Drivers to watch for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol dirt

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With only one Cup race complete on Bristol Motor Speedway’s dirt surface, there isn’t a plethora of data points heading into this year’s event.

Ahead of Sunday night’s race (7 p.m. ET, Fox), though, there are some drivers who stood out more than others as Cup cars flung mud around the half-mile, clay-covered bullring.

Here are the drivers you should have your eye on entering this weekend’s dirt race:

FRONT RUNNERS

Joey Logano

  • Points position: 4th
  • Last three races: 31st — Circuit of the Americas; 17th — Richmond; 2nd — Martinsville
  • Last year at Bristol Dirt: Won the race and Stage 2, led 61 laps

Logano is the only active driver with a NASCAR Cup Series win on dirt, making him an immediate favorite for the second race at Bristol Dirt.

The Team Penske driver had a couple poor races at COTA and Richmond, but an impressive rebound at Martinsville Speedway saw the No. 22 Ford finish second while challenging William Byron for the win in overtime.

Logano had to hold off charges from Denny Hamlin and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in overtime a year ago in the dirt at Bristol and claimed the checkered flag. The 2018 champion doesn’t have tons of dirt experience, but participated in dirt late model races to prepare for last year’s event and will rejoin the Camping World Truck Series for its Saturday race this weekend.

William Byron

  • Points position: 3rd
  • Last three races: 12th — COTA; 3rd — Richmond; WIN — Martinsville
  • Last year at Bristol Dirt: Finished 6th after notching a 2nd-place finish in Stage 1

Byron is far better known for his ability in an asphalt late model, but the No. 24 Chevrolet had a decent showing at Bristol last spring.

Byron has now won two of the last four Cup races and established himself as a regular front runner in the series. If last year’s Bristol race proved anything, it’s that major dirt experience isn’t a requirement to run well in a Cup Series dirt race — evidenced by Logano, Daniel Suarez and Martin Truex Jr.

Momentum is in Byron’s favor. Whether that translates to the Bluff City red clay Sunday night is unknown, but hard to go against the only driver in the series with multiple wins this season after posting a top-10 finish here one year ago.

Daniel Suarez

  • Points position: 18th
  • Last three races: 24th — COTA; 16th — Richmond; 29th — Martinsville
  • Last year at Bristol Dirt: 4th in Stage 1, 2nd in Stage 2, finished 4th, led 58 laps

One of the biggest surprises in last year’s dirt race was Suarez, who took a still-new Trackhouse Racing car to the front of the field to lead 58 laps and bring home a top-five finish.

This year, Trackhouse has proven to be formidable on nearly every track type, but Suarez has struggled in the past three races, failing to score a top-15 finish after notching three top 10s in the first five races.

Bristol Dirt was the site of the organization’s first top five and Suarez already has two this season. The No. 99 team could back up last year’s performance Sunday night.

QUESTIONS TO ANSWERS

Denny Hamlin

  • Points position: 21st
  • Last three races: 18th — COTA; WIN — Richmond; 28th — Martinsville
  • Last year at Bristol Dirt: Finished 3rd in both stages as well as the race, led one lap

Hamlin was among the drivers with limited dirt experience who shined at Bristol a season ago. The No. 11 Toyota lined up second for the overtime restart but was unable to hold off Stenhouse, sending Hamlin back to third.

This year has been full of misses for the No. 11 team, which has failed to finish inside the top 10 in seven of the eight races. The lone exception, of course, was Hamlin’s win at Richmond Raceway on April 3.

Bristol Dirt is a beast of its own, so perhaps the woes that have plagued Hamlin will subside one more week.

Martin Truex Jr.

  • Points position: 7th
  • Last three races: 7th — COTA; 4th — Richmond; 22nd — Martinsville
  • Last year at Bristol Dirt: Led race-high 126 laps, won Stage 1, 4th in Stage 2; flat tire in OT while running 3rd

Truex dominated the Bristol Dirt weekend a year ago, leading the most laps in both the Cup and Truck races. He won the Truck Series race, but a flat tire in Cup Series overtime ruined what looked sure to be a top-five run.

But plenty is different about this year’s car than last, including an independent rear suspension and the banking in the corners.

Truex has arguably been Joe Gibbs Racing’s most consistent driver this season but has still yet to finish higher than fourth, where he finished at Richmond after leading 80 laps. But at his best track at Martinsville, Truex was a nonfactor. He and crew chief James Small should be eager to put that behind them with a strong run at Bristol.

Kyle Larson

  • Points position: 13th
  • Last three races: 29th — COTA; 5th — Richmond; 19th — Martinsville
  • Last year at Bristol Dirt: Involved in Lap 53 crash with Christopher Bell, finished 29th

Running fourth at Lap 53, Larson was taken out of contention when Christopher Bell spun from second directly in front of the No. 5 Chevrolet. Larson contacted Bell’s door and was subsequently slammed in the left front by Ross Chastain.

Larson is unquestionably the top dirt racer in Cup and was expected to be the favorite in last year’s race. That hasn’t changed this season as PointsBet lists the defending series champion as the favorite at (+500) odds.

