Posted on by Holly Cain

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Richard Petty’s dominance and Darrell Waltrip’s great run of success ultimately gave way to Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson’s modern-day records of triumph on the half-mile, paperclip-shaped Martinsville Speedway. And for all of its competitive challenges, Martinsville boasts a rare combination of sporting popularity — adored by fan and driver, alike.

From the iconic Martinsville hot dogs served at concession stands on the property, to the high drama on track — from Red Byron’s three-lap victory in the inaugural Martinsville NASCAR premier series race in 1949 to Ross Chastain’s “Hail Melon” last-lap, wall-hugging move to earn a position in the 2022 Championship 4 Round last fall — so much of the action at Martinsville Speedway has become the stuff of NASCAR legend.

There are a certain few race tracks on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule that have not only survived the test of time, but provided hugely significant moments and milestones in the 75-year history of the sport. Martinsville Speedway, which hosts the NOCO 400 Sunday (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) is unquestionably in that category.

MORE: Entry list | Full weekend schedule

It’s been hailed the “Half Mile of Mayhem” but generally known as “The Paperclip” for its long straightaways and tight, slightly banked corners. Its bright red “Martinsville Hot Dogs” — topped with mustard, chili, slaw and onions — are as famous as its one-of-a-kind trophy, the grandfather clock.

It is the only current venue that has been on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule since NASCAR began and this week will host its 149th premier race.

“It was important to win that race and of course, I loved that track,” NASCAR Hall of Famer and 11-time Martinsville winner Darrell Waltrip said of his great success there. “It just meant the world to me to win there.

“Those clocks are special. With the Azalea bushes that used to be there and parking on the back straightaway with the coaches, it’s evolved, but it’s still Martinsville, same old race track.”

Waltrip recalled a certain open-wheel champion, who was set to make his Martinsville debut, figuring the half-miler was going to be “easy” compared to larger tracks on the NASCAR schedule.

“I remember Juan Montoya went there and he said, ‘this place looks like a piece of cake’ and he went out and nearly wrecked and came back in and said, ‘well it’s not as easy as I thought it was going to be,’ ” Waltrip said with a laugh.

“He told me one thing I always thought was a great observation, ‘in like a lamb and off like a lion.’ It looks easy, two long straightaways and two loops; it’s a paperclip. But it’s probably one of the most difficult tracks you’ll ever go to.”

That may explain a Martinsville trend. For generations, when a driver figured out how to win at Martinsville, he won so much the clocks filled their homes.

Twelve drivers have won back-to-back races at Martinsville with NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson doing it three different times. Seven drivers have won three consecutive races at Martinsville, including current driver Denny Hamlin (2009-10).

NASCAR’s “King” Richard Petty holds the all-time record for wins (15) and starts (67) at Martinsville. Waltrip’s 11 trophies make him the only other driver with double-digit victories, and his eight pole positions are the most ever.

Former Hendrick Motorsports teammates Gordon and Johnson each have nine wins at Martinsville. The Hall of Famer Gordon has an incredible mark of 38 top-10 finishes in 47 Martinsville starts — 80.8 percent of the time he took the green flag, he finished among the top 10. Johnson leads all drivers with three victories from pole position.

MORE: Historic moments at Martinsville

NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace has seven Martinsville wins while fellow Hall of Famers Cale Yarborough and Dale Earnhardt have six each. Morgan Shephard and the late John Andretti scored their first (Shephard) and final (Andretti) career wins at the track.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Hamlin leads all active drivers with five Martinsville grandfather clocks to his name, with the Virginia-raised driver winning three straight in the 2009-10 seasons. His JGR teammate Martin Truex Jr. has three victories and is the last driver to win back-to-back Martinsville races (2019-2020).

Gordon, now an executive with Hendrick Motorsports, concedes it took a lot of work to learn the track and the art of victory there. He remembers his team making change after change to the car during the old days of testing, hoping to improve his lap times. But ultimately, he said, “I realized maybe I need to start trying something different.”

“At one particular test, I can’t remember when exactly, all of a sudden something clicked and the next race we went to after that, I don’t know if we won it, but I remember going, ‘aha.’ I’d found something that was working.

