Logano claims NASCAR Cup win in overtime on Bristol dirt track

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
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