But Larson has had a terrible start to the season with five finishes of 19th or worse in eight races. His saving grace is the other three finishes are a win at Auto Club Speedway, a runner-up at Las Vegas and a fifth-place finish at Richmond. The dirt race might come at the perfect time for Larson.

Portland Xfinity race results, driver points

Portland Xfinity results
Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images
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Cole Custer went from fourth to first on the overtime restart when the top three cars made contact and went on to win Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Portland International Raceway. Custer is the 10th different winner in 13 races this season.

MORE: Portland Xfinity race results

MORE: Driver points after Portland Xfinity race

JR Motorsports took the next three spots: Justin Allgaier placed second, Sam Mayer was third and Josh Berry was fourth. Austin Hill completed the top five.

John Hunter Nemechek remains the points leader after 13 races. He has a 14-point lead on Hill. Nemechek leads Allgaier by 44 points.

Cole Custer wins Xfinity race at Portland in overtime

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Cole Custer held off Justin Allgaier at the finish to win Saturday’s Xfinity Series race in overtime at Portland International Raceway. It is Custer’s first victory of the season.

JR Motorsports placed second, third and fourth with Allgaier, Sam Mayer and Josh Berry. Austin Hill finished fifth.

MORE: Race results, driver points

Custer went from fourth to first on the overtime restart when Parker Kligerman, who restarted third, attempted to pass Allgaier, who was leading. Sheldon Creed was on the outside of Allgaier. All three cars made contact entering Turn 1, allowing Custer to slip by. Creed finished seventh. Kligerman placed 14th.

Custer won the second stage when John Hunter Nemechek made contact with Creed’s car while racing for the lead on the final lap of the stage. The contact spun Creed and Custer inched by Nemechek at the line.

Early in the final stage, Creed gained revenge with contact that spun Nemechek, who went on to finish 10th. A few laps later, Nemechek and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Sammy Smith had issues. Smith spun Nemechek. After getting back around, Nemechek quickly caught Smith and turned into Smith’s car, damaging it.

STAGE 1 WINNER: Sheldon Creed

STAGE 2 WINNER: Cole Custer

WHO HAD A GOOD RACE: Despite the contact on the overtime restart, runner-up Justin Allgaier managed to score his fourth consecutive top-three finish. … Sam Mayer’s third-place finish is his best on a road course. … Austin Hill’s fifth-place finish gives him four consecutive top-five results.

WHO HAD A BAD RACE: Daniel Hemric finished 33rd after a fire in his car. … Riley Herbst placed 32nd after an engine issue. After opening the season with six top 10s in a row, Herbst has gone seven races in a row without a top 10.

NEXT: The series competes June 10 at Sonoma Raceway (8 p.m. ET on FS1).

Truck race results at WWT Raceway: Grant Enfinger wins

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Grant Enfinger took the lead when the leaders wrecked in the final laps and held off the field in overtime to win Saturday’s Craftsman Truck Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway.

It is Enfinger’s second win in the last five races. He also collected a $50,000 bonus for winning the Triple Truck Challenge.

MORE: Truck race results

MORE: Driver points after WWT Raceway

Christian Eckes finished second and was followed by Stewart Friesen, Carson Hocevar and Chase Purdy.

Ty Majeski and Zane Smith wrecked while racing for the lead with six laps to go. Majeski, running on the inside of Smith, slid up the track and clipped Smith’s truck. Both hit the wall. That put Enfinger in the lead.

Smith finished 20th. Majeski placed 30th.

STAGE 1 WINNER: Grant Enfinger

STAGE 2 WINNER: Stewart Friesen

WHO HAD A GOOD RACE: Grant Enfinger’s victory is his fourth top 10 in the last five races. … Carson Hocevar’s fourth-place finish is his fourth consecutive top-five result. … Stewart Friesen’s third-place finish moved him into a playoff spot with four races left in the regular season. … Matt DiBenedetto‘s sixth-place finish is his third consecutive top 10. … Jesse Love finished ninth in his series debut.

WHO HAD A BAD RACE: Ty Majeski had a chance to take the points lead with series leader Corey Heim out because of illness, but Majeski’s 30th-place finish after running at the front most of the day, leaves him behind Heim. … Hailie Deegan finished 32nd after contact sent her truck into the wall hard. … After finishing a career-high third last week at Charlotte, Dean Thompson placed 34th Saturday due to an engine issue.

NEXT: The series races June 23 at Nashville Superspeedway (8 p.m. ET on FS1)

Xfinity starting lineup at Portland: Sheldon Creed wins pole

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Sheldon Creed scored his first career Xfinity Series pole by taking the top spot for Saturday’s race at Portland International Raceway.

Creed, making his 50th career series start, earned the pole with a lap of 95.694 mph on the 1.97-mile road course.

MORE: Portland Xfinity starting lineup

Cole Custer will start second with a lap of 95.398 mph. He is followed by Josh Berry (94.242 mph), John Hunter Nemechek (95.127) and Charlotte winner Justin Allgaier (94.897). Road racing specialist Jordan Taylor, driving for Kaulig Racing, qualified sixth at 94.772 mph.

The green flag is scheduled to wave 4:46 p.m. ET Saturday on FS1.