NASCAR Bristol Recap
The NASCAR Cup Series got down and dirty once again at the “Last Great Colosseum,” Bristol Motor Speedway. In the third year of the dirt-track event at the half-mile, Christopher Bell picked up a win for the “dirt-track specialists,” holding off Tyler Reddick in the closing laps.
Pre-race favorite Kyle Larson started on pole for the 250-lap event and ended up leading all of the first 75 laps en route to a Stage 1 victory.
The opening stanza of the race wasn’t without its incidents, though, as four cautions flew in the first stage. Bubba Wallace and inaugural Bristol dirt race winner Joey Logano went for a spin in turn four on lap 11. The incident was the first of several that Logano was involved in before retiring with crash damage after 96 laps.
Denny Hamlin and Richmond runner-up Josh Berry then got tangled up off of turn four on the final lap of the stage, bringing out the caution that ensured a Larson victory.
Reddick was among a group of drivers who opted not to pit at the end of Stage 1, and inherited the lead for the start of Stage 2 as a result.
The big storyline of the middle portion of the race surrounded dust-ups between Larson and Stewart-Haas Racing driver Ryan Preece. The drama began on the Stage 2 restart after Larson ran Preece up and into the outside wall in turn four. Preece expressed his displeasure by pulling up alongside Larson and gesturing at his car under the next caution.
Preece then went for a spin on lap 103 after contact with Ty Dillon broke his car’s right rear toe link.
Back at the front of the field, Reddick continued to lead nearly all the way through the second stage and held off a last-corner charge from Austin Dillon to win the stage by a car length.
Reddick was forced to pit following the end of the second stage, however, and that allowed Bell to inherit the lead while Reddick would be mired back in traffic to begin the final 100 laps.
The drama between Larson and Preece continued in the last stage, starting with Larson’s solo spin on lap 156 that left him mired in traffic.
Preece and Larson then renewed pleasantries with 76 laps to go, as Preece ran Larson up high off of turn four and the drivers banged off of each other several times before Larson spun into the wall in turn one, ending his race.
Bell continued to lead as the race wound toward its conclusion, but Reddick had worked his way back through traffic and up to second for the final restart of the race with eight laps to go.
Bell pulled away by several car lengths, but Reddick found some speed running up on the cushion and closed the gap to within two car lengths as the leaders took the white flag.
After a big turn one and two, Reddick seemed poised to try and make a move for the win in the final set of corners. However, a crash on the backstretch between Berry and Ross Chastain forced NASCAR to call a caution, effectively ending the race and ensuring that Bell would hold on for his first victory of the season.
The win was Bell’s fifth of his career and allowed him to grab the lead in the regular season points standings.
The NASCAR Cup Series continues its short track swing on Sunday, April 16 as the tour crosses the state line and heads to Martinsville Speedway in Virginia.
Kasey Kreider is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email kmk6865@psu.edu.
