Practice #1 : Bristol Motor Speedway (Dirt)

Pinty's Truck Race on Dirt

Monday, March 29th, 2021

Bristol Motor Speedway (Dirt) , Bristol, TN

Bristol Motor Speedway (Dirt) logo
  • 14
  • 6
  • 24

  • Bristol Motor Speedway (Dirt)
  • Pinty's Truck Race on Dirt
  • Pole Winner: John Hunter Nemechek
  • Age: 24
  • Team: No. 4 - Mobil 1 Toyota
  • Owner: Kyle Busch Motorsports
  • Crew Chief: Eric Phillips
  • Start positions set by NASCAR's Performance Metrics Qualifying (PMQ).
  • John Hunter Nemechek won the Pole Award for the Pinty's Truck Race on Dirt by having the highest total PMQ.
  • PMQ is a total number calculated on four performance metrics from the previous race:
  • 15% of the driver's fastest lap time position.
  • 25% of the driver's final race finish position.
  • 25% of the owner's final race position.
  • 35% of the Owner Points position.

  • Monday, March 29th, 2021
  • NASCAR Wire Service - Reid Spencer
Martin Truex Jr. wins the Pinty’s Truck Race on Dirt at Bristol

In defiance of conventional wisdom, it wasn’t an experienced dirt racer who won Monday’s twice-rain-delayed Pinty’s Truck Race on Dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Nor was it a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular who took the checkered flag.

When the dust settled, Martin Truex Jr. was the unlikely occupant of Victory Lane—and a dominant one at that. Racing in the Camping World Truck Series for the first time since 2006, Truex led 105 of the 150 laps in an action-filled race that featured 12 cautions for 54 laps and saw pre-race favorite Kyle Larson and series leader John Hunter Nemechek in the garage with wrecked trucks at the finish.

It was the first career win for Truex in his third career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start, but it was the third straight victory this season for a Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota—and 83rd overall. Truex is the 35th driver to win in all three of NASCAR’s top touring series.

“It’s unbelievable, really,” said Truex, who was using the Truck Series race to prepare for the NASCAR Cup Series event later on Monday afternoon. “I guess they had to put dirt on Bristol to get me back to Victory Lane here. It’s been a long time. Man, that was a blast.

“I wanted to run this race so I could get more experience with the Cup car, and we got out there in practice and it felt really good. And I was having a lot of fun, so I just kept trying to work with the guys and tell them what I needed. It was really amazing how much the track changed, but I will have to say the (No. 51 Tundra) stayed really, really good the whole time.”

Truex took control of the race after reigning series champion Sheldon Creed led Laps 2 through 39. Ben Rhodes lined up beside Truex on the front row for the final restart on Lap 139 but missed a shift, dropped briefly to third and fought his way back to the runner-up spot.

Rhodes finished 1.149 seconds behind Truex, with Todd Gilliland coming home third and Chase Briscoe and Grant Enfinger completing the top five.

“We were running them back down there the last few laps, but, yeah, just the worst restart of my life,” Rhodes said. “Early in the race, I had an issue of getting it into fourth gear and missed a shift early on, but I really didn’t think nothing of it and had clean shifts afterwards—and then just missed it. Bummer for my guys, but the closest I’ve been to winning here at Bristol was on the dirt.”

Nemechek exited after a Lap 49 crash, spinning after contact from Matt Crafton’s Ford and sustaining heavy damage when the No. 19 of Derek Kraus slid into his No. 4 Toyota as it sat near the outside wall of the half-mile high-banked speedway.

Larson was unable to avoid the slow truck of Mike Marlar on Lap 99 and sustained extensive damage to his No. 44 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet after heavy contact with the No. 30 Toyota of Danny Bohn in the same incident.

“My spotter said they were slowing down the backstretch, and a I saw some trucks slowing on the bottom, so I was running the top,” said Larson, who was set to start the subsequent NASCAR Cup Series race from the rear of the field because of an engine change in his No. 5 Chevrolet. “I thought ‘I’m going to get a lot of spots here in (Turn) 3.’ So I ended up top, and there was somebody parked there.

“We were fighting. Our truck wasn’t very great, but we were making adjustments on it… I still learned something for the Cup race, which was nice… learned how to pass people, so starting in the back, that’s a help.”

  • Drivers Entered: 44 (8 drivers will not make the race)
  • Laps Scheduled: 150
  • Margin of Victory: 01.149 Seconds
  • Time of Race: 1 Hours 49 Minutes 30 Seconds
  • Average Speed: 41.096
  • Cautions: 12 for 56 laps
  • Lead Changes: 11
  • Green Flag Passes: 1,510 (16.1 passes per green flag lap)

  • Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt
  • Pinty's Truck Race on Dirt
  • Race Winner: Martin Truex Jr.
  • Age: 40
  • Team : No. 51 - Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota
  • Owner: Kyle Busch Motorsports
  • Crew Chief: Mardy Lindley
  • Martin Truex Jr. won the Pinty's Truck Race on Dirt, his first victory in three NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races.
  • This is his first victory and first top-10 finish in 2021.
  • This is his first victory and first top-10 finish in his series debut at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt.
  • Ben Rhodes (second) posted his first top-10 finish in his series debut at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt. It is his fourth top-10 finish in 2021.
  • Raphael Lessard (third) posted his first top-10 finish in his series debut at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt.
  • Chase Purdy (18th) was the highest finishing rookie.
  • This is Kyle Busch Motorsports 83rd victory in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
  • Martin Truex Jr. has now become the 35th different driver all-time to win in all three NASCAR national series.
Ben Rhodes celebrates in victory lane
Avondale, Arizona - November 3, 2023 : Ben Rhodes, driver of the #99 Kubota Ford, celebrates in victory lane after winning the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship, finishing first of the Championship 4 drivers in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Craftsman 150 at Phoenix Raceway.
Chris GraythenGetty Images
DRIVER
DRIVER
#
MAKE
SINGLE BEST LAP
RANK
SPEED
TIME
BHND
LAP
LAPS
TOTAL
MULTI-LAP AVERAGES
5-LAP
10-LAP
15-LAP
20-LAP
25-LAP
30-LAP
10-LAP AVG
SPEED
FROM
TO

Raphael Lessard
24
Chevrolet
1
92.860
19.384
0.000
11
31
86.590
5
14
Carson Hocevar
42
Chevrolet
2
92.803
19.396
0.012
9
32
91.069
4
13
Hailie Deegan
1
Ford
3
92.698
19.418
0.033
10
23
91.185
3
12
Chase Briscoe
04
Ford
4
92.631
19.432
0.047
6
23
0
0
Stewart Friesen
52
Toyota
5
92.474
19.465
0.081
2
33
0
0
Tanner Gray
15
Ford
6
92.388
19.483
0.099
4
44
87.441
1
10
Todd Gilliland
38
Ford
7
92.298
19.502
0.118
17
67
91.525
14
23
Sheldon Creed
2
Chevrolet
8
92.190
19.525
0.141
9
51
88.677
24
33
Tyler Ankrum
26
Chevrolet
9
91.935
19.579
0.195
9
37
85.644
15
24
Brett Moffitt
45
Chevrolet
10
91.893
19.588
0.204
6
50
0
0
John Hunter Nemechek
4
Toyota
11
91.874
19.592
0.208
14
38
90.901
6
15
Kyle Larson
44
Chevrolet
12
91.823
19.603
0.219
3
31
85.590
17
26
Chase Purdy
23
Chevrolet
13
91.743
19.620
0.236
7
74
90.213
4
13
Matt Crafton
88
Toyota
14
91.426
19.688
0.304
5
45
86.000
17
26
Zane Smith
21
Chevrolet
15
91.394
19.695
0.311
4
49
85.520
19
28
Kevin Harvick
17
Ford
16
91.343
19.706
0.322
12
51
90.034
3
12
Austin Wayne Self
22
Chevrolet
17
91.255
19.725
0.341
4
40
80.697
2
11
Ben Rhodes
99
Toyota
18
91.236
19.729
0.345
10
40
85.636
10
19
Jessica Friesen
62
Toyota
19
91.093
19.760
0.376
10
51
89.590
2
11
Myatt Snider
33
Chevrolet
20
90.859
19.811
0.427
8
33
84.147
3
12
Grant Enfinger
98
Toyota
21
90.813
19.821
0.437
12
53
87.231
10
19
Bubba Wallace
11
Toyota
22
90.685
19.849
0.465
8
48
86.609
7
16
Jake Griffin
34
Toyota
23
90.548
19.879
0.495
4
31
83.918
9
18
Parker Kligerman
75
Chevrolet
24
90.539
19.881
0.497
12
44
87.272
14
23
Mike Marlar
56
Chevrolet
25
90.530
19.883
0.499
3
35
83.971
9
18
Johnny Sauter
13
Toyota
26
90.457
19.899
0.515
7
32
0
0
Chandler Smith
18
Toyota
27
90.448
19.901
0.517
7
41
86.784
5
14
Andrew Gordon
49
Chevrolet
28
90.294
19.935
0.551
2
26
78.816
12
21
Martin Truex Jr
51
Toyota
29
90.135
19.970
0.586
11
44
85.218
27
36
Danny Bohn
30
Toyota
30
90.032
19.993
0.609
8
40
0
0
Codie Rohrbaugh
9
Chevrolet
31
89.838
20.036
0.652
5
33
85.601
2
11
JR Heffner
3
Chevrolet
32
89.691
20.069
0.685
11
45
88.083
3
12
Austin Hill
16
Toyota
33
89.691
20.069
0.685
15
32
88.521
12
21
Ryan Truex
40
Chevrolet
34
89.534
20.104
0.720
10
31
84.395
21
30
Cody Erickson
41
Chevrolet
35
89.494
20.113
0.729
8
58
86.853
15
24
Timothy Peters
25
Chevrolet
36
89.352
20.145
0.761
4
8
0
0
Derek Kraus
19
Toyota
37
89.087
20.205
0.821
13
46
87.719
12
21
Ryan Newman
39
Ford
38
88.964
20.233
0.849
10
41
86.328
15
24
Norm Benning
6
Chevrolet
39
87.230
20.635
1.251
5
13
0
0
Tate Fogleman
12
Chevrolet
40
86.814
20.734
1.350
9
36
86.310
5
14
Trevor Collins
83
Chevrolet
41
86.368
20.841
1.457
10
16
84.585
7
16
Daniel Suarez
02
Chevrolet
42
86.149
20.894
1.510
7
28
82.657
10
19
Spencer Boyd
20
Chevrolet
43
85.030
21.169
1.785
17
32
83.795
21
30