Posted on by Staff Report

With only two Bristol Dirt races in the books for the NASCAR Cup Series, there isn’t much data to dissect for making a prediction. Nonetheless, our fearless prognosticators at Racing Insights march forward.

FANTASY LIVE: Set your roster | See weekend schedule

Showing up at the top of this week’s projections is last week’s winner, Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports. Larson checks off a few boxes for Sunday’s Food City Dirt Race (7 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Bristol Motor Speedway.

First, Larson has a dirt background and is famous for squeezing in grassroots events between his Cup Series races, so his experience level on dirt is more than your average Cup driver. Larson is also on a hot streak, winning last week at Richmond and finishing in the top five three times in the past five races.

With Friday’s practice rained out and only Saturday’s qualifying to examine, Larson remained the top call. He will roll off first in Sunday’s race.

OTHERS TO WATCH

TYLER REDDICK: He led 99 laps last year before being wrecked while leading on the final lap. Reddick has finished in the top 10 in both Bristol Dirt races and comes from a dirt background. His 16th-place finish last week at Richmond snapped a streak of three straight top-five finishes this season. Starting lineup position: Sixth.

JOEY LOGANO: Logano won the inaugural Bristol Dirt Race in 2021 and finished third last season. He led 61 laps en route to his victory in 2021. Logano finished seventh at Richmond and won recently at Atlanta. Starting lineup position: 12th.

MARTIN TRUEX JR.: He does not come from a dirt background, but his 126 laps led on the Bristol dirt are the most among all drivers. Truex Jr. is coming off an 11th-place finish at Richmond, where he was running third before having to put on scuff tires during the race’s last pit stop. Starting lineup position: 27th.

KYLE BUSCH: The defending race winner has nine career Cup victories at Bristol. He was running third on the final lap last year when Briscoe spun Reddick and opened the door for Busch to steal the win. Busch had three straight top-10 finishes this season before finishing 14th last week at Richmond. Starting lineup position: Fifth.

CHASE BRISCOE: He led 59 laps in last year’s Bristol Dirt Race, but the aforementioned spin on the final lap relegated him to a 22nd-place finish. He comes to Bristol looking to break a cold spell with six finishes of 12th or worse to start the season. Starting lineup position: 14th.

Projections as of Sunday, April 9.

RACING INSIGHTS’ PROJECTIONS FOR THE FOOD CITY DIRT RACE

Finish Car No. Driver
1 5 Kyle Larson
2 22 Joey Logano
3 8 Kyle Busch
4 24 William Byron
5 12 Ryan Blaney
6 4 Kevin Harvick
7 11 Denny Hamlin
8 48 Alex Bowman
9 99 Daniel Suárez
10 19 Martin Truex Jr.
11 14 Chase Briscoe
12 6 Brad Keselowski
13 20 Christopher Bell
14 1 Ross Chastain
15 45 Tyler Reddick
16 17 Chris Buescher
17 7 Corey LaJoie
18 43 Erik Jones
19 34 Michael McDowell
20 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
21 2 Austin Cindric
22 9 Josh Berry
23 54 Ty Gibbs
24 38 Todd Gilliland
25 3 Austin Dillon
26 31 Justin Haley
27 41 Ryan Preece
28 23 Bubba Wallace
29 10 Aric Almirola
30 21 Harrison Burton
31 77 Ty Dillon
32 42 Noah Gragson
33 16 A.J. Allmendinger
34 15 J.J. Yeley
35 51 Cody Ware
36 13 Jonathan Davenport
37 78 BJ McLeod

 

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Martin Truex Jr. left no doubts Saturday — there are no issues between him and crew chief James Small after their heated post-race radio communications one week ago at Richmond Raceway.

The animated discussion sparked after the checkered flag when Small apologized for running Truex out of fresh tires before the final pit stop of the race. When everyone darted to pit road for the day’s last stops, the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing team only had worn, scuffed tires to put on the car instead of fresh Goodyears. Truex plummeted from third to 11th on the final run — unaware of the tire deficit since Small didn’t tell him previously.

MORE: Gordon, Letarte examine the call | Cup Series standings

A pit stop at Lap 72 ultimately doomed the team’s strategy — but that visit down pit road was the result of a mistake all along.