“Because Martinsville is a track where aerodynamics aren’t as important and horsepower is not as important and it’s a track where over the years it’s changed the least amount — up until this new car — if you found something you could do in your setup or driving, it would last and typically work most of the time,” Gordon continued. “Even if a tire changed or something, it didn’t change so drastically, you could still apply what you learned, and the team learned. You might have to adjust a little bit here and there and make it last a long time. For me, I was fortunate, I was able to make it work for a while.”

Indeed, he did. And that kind of dedication to craft is something Waltrip whole-heartedly agrees made all the difference at Martinsville.

“It’s a driver’s track,” Waltrip said. “You don’t have to have the best car, you just have to be the best driver.

“It takes a lot of finesse and 500 laps around that joint, is a lot of laps so you have to learn how to pace yourself, what your car is capable of, know you’ll have chances to work on the car and make it better. It’s a race with a lot of strategy — it might not look like it. It looks like a short track where you beat and bang, but it’s a race with a lot of strategy and I think the best driver always wins the races.”

Although, arguably, it’s the fans that walk away the biggest winners. It’s no easy feat for a facility to stand the test of time and Martinsville Speedway certainly has.

“Thankfully, it’s the fans that make that happen,” Gordon said. “Fans enjoy what they’re seeing and like the environment and the nostalgia of it.

“You see the incredible action it creates. In order to make a pass, you have to be daring and take risks. And when you do that, you might make a mistake and that mistake might turn into something that gets people on their feet. So, I get it.”

MORE: Buy Martinsville tickets

Posted on by Brandon White

At the end of the 2022 season, Carter Langley was in need of a change of scenery.

Unsatisfied with the results from his first full year in the CARS Late Model Stock Tour, Langley elected to shift his focus to South Boston Speedway, where he looked to gain experience against the veterans of his home track like Mike Looney and six-time champion Peyton Sellers.

Langley’s first two weekends at his home track in 2023 played out differently than he expected; he currently holds a five-point advantage over Sellers after recording three victories in four races, cementing himself as an early championship favorite.

“I really didn’t [think this would happen so quickly],” Langley said. “The car had just gotten back from the chassis man [before the season-opener], and the motor was fresh. I thought it would take us about halfway through the year to get our first win, but all of this goes back to [my crew chief] Joshua Yeoman and how he sets this thing up.”

RELATED: Follow South Boston Speedway all year long on FloRacing

Langley’s strong start to the season can be traced back to 2022 and South Boston’s crown jewel event in the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200.

In a field featuring 42 drivers, Langley proved to have one of the fastest cars in the race. He briefly led before surrendering the point to eventual winner Corey Heim. Despite getting involved in a late crash, Langley managed to salvage a top five on a night marred by attrition.

Once he committed to running a full schedule at South Boston in 2023, Langley knew his best opportunity at being competitive was to work with Yeoman on replicating the setup from the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 while also making incremental changes more appropriate for different track conditions.

Langley added the experience of competing around the southeast also prepared him for the challenges South Boston was going to bring, specifically when it came to racing with respect and how to get the most out of a car.

“The [CARS Tour] guys definitely race you hard, and that’s made me a better driver,” Langley said. “You know what to expect, and you have to run hard the whole race.

“The guys at South Boston do the same thing, so being with the series helped me out from a longevity standpoint.”

Carter Langley’s three victories to open the 2023 season at South Boston Speedway were his first in a Late Model Stock. (Photo: Joe Chandler/South Boston Speedway)

Having worked with Langley for nearly two years, Yeoman believed it was only a matter of time before the young driver finally won against the best in Late Model Stock racing.

Dealing with inexperience inside a Late Model Stock is a natural learning curve Yeoman expected Langley to overcome. Although the duo did not obtain the desired consistency in 2022, Yeoman said Langley took a noticeable step forward with his confidence inside and outside the car.

Being more comfortable with his driving ability and communication is why Yeoman believes Langley has been so strong through four races at South Boston.

