55'24.116 | 2.288 |
| 7 | Tyler Reddick | Chevrolet | 1:55'24.144 | 2.316 |
| 8 | Ryan Blaney | Ford | 1:55'24.279 | 2.451 |
| 9 | Erik Jones | Chevrolet | 1:55'24.612 | 2.784 |
| 10 | Chase Elliott | Chevrolet | 1:55'25.455 | 3.627 |
| 11 | Brad Keselowski | Ford | 1:55'25.619 | 3.791 |
| 12 | Michael McDowell | Ford | 1:55'25.855 | 4.027 |
| 13 | Matt DiBenedetto | Ford | 1:55'25.962 | 4.134 |
| 14 | Chris Buescher | Ford | 1:55'26.308 | 4.480 |
| 15 | Kevin Harvick | Ford | 1:55'26.842 | 5.014 |
| 16 | Kurt Busch | Chevrolet | 1:55'27.003 | 5.175 |
| 17 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 1:55'27.553 | 5.725 |
| 18 | Ryan Preece | Chevrolet | 1:55'30.035 | 8.207 |
| 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | 1:55'30.804 | 8.976 |
| 20 | Chase Briscoe | Ford | 1:55'27.345 | 1 Lap |
| 21 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | 1:55'27.616 | 1 Lap |
| 22 | Alex Bowman | Chevrolet | 1:55'28.047 | 1 Lap |
| 23 | Stewart Friesen | Chevrolet | 1:55'28.265 | 1 Lap |
| 24 | Cole Custer | Ford | 1:55'28.518 | 1 Lap |
| 25 | Quin Houff | Chevrolet | 1:55'29.272 | 1 Lap |
| 26 | Ty Dillon | Toyota | 1:55'29.687 | 1 Lap |
| 27 | Bubba Wallace | Toyota | 1:55'33.006 | 2 Laps |
| 28 | J.J. Yeley | Chevrolet | 1:55'31.571 | 4 Laps |
| 29 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet | 1:55'29.155 | 5 Laps |
| 30 | Josh Bilicki | Ford | 1:55'33.522 | 6 Laps |
| 31 | Mike Marlar | Toyota | 1:50'15.203 | 9 Laps |
| 32 | Cody Ware | Chevrolet | 1:55'35.685 | 11 Laps |
| 33 | Chris Windom | Chevrolet | 30'47.596 | 191 Laps |
| 34 | Christopher Bell | Toyota | 25'06.500 | 199 Laps |
| 35 | Ross Chastain | Chevrolet | 23'23.216 | 201 Laps |
| 36 | Aric Almirola | Ford | 13'36.718 | 214 Laps |
| 37 | Shane Golobic | Ford | 13'38.582 | 214 Laps |
| 38 | Corey Lajoie | Chevrolet | 13'40.230 | 214 Laps |
| 39 | Anthony Alfredo | Ford | 13'40.243 | 214 Laps |
| View full results | ||||
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About this article
| Series | NASCAR |
| Drivers | Joey Logano |
| Teams | Team Penske |
| Author | Jim Utter |
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