“The decision to pit in the first stage was radio issues,” Truex said Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway. “And that comes back to haunt us at the end of the race. He made the right decision. It just never got to me or my spotter because of a radio issue.”

Small confirmed his message was simply never heard on Sunday afternoon ahead of the Food City Dirt Race (7 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“We had kind of talked about maybe we were going to come or whatnot,” Small told NASCAR.com of the Lap 72 decision. “And then when it was evident that no one was coming at all, I told him to stay out, and he never heard it. You know, the guys even got off the wall.

“And then all of a sudden (spotter) Drew (Herring) is calling 10 (stalls) away and the car’s coming, and we’re like, ‘oh, (expletive).’ So yeah, unfortunate timing. Not sure why. It’s on all our recordings all of that, but yeah. (Expletive) happens.”

As for any animosity between the 2017 series champion and his crew chief? None. Any frustration was put to bed minutes after the race.

“I mean, you have to move past it,” Truex said. “Obviously, James and I have worked together for a while and we have a great relationship. And he gets fired up. I get fired up sometimes, not very often, you know, and those things happen. Like I said, heat of the moment. We were all just mad and you know, 30 minutes later, we were talking on the phone like everything was fine. So it’s just part of what you do here. It’s intense, intense competition.”

Three-plus seasons into a crew chief-driver dynamic, their relationship is “good as gold,” Small said.

“We’re disappointed and you know, we both got emotional at the time. And we just want to do our best and win. And you’d hate it if he wasn’t mad, you know? I was more mad than him probably. So, you know, we’re good and we’re ready to go.”

Truex and Small have worked together as crew chief and driver since 2020, but their familiarity dates back to 2017, when Small joined Furniture Row Racing as an engineer. In Small’s time as crew chief, the duo has won five points-paying races — highlighted by a four-win campaign in 2021 — in addition to a victory in February’s exhibition Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

But after leading 56 laps at Richmond, their winless streak in points races extended to 51 races, a drought that features Truex’s 2022 absence from the playoffs, his first miss since 2014.

The anger that burst through the radio after last week’s race was the culmination of those losses.

“I mean, we’re working hard, doing all we know how to do, and it’s just like, you know, what’s gonna happen next?” Truex said.  “It’s a shame. … It just builds up. Frustration builds up and things like that happen and it ends up costing you at the end of the day when it was a decision, you know, three hours ago.”

Despite the zero that sits in the win column dating back to September 2021, the No. 19 team has had numerous near misses, including Las Vegas and Nashville a season ago ahead of their Richmond errors.

“It’s frustrating for sure,” Small said. “We’ve been close so many times, like you said, but you’ve got to draw the positives from it. The guys on pit road, they had an awesome day (at Richmond), you know, tremendous. We had a small issue you’re on the last stop with a wheel nut, but it just gives everybody faith in our process.

“You’ve seen it time and time again with the 19 team. Like if we stick to our process, do all the things right, we can contend for wins and have days where we’re dominant, and it’s just eventually it’s gonna go our way. You know, you can’t keep being that fast and continually having everything turn to (crap).”

Ultimately, Small chose not to relay information of the tire deficit to Truex, noting on the radio their chances to win were doomed anyway. But Truex admitted having more context about his circumstances may have helped in the final run to the checkered flag.

“I wouldn’t have been so just surprised and frustrated,” Truex said. “You know, I just didn’t know. So it was like a surprise to me. I would have been more prepared I guess. … We didn’t really talk about why he didn’t tell me. I guess he was hoping I would do something magical. But it was really out of my hands at that point.

“So I was just confused at first obviously because I didn’t know, and then just (ticked) off because, you know, feel like we had the race won and then all that happens. It’s been like that for a while. Just ready for things to turn and hopefully go our way one of these days.”

After winning the Clash back in February, Small said Truex was “a different person right now” and cited a heightened motivation. That rings true two months later, Small said, with their relationship “better than ever” and talking more often than any season prior.

“I think he’s just more determined than ever,” Small said. “You know, we came off a year last year where we obviously didn’t win a race, for whatever reason and we all have a point to prove.