“[Carter] provides really good feedback,” Yeoman said. “He ran in go-karts and the Charger class before jumping into Late Model Stocks [in 2021], so it’s amazing he can provide the feedback he does. He is very respectful and races how he wants to be raced.”

As a Late Model Stock driver himself, Yeoman has passed down his knowledge to Langley on how to approach different tracks in the southeast, particularly when it comes to saving tires and not making careless decisions when racing other drivers.

Despite this, Yeoman admitted he had plenty questions of his own while he and Langley prepared for the 2023 weekly schedule at South Boston. Not only has Yeoman never raced at South Boston, but last year’s Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 was the first time he had even seen the facility.

The first four races of the year have offered Yeoman answers on what Langley can accomplish against South Boston’s seasoned regulars. Yeoman is optimistic they can fend off Sellers for the title while also tallying wins in crown jewel races like the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 and August’s Italian Delight Family Restaurant 280.

Yeoman said Langley would be a perfect addition to South Boston’s prestigious list of champions like Sellers, Philip Morris, Lee Pulliam, Frank Deiny Jr., David Blankenship and others, adding Langley evokes the same old-school approach he and many other short-track competitors have used to find success.

“Carter reminds me a lot of myself,” Yeoman said. “He’s not someone who just shows up to the racetrack, but he actually works on these things. When I was coming up, I was told if I didn’t work on the car, we wouldn’t go to the track. He’s not scared to get his hands dirty, and he offers tremendous help at the track.”

Langley is no stranger to blue collar work, as he balances out preparing Late Model Stocks with assisting his girlfriend’s family on their farm.

While the farm work is part-time for Langley, the hectic schedule has resulted in plenty of long days and nights. Yet the relentless, methodical pace of both jobs has only offered Langley more motivation toward perfecting his equipment.

“It’s definitely a lot of work,” Langley said. “I’m doing what I can to keep my car ready every week and try to do what’s best for me and my team. I want to make sure everything is in order so we’re 100 percent when we get to the track.”

Carter Langley (5) had to fend off Craig Moore (1) in the second 71-lap Late Model Stock feature on Apr. 1 for his third win on the year. (Photo: Joe Chandler/South Boston Speedway)

Holding his own as the South Boston Late Model Stock points leader doesn’t intimidate Langley, either, even though Sellers is well within striking distance.

Langley has dealt with inverts and heated on-track action to score his three victories so far this year, but he also understands the task at hand with keeping one of South Boston’s best drivers behind him for 10 more weekends.

With an old Philip Morris car at his disposal, Langley does not doubt he will have the speed to contend for the championship. Achieving that goal will come down to whether Langley and Yeoman can consistently adapt until the final night of racing on Sept. 2.

“I definitely have a target on my back right now,” Langley said. “Hopefully we can keep having good runs, but I honestly like having a target on my back. It makes me feel good about our team and our efforts at the track. Personally, I’d like to keep that target on me.”

Langley has set the benchmark for the rest of the South Boston regulars to follow. He does not expect anything to come easy, but he’s determined to hold his advantage and become immortalized as a champion at one of Virginia’s most cherished tracks.

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

BRISTOL, Tenn. – For the second time in three years, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. left a dirt-covered Bristol Motor Speedway with a top-five finish in the NASCAR Cup Series.

That comes as no surprise – the Mississippi native was slinging mud in sprint cars by age 15 and co-owns Stenhouse Jr. Marshall Racing, a World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series program he co-founded with Richard Marshall in 2017.

But the 2023 Daytona 500 champion hasn’t scored multiple top fives in a single season since 2020 when he landed three. After a fourth-place finish in Sunday’s Food City Dirt Race, Stenhouse now has two top fives on the year – an impressive rebound after a mechanical issue at Richmond left him 16 laps in the rears one week prior.

MORE: Recap the Bristol dirt race | Cup Series standings

“It says a lot about the hard work our guys have put in this offseason,” Stenhouse said. “I feel like at the end of every race, we’ve been pretty fast. You know, obviously, we had issues last week on that pit stop with our brakes. But we still had kind of a 12th-place average lap time throughout that whole race, even restarting at the back every time. So my guys are just doing a great job preparing the race cars.”

