TC Daily Pit Stop: Joey Logano Wins Weather Guard Truck Race on Dirt; Kyle Larson Scores Pole; Briscoe Racing with Broken Finger
TC Daily Pit Stop: Sunday, April 9th, 2023
Joey Logano Secures Dominant Victory in Weather Guard Truck Race on Dirt
PHOTO CREDIT: Christopher Fisher, TobyChristie.com
It’s not common for the defending Cup Series champion to visit the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for a one-off, but when they do, it usually plays out in a similar fashion to Saturday’s Weather Guard Truck Race on Dirt.
Joey Logano, the winner of the inaugural Food City Dirt Race at Bristol, set out to gain additional experience on the half-mile dirt track ahead of Sunday’s event but says he really didn’t even learn anything.
That’s not because of an early accident, or even a mechanical issue, but rather the fact that the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion didn’t even get the opportunity to race anybody, leading a race-high 138 of 150 laps.
“I’m not sure I learned anything for tomorrow because I didn’t get to race a whole bunch, but it was fun leading all the laps,” Logano said in a post-race interview. “I had a great spotter up there in [Ryan] Blaney, he was up there spotting for me, and he kept it entertaining and light-hearted, and a little bit of fun too.”
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RACE RESULTS
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INSPECTION REPORT
Chase Briscoe Competing with Broken Finger at Bristol; Mid-Week Surgery Planned
PHOTO CREDIT: Ben Earp, Courtesy of Ford Performance, NKP
If Chase Briscoe is going to compete for the victory in Sunday’s Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway again this year, he is likely going to have to overcome a great deal of physical pain.
The Mitchell, Indiana-native will have to run Sunday’s 250-lap contest with a broken finger, which he sustained while qualifying for the Kyle Larson Late Model Challenge at Volunteer Speedway on Thursday.
“I was running that Dirt Late Model race with [Kyle] Larson on Thursday,” said Briscoe about the incident. “In qualifying, I got really tight and was all the way to the left and when I hit the wall, it literally ripped the wheel all the way back to the right. Never had that happen before.”
The incident came the night before Briscoe was scheduled to compete in four practice sessions, as the 28-year-old driver had already committed to running double duty in the NASCAR Cup and Truck Series.
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Kyle Larson Uses Incredible First-Lap Move to Grab Food City Dirt Race Pole at Bristol
PHOTO CREDIT: Jonathan McCoy / Getty Images
Since the NASCAR Cup Series reignited its legacy of racing on dirt in 2021, Kyle Larson has been the perennial favorite, considering the illustrious record that the Elk Grove, California-native has carved on the dirt.
On Saturday, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion scored the pole for the third annual Food City Dirt Race, as a result of an incredible move in the third heat race, that saw his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet leap from sixth to first in a single lap.
As a result, Larson was able to score a total of 15 points in his heat race, a mark that no other driver achieved in Saturday’s quartet of qualifying races, scoring the Hendrick Motorsports driver his 16th pole at NASCAR’s top level.
The 30-year-old driver will lead the 37-car field to the green flag in Sunday’s 250-lap contest, while Austin Dillon will start from the outside of the front row after capturing the victory in the first of four heat races.
Austin Dillon will start second. JJ Yeley, earned the best result for Rick Ware Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series in third. Christopher Bell, and Kyle Busch completed the top-five.
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Cody Ware Stepping Away For Personal Matters; Matt Crafton to Pilot No. 51 at Bristol
PHOTO CREDIT: Ben Earp, KNP, Courtesy of Ford Performance
Cody Ware, who has piloted the No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford Mustang in all seven races to start the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, will step aside this weekend to focus on a, “personal matter.”
According to Rick Ware Racing, three-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Matt Crafton, will pilot the No. 51 Ford Mustang in the Food City Dirt Race at Bristol.
The team made the announcement in a statement that it shared on Saturday at around noon ET.
“Cody Ware will step away from racing this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway to focus on a personal matter. Matt Crafton will drive the No. 51 Ford Mustang for Rick Ware Racing. Crafton has more than 500 overall-starts in his NASCAR career, winning back-to-back NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championships in 2013 and 2014. The Ware family asks that their privacy be respected during this time,” the statement from the team read.
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NASCAR Television Schedule: Sunday, April 9, 2023
It’s here, it’s finally here! Happy NASCAR Cup Series race day, all. On Sunday, April 9th it’s time for the stars of the NASCAR Cup Series to sling some dirt — and mud — around Bristol Motor Speedway in the Food City Dirt Race.
4:00 AM ET - FS1 - NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series - Race (re-air)
2:30 PM ET - FS1 - NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series - Race (re-air)
4:30 PM ET - FS1 - NASCAR - Bristol Easter Celebration
5:30 PM ET - FS1 - NASCAR Cup Series - RaceDay (pre-race)
6:00 PM ET - FOX - NASCAR Cup Series - RaceDay (pre-race)
7:00 PM ET - FOX - NASCAR Cup Series - Race
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