"I should have just shoved him out" – Hamlin

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emailBy Kelly Crandall | March 29, 2021 9:10 PM

Denny Hamlin admitted he wasn’t aggressive enough at the end of the Bristol dirt race, but he wanted to race Joey Logano for the win cleanly.

“I should have just shoved him out,” Hamlin said. “When I had position on the bottom, I should have just moved up and got him in the dust and got rid of him. But I just wanted to pass him clean. I didn’t (move him), so I didn’t win.”

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The end of the race came down to an overtime attempt, and a single-file one at that. NASCAR officials made that decision at lap 170 because of visibility issues due to excessive dust. Hamlin was on Logano’s bumper for the final restart, but instead of following the leader on the bottom into Turn 1, Hamlin went to the outside, hoping to power by that way.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver wouldn’t be drawn on how much the single-file restart affected his chances, but said his preference would have been to line up alongside Logano on the front row for the final restart.

“I had an opportunity to choose whether I was going to make a move on the high side or the low side,” Hamlin said. “I chose high, and the track was just too slick up there at the time. He didn’t get a very good restart. I was on him entering Turn 1. That tells me if I can start beside him, then I had an opportunity there to be ahead of him getting in (Turn) 1.

“But it is what it is. We all had to adapt. We knew after halfway or so when they changed it that was going to be the rule for the rest of the race. Those are the cards we’re dealt.”

Hamlin finished third to Logano and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. When his move into Turn 1 didn’t work, instead getting into the marbles, Hamlin lost the runner-up spot to Stenhouse.

But Hamlin thought he had a shot at getting his first win of the season. Instead, he has now finished third or fourth in the last four straight races, and he leads the overall point standings. In Bristol, he had the second-best average running position of any driver (4.06) and finish third in both the stages and the race.

“Because I think me and the 22 [Logano] race differently,” Hamlin said when asked why he didn’t drive through Logano for the race win off the final restart. “I don’t have that mentality.”

 

Logano holds on for overtime win on Bristol's dirt

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emailBy Kelly Crandall | March 29, 2021 5:14 PM

Joey Logano became the first NASCAR Cup Series winner on Bristol Motor Speedway’s dirt with a victory in overtime late Monday.

Logano held off Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Denny Hamlin by staying committed to the bottom line and driving away in the final two laps. He led the final 61 laps after taking the lead from Daniel Suarez before the end of the second stage.

The win is the second consecutive for Team Penske, and Logano is the seventh different winner in seven races this season.

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“Man, it’s incredible,” Logano said. “How about Bristol on dirt? This is an incredible, unbelievable racetrack – great job by everyone that prepped the track. Obviously, a lot of work over here the last few days.

“We did a lot of work in the dirt department here the last few weeks, my buddy Ryan Flores and my car chief Jerry Kelley doing a good job with the modified and just making laps and learning where I was going. A lot of that helped. Kevin Buskirk helped a lot, too. He has a lot of knowledge – and obviously Paul Wolfe, this team. Great car, obviously, to be able to execute the race that we did and get a win.

“I was getting nervous. There were so many first-time winners and different winners (this season) than there have typically been. I said, ‘We’ve got to get a win to make sure we get in the playoffs,’ so it’s amazing to get this Shell/Pennzoil Mustang into victory lane at Bristol. There’s nothing like winning at Bristol, but putting dirt on it and being the first to do it is really special.”


Hamlin decided to go to the outside on the overtime attempt. But, saying officials hadn’t prepped that part of the track before the restart, Hamlin wound up in the marbles, and it cost him the second position to Stenhouse.

Suarez finished fourth after leading 58 laps and Ryan Newman rounded out the top five.

William Byron finished sixth, Tyler Reddick seventh, Ryan Blaney eighth, Erik Jones ninth, and Chase Elliott 10th.


Hamlin led the race’s first lap before giving way to teammate Kyle Busch who led the next seven. A third Joe Gibbs Racing driver, Martin Truex Jr., took control on lap 9 and dominated until lap 134. Truex won the first stage, but after losing the lead to Suarez, he never again held the top spot.