It’s been a quietly steady start to Stenhouse’s campaign, one that features a new-yet-familiar voice in his ear from crew chief Mike Kelley. In eight races, the No. 47 Chevrolet has finished inside the top 20 six times, including a seventh-place effort at Circuit of The Americas on March 26. Stenhouse had just one top 20 in the first eight races last year (10th at Auto Club Speedway).

“I think Mike’s done a fabulous job making sure that we’re prepared, and we have been way better coming to the race track,” Stenhouse said.

With preparation comes accountability across the board. The grind didn’t stop once the JTG Daugherty Racing team got to Bristol on Saturday.

“I was really proud of our team because after (Saturday’s) heat race,” Kelley told NASCAR.com, “we didn’t feel we were as good as we needed to be. And we worked till 11:00 last night on it. Worked on the sim. We wouldn’t let him (Stenhouse) go to sleep until we had good answers when we got back up this morning, and just kept digging on it to make sure we had a good car on the long run.”

The No. 47 team also has a stronger alliance with Hendrick Motorsports this season, a partnership that has proved fruitful for JTG Daugherty early.

“They’re working tight with the (Hendrick) guys and the Chevy guys,” Stenhouse said of his team at the shop. “We’ve not had that resource last year. So I think things like that are definitely helping our program. And when you put in the work, and you see the results, they just want to work harder and harder and put in more hours.”

Nearly a third of the way through the regular season, confidence is rising from the team’s Harrisburg, North Carolina, home base. Kelley is keen on growing that.

“I was wondering how tonight would go after (Richmond),” he said. “We had a really fast car, running top five and have an incident in the pits that took us out of contention. And I didn’t want it to stall the momentum that we’ve been building. And to come back here tonight and run well was what we needed to do.”

There’s reason to be optimistic. Martinsville Speedway is up next on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), and while Stenhouse has never been exceptional there, he does have two top-10 finishes on the half-mile paperclip. Then comes a superspeedway at Talladega before returning to Dover Motor Speedway, where he ran second in 2022.

“We’ve still got things to clean up, but our short tracks are way better than what they were last year. I’m excited to get onto mile-and-a-half race tracks. We were a little bit off at Vegas (24th). I think we know why. We were better at Fontana than we were at Vegas, but we got some really good race tracks coming up as well.”

Kelley’s goal from the pit box, meanwhile, fixates on building upon the positives before the NASCAR playoffs begin in September – when Stenhouse will begin his postseason championship hunt.

“Just getting everybody to believe in what we’re trying to do and keep our heads down and work on our cars and not worry about the outside world,” Kelley said. “Focus on the group that we have and the cars that we have and each track one at a time.”

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR officials added Kasey Kahne to its list of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers on Monday, a selection that coincides with his 43rd birthday.

Kahne was an 18-time winner in NASCAR Cup Series competition, prevailing in the Coca-Cola 600 three times (2006, 2008, 2012). He also won at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, clinching the last victory in his 15-year career in NASCAR’s top division.

RELATED: How the 75 Greatest Drivers works | More NASCAR 75 coverage

Kahne is the second driver added to the list of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers in recognition of the sport’s diamond anniversary. Tony Stewart joined the elite roster Sunday, and the rest of the 25 new honorees will join the previous 50 Greatest in the days leading up to NASCAR’s official throwback weekend at Darlington Raceway on May 12-14.

The Enumclaw, Washington, native won multiple races in all three NASCAR national series, adding eight Xfinity Series wins and five victories in just six Craftsman Truck Series starts. Kahne’s tenure in NASCAR ended in 2018; he currently competes full-time in the World of Outlaws sprint car series.

Kahne drove for three NASCAR Hall of Famers in his career, winning races for Ray Evernham, Richard Petty and Rick Hendrick.

MORE: All of Kasey Kahne’s Cup Series victories

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR officials issued an indefinite suspension of Cup Series driver Cody Ware on Monday.

The Iredell County (N.C.) Sheriff’s Office listed Ware in its jail records Monday, indicating he was held on a felony charge of “assault by strangulation — inflict serious injury” and a misdemeanor charge of “assault on female.” The sheriff’s records also indicated Ware’s bond was set at $3,000 after his arrest.