“We feel like if everything goes right, we can win a championship again. You know, we’ve been close before. We were super close in ’21. And that’s the game. And we just keep battling all year and get there at the end.”

Posted on by Dustin Albino

Given Friday was a wash at Bristol Motor Speedway, Cup Series teams didn’t know what they had until the 15-lap qualifying heat on Saturday. Even that can be a moving target, given it was just four, 15-lap qualifying heats. However, there were some pleasant surprises, such as USAC Triple Crown winner J.J. Yeley, who gave Rick Ware Racing a qualifying position of third. It’s his best starting position since winning the pole in 2007 at Michigan International Speedway for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Dustin Albino’s race-day lineup:

Starter 1: Kyle Larson
Starter 2: Christopher Bell
Starter 3: Tyler Reddick
Starter 4: Kyle Busch
Starter 5: Chase Briscoe
Garage pick: Austin Dillon

NEXT IN LINE: Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Bubba Wallace.

RELATED: Updated race-day odds | Set your lineup

RISING: Earlier this week, I highlighted how poorly Austin Dillon had run in the two previous editions of the Bristol Dirt Race (average finish of 26th). But the No. 3 car made quick work from his fifth starting position to get to the lead in the first qualifying heat en route to leading 13 of the 15 laps. Dillon has plenty of dirt racing experience and could be a factor Sunday evening (7 ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Ryan Blaney has deep ties to the dirt racing community. His father Dave Blaney has competed across the country in the World of Outlaws and big block modifieds. His uncle Dale Blaney is a multi-time All Star Circuit of Champions champion. On Saturday, Blaney led wire-to-wire in the second qualifying heat and has top-10 finishes in each of the previous two Bristol dirt races. Maybe he’s got a future racing on dirt, eh?

FALLING: In a stacked opening qualifying heat that had six drivers with a multitude of dirt racing experience, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. drew the pole. The No. 47 Chevrolet dropped quickly and ended up finishing fifth. While his dirt experience could come in handy on Sunday, his car didn’t seem to have the sheer speed that other cars did just in his qualifying heat alone.

Expectations for Justin Haley were high going into the weekend — he’s a proven winner in the dirt world. But the No. 31 Chevrolet lacked speed, falling two spots in his qualifying heat. Unfortunately, it could be a tough weekend for Haley this weekend, as he starts deep in the field: 25th.

FEATURED MATCHUPS

Kyle Busch vs. Joey Logano: Both drivers drew deep positions in the final qualifying heat, but Busch powered his way from sixth to battling for the win with Bubba Wallace. Logano gained three positions to fifth. This is tricky, but given Busch will start from fifth, it’s hard to bet against the No. 8 team. Then again, the No. 22 crew won from 10th starting position two years ago. He will start the race in 12th on Sunday.

Tyler Reddick vs. Daniel Suárez: Suárez had a strong showing in the first Bristol dirt race, but Saturday was probably his worst day at the track thus far in 2023. The No. 99 Chevrolet was running last in the final qualifying heat and looped around before his car wouldn’t restart. Meanwhile, Reddick had a fun battle with Dillon for the heat win in the opening heat. Reddick is the easy choice.

Christopher Bell vs. Kyle Larson: Both drivers had a fun opening lap in their respective qualifying heats. Bell pulled a four-wide move to drive from eighth to fifth — and eventually finished third. Larson went from sixth to first (!) in the first lap of his qualifying heat. These two heavyweights will likely be in contention for the win. And though Larson is likely going to get the glory for starting on the pole, I’m leaning toward the No. 20 team with the maneuverability in his car and how stout his qualifying heat was. Bell will take the green flag from fourth.

Alex Bowman vs. Chase Briscoe: Despite having a broken middle finger on his left hand that will require surgery next week, Briscoe had a strong outing to finish second in Heat No. 2. Bowman dropped two spots to fourth in the opening heat. The story of Bowman’s season has been consistency, and he will likely continue that on Sunday. But for whatever reason, drivers tend to perform better injured, and Sunday could be Briscoe’s strongest showing this year.

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Ty Majeski has flown under the radar early in 2023, but his success can’t be ignored much longer.

