Showers early, then cloudy in the afternoon. High 73F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%..
Partly cloudy. Low 53F. Winds light and variable.
Driver Martin Truex Jr. (51) poses with the PINTY'S Truck Race on Dirt winner's trophy after winning a NASCAR Truck Series race on Monday, March 29, 2021, in Bristol, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)
Austin Hill (16), Chase Purdy (23) and Parker Kligerman (75) race 3-wide at the 2021 Pinty's Truck Race on Dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Martin Truex Jr. celebrates his win in the 2021 Pinty's Race on Dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Martin Truex Jr. (51) battles Grant Enfinger (98) and Ben Rhodes (99) for the lead at the 2021 Pinty's Truck Race on Dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Martin Truex Jr. (51) leads Ben Rhodes (99) down the backstretch in the 2021 Pinty's Truck Race on Dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway.
John Hunter Nemechek (4), Derek Kraus (19) and Timothy Peters (25) wreck in turn 2 at the 2012 Pinty's Truck Race on Dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Driver Martin Truex Jr. (51) poses with the PINTY'S Truck Race on Dirt winner's trophy after winning a NASCAR Truck Series race on Monday, March 29, 2021, in Bristol, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)
Austin Hill (16), Chase Purdy (23) and Parker Kligerman (75) race 3-wide at the 2021 Pinty's Truck Race on Dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Martin Truex Jr. celebrates his win in the 2021 Pinty's Race on Dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Martin Truex Jr. (51) battles Grant Enfinger (98) and Ben Rhodes (99) for the lead at the 2021 Pinty's Truck Race on Dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Martin Truex Jr. (51) leads Ben Rhodes (99) down the backstretch in the 2021 Pinty's Truck Race on Dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway.
John Hunter Nemechek (4), Derek Kraus (19) and Timothy Peters (25) wreck in turn 2 at the 2012 Pinty's Truck Race on Dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway.
BRISTOL — Martin Truex Jr. stormed through the field at the 2021 Pinty’s Truck Race and left his competitors in his dust at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion, who has limited experience racing on dirt, surprised himself by dominating the Camping World Truck Series race on the track’s temporary dirt surface. Starting 15th, Truex raced the Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 51 Toyota to the lead at the end of Stage 1.
He led the final two stages, leading 105 of the 150 laps overall and rolling to a 1.149-second win over runner-up Ben Rhodes. Truex, whose only previous win at Bristol came on concrete in a 2004 Xfinity Series race, surprised himself with the strong performance.
“You always expect to win when you come to the race track, but I’m pleasantly surprised to say the least,” Truex said. “We came here this weekend and I wanted to run this truck just to get some experience and try to help with the Cup car. Who would have thought that I would get my first Truck Series victory on dirt?
“This was a lot of fun. We weren’t supposed to come here and win. That’s really the icing on the cake.”
It was the first career Truck Series win for Truex, who became the 35th driver to win in all three of NASCAR’s top three series.
Rhodes, driving the No. 99 Toyota, missed a shift on the final restart, allowing Truex to scoot away. Although Truex had been dominant all day, Rhodes closed some at the end. He felt the mistake took away a great opportunity to score his first Bristol win.
“I was running him back down the last few laps,” Rhodes said. “I had an issue getting it into fourth gear early on and didn’t think much of it. I just missed the shift. It’s a bummer, the closest I’ve been at winning here. I’m a little aggravated with myself. I really thought I could have brought home a trophy.”
Raphael Lessard and Todd Gilliland, a pair of other racers with limited dirt experience, finished third and fourth, respectively in a Chevrolet and a Ford. Chase Briscoe in a Ford rounded out the top five.
After concerns over Saturday heat races being canceled because of a muddy track and torrential rains causing another postponement Sunday, there were picture-perfect conditions for Monday’s race.
Top stories, delivered straight to your inbox.
It led to an action-packed race with 12 cautions for 56 laps and 11 lead changes.
While no one had the speed to match Truex, the racing was often two- and three-wide behind him.
Grant Enfinger, in a Ford, finished sixth with Chevrolet driver Zane Smith placing seventh. Parker Kligerman, driving the No. 75 Toyota for the Abingdon-based Henderson Motorsports team, was eighth. Austin Hill and Austin Wayne Self rounded out the top 10.
Six NASCAR Cup Series drivers, including Truex and Briscoe, were in the overall field.
Pre-race favorite Kyle Larson was never a factor during the race. He ran into the back of Mike Marlar’s slowed truck in turn 3 and was collected by Danny Bohn in the No. 30 as his truck spun sideways. He finished 35th in the 40-car field.
“My spotter said they were slow down the backstretch,” Larson said. “I saw everybody down at the bottom so I thought I would go up top and make up some spots. I committed to the top and there was somebody there. Then I slid down there and the 30 didn’t have anywhere to go.”
Other Cup drivers included Bubba Wallace in 11th, former series champion Kevin Harvick at 15th and Daniel Suarez finishing 17th.
Pole sitter John Hunter Nemechek, who was involved in a multi-track accident after contact with Matt Crafton, finished 39th. He remained the series points leader after Bristol, but wasn’t happy with Crafton or Derek Kraus, who slid into his wrecked truck seconds after he hit the wall.
“Matt just hooked me. I will keep that one in the memory bank,” Nemechek said. “I don’t know what’s wrong with the 19 (Kraus) and his spotter. I guess they need some glasses.”
Jeff Birchfield is a sports writer for the Johnson City Press with a lifelong passion for motorsports. The father of two attended ETSU and served in the Tennessee Army National Guard.
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Please disable your ad blocker, whitelist our site, or purchase a subscription