Ware sat out this weekend’s event at Bristol Motor Speedway’s dirt track, with Rick Ware Racing — the Cup Series’ team owned by his father — releasing a statement Saturday morning that the 27-year-old driver had stepped away “to focus on a personal matter.” Craftsman Truck Series regular Matt Crafton substituted for Ware in the No. 51 Ford, finishing 34th after an engine failure.

An update to the entry list Wednesday morning showed that Truck Series champion Zane Smith will drive the No. 51 car in Sunday’s Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway. It will mark Smith’s fourth Cup Series start.

Rick Ware Racing published a statement Monday afternoon confirming the news and suspension.

Ware has raced in the Cup Series since 2017. His best finish in 97 career starts is sixth place last August at Daytona International Speedway.

Posted on by Staff Report

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that Hendrick Motorsports will not appeal the penalties.

NASCAR handed out L1-level penalties on Thursday to the Nos. 24 and 48 Hendrick Motorsports teams in the Cup Series after last weekend’s races at Richmond Raceway.

As a result, William Byron (No. 24) and Alex Bowman (No. 48) each lost 60 driver points and five playoff points. The teams also lost 60 owner points and five playoff owner points. In addition, the team’s respective crew chiefs (Brian Campe and Greg Ives) were fined $75,000 and suspended for two points events starting April 13.

RELATED: Cup Series standings

On Monday, Hendrick Motorsports issued a statement indicating that the organization would not appeal the penalties, saying “we will be best served by devoting our time and resources to competing each weekend.”

The section referenced in the NASCAR Rule Book was 14.1.D Overall Assembled Vehicle Rules, 14.1.2.B Engineering Change Log and 14.5.6.B: Greenhouse. A NASCAR spokesperson confirmed that the penalty was for a modification to the greenhouse area on each car that was discovered during post-race inspection.

Here is the specific rule Hendrick was found to have violated: “The greenhouse may be modified to accommodate a windshield wiper motor where required; these modifications will be permitted for all race tracks. The greenhouse modification must conform to the following drawing:”

The greenhouse is the top portion of the Cup Series car, including the roof, plus the front and rear glass — everything from the top of the doors upward. Modifications to this area would be made by teams in an attempt to gain an aerodynamic edge.

Before the penalties, Bowman was atop the Cup Series standings while Byron was in fourth place, 35 points behind but with two race wins to his credit this season. Bowman’s drop to a seventh-place ranking elevates Ross Chastain to the series’ points lead. Byron fell to 14th in Cup Series points.

The two cars were selected for further inspection at the NASCAR Research & Development Center after last Sunday’s Cup Series event at Richmond Raceway. It’s the second significant penalty against Hendrick Motorsports in roughly three weeks’ time. All four of the organization’s teams were docked with L2-level penalties on March 15 for unapproved hood louvers during the Phoenix Raceway weekend. That punishment was reduced under appeal.

OTHER PENALTIES

In the Craftsman Truck Series, NASCAR levied L1-level penalties against the Nos. 4 and 51 teams of Chase Purdy and Jack Wood for Kyle Busch Motorsports and the No. 2 team of Nick Sanchez for Rev Racing for unapproved engine oil reserve tanks found in opening day inspection at Texas Motor Speedway. Each team will incur a loss of 10 driver points and 10 owner points.

RELATED: Truck Series standings

In addition, NASCAR suspended Jeff Shoaf and Ronnell Wilson indefinitely for behavioral violations. Jordan Anderson Racing listed Shoaf as a tire carrier on the No. 31 team’s roster for the Richmond Xfinity Series race, while the No. 20 team of Joe Gibbs Racing had Wilson on its roster as a fueler for the same race.

Posted on by John Crane

A strategic move following Stage 2’s conclusion during the Food City Dirt Race on April 9 might have initially gone unnoticed. That was, perhaps, by design for Christopher Bell.