The Wisconsin native short-tracker stormed to a runner-up finish in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race Saturday night on the dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway, his fifth top-six result in the first six events this season.

MORE: Full race recap | At-track photos

Majeski was a mainstay at the front of the field — often behind one-off teammate Joey Logano’s rear bumper — throughout a full-contact night on the half-mile bullring. Majeski said Logano’s No. 66 Ford was “probably just overall, just a little bit better” than his No. 98 truck, but Majeski made the defending Cup Series champion earn the win on the final restart with nine laps to go.

The end result was an impressive showing for ThorSport Racing, which landed three of its five trucks inside the top five with Matt Crafton’s fourth-place run.

“Just glad we got ThorSport in Victory Lane,” Majeski said. “Really cool to have all our trucks really run well all day today. I don’t know. I thought maybe, at times, I can maybe match him on the long run, it was starting to flip a little bit. And every time that was happening, we’d get a yellow. So I don’t know if we could have done anything with him, but I don’t know, maybe it just made him nervous. That probably would have been about it.”

Logano noticed that speed in his rear-view mirror — along with some help from first-time spotter Ryan Blaney.

“(Majeski) was fast in the heat race, started in the back, finished the second to us,” Logano said. “He looked to be a little bit better than us in the heat race. He was able to find some speed into (turn) three. That’s what I was saying earlier, how Blaney kind of relayed that information to me.”

Ty Majeski and Zane Smith race on Bristol dirt
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

In a race loaded with cautions — 11 yellow flags for 64 laps — Majeski often found himself restarting alongside Logano on the front row. Logano’s launches off the top lane propelled him to a significant advantage Majeski simply couldn’t overcome.

“I was just trying to keep heat in my tires. I just could not fire,” Majeski said. “It would take five laps. Like William Byron would get around me, and then I’d pass him back. I just could not get going on the restarts to fire. I don’t know if it was an air pressure thing or what, but I don’t know. We were just a little bit off tonight.”

Being a little off still resulted in Majeski’s best finish of the year to date. The defending Bristol winner — albeit a victory on concrete in September — has yet to finish worse than 11th through six Truck Series races this season and continues to build on the foundation built in 2022. Triumphs at Bristol and Homestead-Miami Speedway during last year’s playoffs launched Majeski and crew chief Joe Shear Jr. to the Championship 4, all in Majeski’s first full-time Truck Series season.

“We have fun doing this together, and I think that’s (where) a lot of it gets lost in the NASCAR world,” Majeski said. “Everyone takes it so seriously, and it’s a job. We legitimately have fun going to the race track together. We have a great, tightly-knit team, and we work well together. And when you’re going to the race track, and you’re excited to go, and you’re having fun, all those guys in the shop are gonna that extra little bit for you to make these trucks as good as they can. So we’re just clicking right now.

“Joe and I get along well. We talk every day, whether I’m at the shop or not. We’re putting good race trucks out there.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Moonlighting in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series on Saturday night, Joey Logano performed the perfect Bristol Stomp in winning the Weather Guard Truck Race on Dirt.

The reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion swept the first two stages of the race at Bristol Motor Speedway’s Dirt Track, led 138 of the 150 laps and crossed the finish line 1.241 seconds ahead of ThorSport Racing teammate Ty Majeski.

“My fun meter was pegged tonight,” said Logano, who won the second Truck Series race of his career. “I had a lot of fun out here racing at Bristol. The dirt’s a lot of fun.

“Hopefully, tomorrow is just as good with the other car.”

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Bristol

Logano will start 12th in his No. 22 NASCAR Cup Series car in Sunday’s Food City Dirt Race at the half-mile track. He won the inaugural Cup Series dirt race at Bristol in 2021.

Majeski ran a strong second but was no match for his teammate.

“He’s a two-time Cup champion for a reason,” Majeski said. “Just happy we got ThorSport in Victory Lane. ThorSport deserves to be in Victory Lane — just wish it was us. Just one spot short.

“Overall, he was just better than us tonight. I thought maybe, at times, if we would have had a long run, I might have been able to match him or at least make him nervous. Just wasn’t in the cards for us.”

