Hailie Deegan was slated to line up for her second Bristol Dirt appearance in the 26th position by order of her qualifying race results. However, NASCAR moved her to the tail end of the field for having to switch to a backup Wastequip Ford F-150 after a cut tire forced her into the outside wall during Friday’s practice.
The 20-year-old took to the high side early, quickly gaining ground despite battling a truck that was tight under acceleration. Amid a close midfield battle, Deegan crossed the line in 25th position to end Stage 1.
After adding spring rubber and making adjustments to strengthen drive-off, Deegan found success running half of a lane off the cushion. A strategy call to forgo pitting after Stage 2 gave Deegan vital track position heading into the closing stage.
Restarting in 12th position on old tires, the Ford Performance prospect had to be aggressive to stay at the front of the pack. A brief slide up the track forced her row four-wide, opening up the bottom to the charging field behind her. Firing off 18th after the final caution, she held steady and defended her position to net her second-straight Top-20 finish of the 2022 season.
Tanner Gray, No. 15 Ford Performance F-150
Start: 35th
Finish: 15th
Tanner Gray rolled off 35th for the Pinty’s Truck Race on Dirt after overheating issues forced him to retire early from his qualifying race. At end of Stage 1, he was up to the 24th position.
The Ford driver was battling a tight handling condition throughout the early run and he pitted at the stage break for tires and fuel to go along with trackbar and spring rubber adjustments.
Gray rolled the bottom lane up to 18th in the first half of Stage 2, but as the grip began to fade down low, he fell back to 23rd by the end of the stage.
After another round of adjustments at the stage break, Gray was hovering around 22nd for much of the final stage. A pair of late cautions allowed the 23-year-old driver to mount his charge forward as he bolted to 17th on the restart with 18 laps to go and from 17th to 15th on the final restart.
Harrison Burton, No. 17 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford F-150
Start: 26th
Finish: 20th
After finishing 6th during his preliminary qualifying race, Harrison Burton would start in 26th position for the Pinty’s Truck Race on Dirt. The 21-year-old made an initial charge after the green, rocketing five places in the first 25 laps before settling into 23rd at stage end.
Veteran Crew Chief Chad Johnston made the call for four tires, fuel and a handling adjustment on the Hunt Bros. F-150 as the team headed into Stage 2. However, Burton was hindered by slight nose damage sustained on the final lap of the first stage, as he attempted to avoid a truck that made contact with the outside wall.
Making the bottom a priority as the run wore on during Stage 2, Burton finished 26th at the conclusion of Stage 2.
Continuing to find speed at the bottom, Burton would fight his way up through the mid-pack. A caution flag on lap 130 allowed the No.17 to jump up two more positions in the race’s concluding laps, crossing the line in 20th position for the Pinty’s Truck Race on Dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Joey Logano, No. 54 Planet Fitness Ford F-150
Start: 1st
Finish: 6th
Joey Logano drove from sixth to the win in his qualifying race to claim the Cometic Gasket Pole for the Pinty’s Truck Race on Dirt.
The former Cup Series champion settled into second from the drop of the green flag, but a late restart in the opening stage shuffled him to fourth where he would finish Stage 1.
After a round of pit stops, Logano restarted fourth and ran as high as third in Stage 2 but ultimately settled for fifth when the green-checkered waved.
At the second stage break, the team made chassis adjustments in addition to tires and fuel to gear up for the final stage. Logano restarted 16th after many trucks stayed out and methodically worked his way forward on each restart down the stretch.
When the checkered flag dropped, the veteran driver crossed the line in sixth.
Next event: Dead On Tools 200 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina on May 6 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