After Tyler Reddick’s Stage 2 victory at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt, the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing driver decided to forgo a stop on pit road and instead opted to stay out with a handful of other drivers, including JGR teammate Denny Hamlin. Such a tactic proved to be the money maneuver for Bell as he led each of the final 100 laps en route to his first win of 2023 and his fifth overall in the NASCAR Cup Series.

“For me, it was (the winning call),” Bell said when talking about his strategic move. “We clearly were not the best car, but Adam (Stevens, crew chief) kept asking me what I needed, and I was like, ‘Man, I don’t know if you’re going to be able to help me enough on a pit stop adjustment to get me where I need to be.’ I just said, let’s stay out, and he believed in me and we were able to make it work.”

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Bristol

Such late-race dominance was not mutually exclusive to only the Easter Sunday contest. If anything, the victory only cemented how much of a force the No. 20 has shown to be so far in 2023.

Starting with the basics, statistics-wise, could help illustrate how strong Bell has been through the opening portion of the season. Including his Bristol Dirt Race win, Bell has amassed six top-10 finishes through the year’s first eight races, with his only two non-top-10 finishes resulting from crashes (Auto Club Speedway, Circuit of The Americas). And to make matters even better, five of those six top-10 finishes have also been top-five finishes.

The early-season success stands out even more when comparing his marks up against his JGR teammates. Not only does a victory set a precedent — no other JGR driver holds a win so far this season — but his top-five finishes do, too, as none of Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. or Ty Gibbs hold even one top-five finish so far this season, combined. Bell’s 10.6 average finish and 154 laps led additionally lead the quartet, with Truex (13.0 average finish, 72 laps led), Hamlin (15.1, 112 laps led) and Gibbs (16.0 average finish, zero laps led) all trailing the 28-year-old Norman, Oklahoma native.

MORE: Watch Bell slide to victory in Bristol Dirt Race 

Bell has made an early-season statement among the Cup Series field, too, with his six top-10 finishes tying the No. 20 JGR with the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet of Alex Bowman for the most in the Cup Series. And just for good measure, Bell’s average finish and laps led totals currently rank second and fourth, respectively, in the entire full-time field, trailing the Hendrick Motorsports trio in Bowman (9.9 average finish), Kyle Larson (438 laps led) and William Byron (385 laps led), plus the reigning Cup Series champion in Joey Logano (181 laps led).

While the season is not even 25% complete, Bell’s 2023 success compared to his teammates and the rest of the field cannot be understated. And if last season’s postseason success — winning the Round of 12 and Round of 8 cutoff races at the Charlotte Roval and Martinsville Speedway, respectively, en route to a Championship 4 appearance — is any indicator, perhaps Bell’s clutch factor this year is making an early title case. After all, Bell fell just short of the crown last year — finishing the 2022 season in third — and perhaps there is fuel for even more motivation this season, too.

Whatever the case, a keen sense of strategy goes a long way, and for Bell, 2023 has been all by design to showcase it.

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Tyler Reddick was a dirt-racing runner-up for the second consecutive year at Bristol Motor Speedway after the yellow and checkered flags waved Sunday night.

This year, the 23XI Racing driver was hunting Christopher Bell’s back bumper in the closing laps rather than trying to defend the lead as he did in 2022. He didn’t spin in the final corner this time around, avoiding a replay from when Chase Briscoe sent the duo sliding sideways and ultimately costing Reddick the win a season ago. But the disappointment was evident Sunday as he stood on pit road, the dust quite literally settling while Bell celebrated his triumph.

“I’ve really wanted to win a NASCAR dirt race for a very long time,” Reddick said. “So second is not a bad day, but I hope we get another shot at this because I really want to win here or anywhere that we put NASCAR stock cars on dirt.”

MORE: Full Bristol results | Best photos from Bristol Dirt Race

Reddick was left to wonder what could have been had he and his No. 45 team opted for a different play. He and teammate Bubba Wallace stayed out during the Stage 1 break, placing the two at the front of the field along with Spire Motorsports’ Ty Dillon.

That meant Reddick had to pit during the Stage 2 break at Lap 151 after winning the segment. While most competitors followed suit, nine others – including Bell – stayed out.