Long runs were not the order of the day. The race was punctuated by 11 cautions for 64 laps as trucks rubbed fenders, cut tires and spun on the slick clay surface with predictable frequency. Out front for virtually the entire race, Logano avoided the chaos behind him.

“They gave me a great race truck,” said Logano, who pressed Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney into service as his spotter. “We qualified good in the heat race and were able to drive to the lead pretty early in the race and were pretty much able to control it.

“I’m not sure we learned anything for (Sunday) because I didn’t get to race a whole bunch, but it was fun leading all those laps. I had a great spotter up there in Blaney. He kept me entertained and light-hearted and a (was) a whole lot of fun, too.”

MORE: Watch Logano’s dirt-track burnout

William Byron, a two-time Cup winner this season, ran third in the No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Chevrolet. Matt Crafton was fourth, followed by Grant Enfinger, Jake Garcia, Chase Briscoe, Tanner Gray, Kaden Honeycutt and Matt DiBenedetto.

Dirt late model ace Jonathan Davenport finished 14th, one spot behind Hailie Deegan, who ran as high as third during the early stages of the race.

Majeski leads the series standings by 34 points over defending champion Zane Smith, who was collected in a three-truck accident on Lap 95 and finished 21st.

The Truck Series will next race at Martinsville Speedway on April 14 (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on by Reid Spencer

Kyle Busch’s last season with Joe Gibbs Racing didn’t live up to the driver’s expectations.

Busch won only one race, the Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, and that victory was a gift. The first and second-place cars of Tyler Reddick and Chase Briscoe spun in front of him in the final corner, and Busch was able to beat Reddick to the finish line.

RELATED: Cup lineup for Sunday | Bristol Dirt schedule

As it turned out, that lone triumph extended Busch’s streak of winning at least one race per season to 18 straight years, tying him at the time with Richard Petty for the NASCAR Cup Series record.

Thanks to his victory at Auto Club Speedway in late February, Busch now has sole possession of the record.

Busch never thought a Cup win on dirt would be so integral to preserving his streak.

“No, no, definitely not,” Busch said. “It certainly shines a light of just how important every single race, every single week is. And for the nature of us going to all these different venues and having the diversity that we do in the race tracks that we go to is fun to a point.”

Busch also pointed out how perilous it is to drive a Cup car on dirt.

“These things here, you’re literally trying to not spin out when you’re going around there on the race track,” Busch said. “So how do you make a pass when you’re already past the limit of spinning out? It’s tough. It just makes for a tough race.

“Makes it for a little better track position race. No different than anything else that we really do. But that dirt race last year was certainly significant to my years of winning races and capitalizing on that when we did. Lucky for us.”

Posted on by Staff Report

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will determine the starting lineup for tonight’s Weather Guard Truck Race on Dirt (8 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) with four heat-race qualifiers. Qualifying orders were determined based on random draws. The full heat lineups can be found here.

RELATED: Heat race results | At-track photos: Bristol

Heat Race 1:

It was the Ben Rhodes show during the opening heat as the No. 99 Ford took control of the field during the initial laps and held strong through a Kris Wright caution to win the heat after starting third. Hailie Deegan, Chase Purdy, Stefan Parsons and Taylor Gray rounded out the top five.

Heat Race 2:

After starting fourth, Stewart Friesen won the second heat race. Zane Smith and Chase Briscoe — both drivers who started outside the top five (10th and sixth, respectively) — finished second and third. Parker Kligerman and Christian Eckes rounded out the top five.

Heat Race 3:

Two red flags through the early laps eventually saw Joey Logano lead and finish atop the field. Ty Majeski, Nick Sanchez, Corey Heim and William Byron rounded out the top five.

Heat Race 4:

Matt Crafton and Rajah Caruth battled for the lead through the opening half of the heat. However, the No. 88 of Crafton edged out the No. 24 by a hair to win the final heat. Kaden Honeycutt, Grant Enfinger and Spencer Boyd rounded out the top five.

