Logano, Majeski Do the Competition Dirty at Bristol
None of the jostling for position could muddy ThorSport Racing’s cakewalk to a 1-2 finish with Joey Logano and Ty Majeski in the stages and the Weather Guard Truck Race on Dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Logano took the lead from Majeski on lap two, then led for 39 laps. He lost it for 11 laps to Matt DiBenedetto but then passed him for the win with 99 laps to go.
The defending NASCAR Cup Series champion led 138 of 150 laps, in total, and swept the stages en route to his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win since Martinsville in 2015.
Ty Majeski finished second and, with one lap led, was the only other leader Saturday besides Logano and DiBenedetto.
William Byron finished third while Chase Briscoe finished seventh and Jonathan Davenport finished 14th. They will all compete in Sunday’s Cup Series race at Bristol dirt.
The full top 10 finishers are as follows: Logano, Majeski, Byron, Matt Crafton, Grant Enfinger, Jake Garcia, Briscoe, Tanner Gray, Kaden Honeycutt (T-career-best finish), DiBenedetto
Stage One Top-10: Logano, Majeski, Byron, Honeycutt, Crafton, Hailie Deegan, Enfinger, Zane Smith, Stewart Friesen, Parker Kligerman
Stage Two Top 10: Logano, Majeski, Byron, Friesen, DiBenedetto, Tan. Gray, Crafton, Z. Smith, Briscoe, Bret Holmes
Norm Benning finished 24th in his first Truck Series start of 2023.
Texas winner Carson Hocevar finished 17th after having a power-steering line issue and getting in a five-truck wreck on lap 132.
That wreck also involved Briscoe, Corey Heim, Ben Rhodes and Stewart Friesen who finished seventh, 15th, 19th and 23rd.
There were 11 cautions for 66 laps. Tyler Carpenter had a rough night and was involved in four of those cautions:
- Lap 9 wreck in turn four, involving Carpenter, Mason Massey, Taylor Gray, Stefan Parsons, Ben Rhodes
- Lap 27 wreck in turn four, involving Carpenter, Tyler Ankrum, Kris Wright, Timmy Hill, Spencer Boyd
- Lap 63 spin in turn four
- Lap 123 race-ending wreck for Carpenter in turn three, also involving Hill
Carpenter finished 29th after the lap 123 wreck.
Tyler Ankrum had a similarly rough night, as he had a flat left-rear tire coming to the green. Then, on lap 27, a spin and contact busted Ankrum’s radiator. He finished 33rd.
Chase Purdy was also involved in multiple cautions. Zane Smith bumped him into the wall on lap 97. Then on lap 111, he spun in turn two.
Purdy finished the race 28th, as the last truck running at the finish.
The other cautions were:
- The two stage breaks at laps 40 and 90
- Christian Eckes spinning in turn one, lap 46
- Kris Wright wrecking on the frontstretch, lap 73
Lawless Alan, Jessica Friesen, Andrew Gordon, Jerry Bohlman and Josh Reaume failed to qualify for the 150-lap main event.
The next race for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is Friday, April 14, at Martinsville Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET; TV: FS1; Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