“I just wish we would’ve stayed more on strategy with the cars that were like … Bell and those guys,” Reddick said. “We kind of put ourselves in a little bit of a box. I really thought the track was gonna age, so I made the decision to stay out and then take the tires later.

“I think it could’ve worked, but I didn’t do a good job on the restart to start Stage 3, lost some spots, got behind some of the other cars that were on those newer tires.”

The ultimate result was Reddick’s fourth top-five finish in the past five NASCAR Cup Series races, a stretch that includes a victory at Circuit of The Americas. A late spin resulted in a 16th-place result at Richmond, but the team has found momentum since finishes of 39th (Daytona) and 34th (Fontana) to open the season.

“We’re learning a lot,” Reddick said. “Richmond was a bump in the road. We just missed it a little bit and continue fighting some little things detail-wise on the car, but that’s part of it. That’s part of the process.

“As long as we continue to learn from these things, I’d rather be fighting them now than in the playoffs.”

Still, the sting of coming so close on the dirt yet again lingers. Count him among those in favor of returning to the soil in 2024 as part of the yet-to-be-announced schedule.

“Until I win it, yeah,” Reddick laughed. “I really want to win it.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Before Sunday night’s Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Christopher Bell lamented that a “dirt guy” hadn’t won the NASCAR Cup Series’ only race on the red clay in Thunder Valley.

Bell fixed the problem—in a race that also saw hard feelings between pole winner Kyle Larson and Ryan Preece boil over.

Holding off charging Tyler Reddick in the final stage of the 250-lap race, Bell held a slim lead over Reddick when NASCAR called the 14th  caution with 200 yards left in the final circuit.

A dirt-track aficionado who won three straight Chili Bowl Midget Nationals from 2017-2019, Bell collected his first victory of the season and the fifth of his career.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Bristol

“Man, let me tell you, these are some of the longest laps of my entire life,” Bell said of the late stages of the race. “This place is so much fun, whether it’s dirt or concrete. Whenever the cushion got up there on the top, it was very tough, because you couldn’t drive it super hard. Otherwise, you’d get sucked in.

“If you got your right front into it, you’d push a little bit. If you got your right rear into it, you’d slide. It was a lot of fun.”

Bell used his experience on dirt to negotiate the two ends of the half-mile track, which featured markedly different racing characteristics.

“(Turns) 3 and 4, that was the scary corner for me, because if you got into it too far, you lost all your momentum,” the driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota explained. (Turns) 1 and 2, I think I kept hitting the wall a couple times.

“Seems like there was a little bit more moisture up there—it would hold me better. I’m like, ‘OK, I can really attack 1 and 2.’ But 3 and 4, I had to be careful… Definitely the track tonight favored experience.”

Staying out on old tires after the end of Stage 2, Bell led the last 100 laps. Reddick, on the other hand, forewent a pit stop after Stage 1 and won Stage 2, but paid the price with a pit stop at the second break and restarted 12th on Lap 151.

It wasn’t until Lap 223 that Reddick passed eventual fifth-place finisher Chase Briscoe for the second position, as Briscoe scraped the outside wall in Turn 4. Reddick began his pursuit of Bell, but the final caution foiled any opportunity he might have had.

“Yeah, towards the end there definitely feel like I had a little bit more,” Reddick said. “I thought I had the edge, but I wasn’t quite there in the last couple laps. Definitely found it.

“Just hate it for everybody on this (No. 45 23XI Racing) Toyota. Just needed to be a little bit closer than I was. I think with two (laps) to go, it would have been really bold to try to make that move work. Obviously, on the white flag coming into (Turns) 3 and 4, I was going to see. We’ll never know if it (would have) worked.”

Larson won 75-lap Stage 1 wire-to-wire, but he angered Preece with a move that forced the Stewart-Haas Racing driver into the outside wall. On Lap 175, 20 circuits after Larson spun and fell to the rear of the field, Preece returned the favor in Turn 4. Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet then shot to the inside into the door of Preece’s No. 41 Ford before spinning into the outside wall.