Starting lineup top 20:

1. Zane Smith
2. Ty Majeski
3. Kaden Honeycutt
4. Joey Logano
5. Stewart Friesen
6. Hailie Deegan
7. Ben Rhodes
8. Matt Crafton
9. Taylor Gray
10. Chase Briscoe
11. Grant Enfinger
12. Corey Heim
13. Christian Eckes
14. William Byron
15. Rajah Caruth
16. Chase Purdy
17. Nick Sanchez
18. Mason Massey
19. Bret Holmes
20. Stefan Parsons

MORE: See full starting lineup

Five drivers failed to qualify for Saturday night’s main event: Lawless Alan, Josh Reaume, Jerry Bohlman, Jessica Friesen and Andrew Gordon.

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

BRISTOL, Tenn. — NASCAR will use an LED drone marker to signify the choose area ahead of restarts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and NASCAR Cup Series races on the dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend.

This weekend marks the first time drivers will be able to choose their preferred lane on an impending restart on dirt, darting to the left of the marker to choose the inside lane or right for the outside lane. The drone will fly to the frontstretch just past the start/finish line, with the box lighting up to signify the choose zone.

MORE: Bristol schedule | At-track photos

With an ever-changing racing surface, an alternative way to mark the location of the choose section was necessary, noted Jesse Little, NASCAR’s senior coordinator of competition operations.

“The project I think was spearheaded by Tim Bermann (senior director, competition operations) and the folks in broadcasting, productions and then competition operations,” Little told NASCAR.com Saturday. “And the question that was thrown to the group was, hey, we’re choosing everywhere now, that includes dirt. Can’t paint on the track. We don’t want anybody running out there. We don’t want anyone on pit road that would in the event, retrieve something from the racetrack. So what do we do?

“And Tim immediately started brainstorming and coming up with some thoughts and questions and what can we implement? What can be seen during the day? What can be seen at night? What is visible to drivers? What will be visible to spotters, fans and TV? And you know, I think so far it’s been received very well.”

Two-time and defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano was one of the competitors spectating an early demonstration of the orange LED drone marker from pit road on Saturday afternoon. His first impressions?

“Cool!” he told NASCAR.com. “I don’t know, I think it’s neat. It’s a unique way of doing it, right? You look at other Saturday night short-track stuff on dirt and they do the cone and they pull the cone across afterwards and we’ve one-upped it. I think it’s cool.”

At paved facilities, a choose “V” is painted on the track to designate the choose area. If competitors drive over the orange square centered in the “V,” a penalty is issued to the driver. Officials will be closely monitoring drivers’ decisions this weekend to determine whether a driver will be subjected to penalty.

“We’ve communicated it to the competitors as don’t put us in a situation that might even resemble a questionable look,” Little said. “And they understand, and we’ve given them a good outline of how that will look. And it’ll be discussed thoroughly and vetted extensively up in the tower, and we’ll make sure that it’s fair and consistent and at the end of the day the right call will be made.”

Logano will be competing in both the Truck Series and Cup Series events this weekend. Having the ability to choose a preferred lane on dirt is a new wrinkle — and yet a familiar one.

“It’s just like everywhere else, right? What’s the preferred lane?” Logano said. “It’s going to probably change, the preferred lane. Are you willing to give up rows for that preferred lane? It’s risk vs. reward on all of it.”

With the drone sitting above the track surface, visibility won’t be a concern, he added.

“It’ll be more visible than what you see on the track,” Logano said. “You can never see it on the track, so that’s much better. Might want to do it everywhere.”

Little said there are no current plans to implement the choose drone elsewhere, but NASCAR will welcome feedback regarding the process.

“It’s pretty fun to know that we, as NASCAR, I think, are going to be one of the first (motorsports sanctioning bodies) around the nation to fully officiate with the drone,” he said. “So we’ll certainly take what we learned from this week in a way and see what happens.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Cody Ware, driver of the No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford Mustang in the NASCAR Cup Series, will step away from racing this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway to focus on a personal matter, the team announced Saturday afternoon.

Ware, 27,  was set to compete in Sunday’s Food City Dirt Race (7 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR). The team will hand over driving duties to three-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion and veteran Matt Crafton, driver of the No. 88 ThorSport Ford. Crafton will also compete in Saturday’s Weather Guard Truck Race on Dirt (8 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, Sirius XM NASCAR).