Truex, who won the Truck Series race earlier in the day, led a race-high 126 laps but finished 19th. He lined up third on the overtime attempt, but his Toyota didn’t turn when going into Turn 1 and dropped down the leaderboard.

NASCAR officials decided to go to single-file restarts starting on lap 170 due to visibility issues when the surface became dusty. The only lead change after the decision was Logano getting around Suarez two laps after a 192 restart. Logano controlled the race from there to the finish.

Officials also used 10 minutes to prep the track at the break for the conclusion of Stage 2.

“It was definitely a challenge,” Logano said. “When they watered down the track the last stage, that kind of changed everything. Denny and I had a heck of a race because he found grip up top, and I was like, ‘Well, I don’t know how to do that,’ so I had to go up there and try to figure that out to defend the lead position and then eventually just worked the lapped cars. That was very hard – as well as it should be. Everybody is racing to stay on the lead lap, so I was able to get through them as needed and, of course, the late-race caution, but what an amazing team.

“Everyone at Team Penske really put together some really good cars to come here and wing it. That’s what this is about. Nobody really knew what to put in the car, and we were able to adjust the right way throughout practice and get into victory lane. It’s great.”

The Food City Dirt Race had five lead changes among five drivers and 10 cautions for 37 laps.

 

Suarez, Trackhouse lay down a marker at Bristol

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emailBy Kelly Crandall | March 29, 2021 9:22 PM

Daniel Suarez might not have known what he was doing on the dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway, but he turned flying blind into a fourth-place finish on Monday.

“Honestly, I am just very, very proud of my team that they brought a very fast car, and I was able to learn as I went,” said Suarez. “It was a challenge. Probably five days ago was my first time ever in a dirt car. It was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed it a lot.

“Overall, I felt that we’re very close. That always brings a smile to my face, but it wasn’t close enough. So, we have to keep working. Now I’m excited actually that we’re going to come back next year with another shot to race and compete for the win in Bristol on dirt.”

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Last week, Suarez logged some laps in a late model at a track in Tennessee to experience dirt for the first time. But he also ran the Camping World Truck Series race at Bristol with Young’s Motorsports, which ran hours before the Cup Series race. Suarez finished 17th in the truck event.

It was in the second stage where Suarez and the No. 99 Trackhouse Racing team impressed. While Suarez started 18th, he steadily and quickly drove forward, and eventually caught and drove around Martin Truex Jr. for the race lead on lap 135. Suarez led 58 laps and remained in the top five for the rest of the event. As the racetrack began to change, so too did Suarez’s car, and he lost rear grip and the ability to challenge for the lead again.

“It’s a learning curve,” Suarez said. “I’m still learning about all this dirt racing… I wasn’t expecting the racetrack to change that much, but it did. That’s something I have to keep in mind for next year.”

Bristol marks the first top-five finish for Suarez and Trackhouse Racing and their best finish to date. (It was previously 15th at Homestead). Through the first seven races, Suarez has led 74 laps with his new team, which is more than he led in 2020. And he already has one more top 10 finish than he earned last year.

“It was a really a good day for us running up front, leading laps, and staying in the top 10, top five the entire race,” Suarez said. “But if you look at it, last week we were very similar. I mean, we didn’t lead laps, but I made a mistake in the last pit stop, and that took away our chance to finish either fifth or sixth. It’s the second week in a row that we’ve been running strong.

“I don’t see this as, OK, we ran good because we’re on dirt. I feel like everyone at Trackhouse Racing has done an incredible job to work hard on these cars, get them better. We have a lot of support from RCR, engines and chassis, and everything. I feel like we are still a long way to go from where we want to be, but we’re heading in the right direction. Hopefully, we can compete in the top 10, top five like we’ve been doing the last couple weeks on a weekly basis, and eventually, we’re going to get a trophy.”