“Yeah, I’m guessing he was paying me back for whatever I did earlier,” said Larson, who exited the race with suspension damage to his car. “He ran me straight into the fence, and my car was broke and we crashed.

“It sucks, but I should just be mad at myself for spinning out earlier and putting myself back there. Just sucks.”

MORE: Preece, Larson tangle in Final Stage | See more key moments in the race

Austin Dillon ran third, followed by 2023 Daytona 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Briscoe and Justin Haley, as drivers with dirt-track backgrounds claimed the top six finishing positions. Martin Truex Jr., Todd Gilliland, Kevin Harvick and Ty Gibbs completed the top 10.

“I just have to thank (Speedway Motorsports Inc.) for all of the hard work they’ve done with this dirt racing,” Dillon said. “I don’t care what anybody says, that was an amazing show throughout the field. I felt like it was some great racing.”

The Cup Series will next trek to Martinsville Speedway on April 16 (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Note: Inspection is complete in the Cup Series garage with no issues, confirming Bell as the winner. No cars will be taken back to the NASCAR R&D Center for further inspection. 

Posted on by Staff Report

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Contact between Kyle Larson and Ryan Preece during Sunday’s Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway left Larson ousted and Preece insistent his final hip check was accidental.

Larson’s night came to an end after a side-swipe by Preece entering Turn 3 sent Larson spinning driver-side into the wall, ultimately ending his day. That incident followed an earlier collision on the frontstretch, when Larson slid Preece into the outside wall with both running inside the top five.

RELATED: Full race results | At-track photos

Preece didn’t take kindly to the contact, relaying on his radio he was sick of “excuses.” Larson, on the other hand, didn’t see an issue.

“I mean I haven’t seen the contact from earlier in the race. It was a tight, tight clear off of four,” Larson said. “Obviously I’m looking at my mirror and it didn’t seem that he was to my outside yet, and I don’t know if he got into the wall but he had a pretty short temper obviously. He was trying to crash me I think after that then was swerving at me under yellow.”

By the Lap 176 spin that sent Larson home early, both Preece and Larson had gone for respectively separate solo spins. The final contact came as both were working their way through the field.

“I think something happened to him off at two earlier and he ran in the back of somebody and spun out,” Larson said. “Like I said, it’d been probably an hour and a half, I would have to guess, since then. So I figured we could just be grownups and get the (expletive) over it, but I guess not.”

After the race, Preece denied any intent to wreck Larson as the two banged doors entering Turn 3.

“I was just trying to run the top. It was real slick,” Preece said. “Just got loose and we both ended up in the fence.

“I don’t know. I don’t race dirt. I tried running the top. I’m a guy that runs the bottom, and I know he was making speed up top. I tried to move up there and we were just too loose.”

The frustration was evident through his radio communications though, noting it was “game over” for other competitors as grievances grew following additional incidents at Circuit of The Americas on March 26.

“I think you just get mad getting run in the fence, right?” Preece said. “There was no meaning. It’s just from inside that race car, you’re like, well, I’m not gonna lift when it comes to being run into the fence.

“Every time you lift, if guys see you lifting when you’re at their right-rear corner, they’re just going to keep running you up into the fence. So I think when I (said) ‘game over,’ I meant I’m just not gonna keep lifting and giving that respect of, ‘hey, I’ll give you this room.’ It just comes down to that.”

MORE: Full weekend results from Bristol

Larson said he doesn’t believe he and Preece have had prior issues, noting he hasn’t raced much around him.

“I’m not gonna carry it forward, but really, I’m just mad at a lot of stuff,” Larson said. “I’m mostly mad at myself. You know, I shouldn’t have been back there. I spun out, so I shouldn’t be in (the infield care center) right now, but just racing.”

And Larson, at least initially, explained that he doesn’t plan to seek further discussion on the matter.

“I mean, what’s there to talk about?” he said. “Like, he’s mad at me. I guess I’m mad at him. What’s there to talk about?”

Preece finished 24th while Larson was relegated to a 35th-place result.

Both drivers are in for more door-to-door racing when the Cup Series heads to Martinsville Speedway on April 16 for the NOCO 400 (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), race three of a difficult short-track stretch.