2023 Weather Guard Truck Race on Dirt

Race details
Race 6 of 23 of the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Date	April 8, 2023
Official name	3rd Annual Weather Guard Truck Race on Dirt
Location	Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, Tennessee
Course	Permanent racing facility 0.533 mi (0.858 km)
Distance	150 laps, 79 mi (128 km)
Scheduled Distance	150 laps, 79 mi (128 km)
Average speed	39.301 mph (63.249 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Zane Smith	Front Row Motorsports
Grid positions set by heat results
Most laps led
Driver	Joey Logano	ThorSport Racing
Laps	138
Winner
No. 66	Joey Logano	ThorSport Racing
Television in the United States
Network	FS1
Announcers	Adam Alexander, Phil Parsons, and Michael Waltrip
Radio in the United States
Radio	MRN

The 2023 Weather Guard Truck Race on Dirt was the 6th stock car race of the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and the 3rd iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, April 8, 2023, at a dirt version of Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee, a 0.553 miles (0.890 km) permanent oval-shaped short track. The race took the scheduled 150 laps to complete. In a wreck-filled race that brought numerous cautions, Joey Logano, driving for ThorSport Racing, would put on a dominating performance, winning both stages, leading 138 of the 150 laps, and earning his second career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win, along with his first of the season.^[1] To fill out the podium, Ty Majeski, driving for ThorSport Racing, and William Byron, driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

Background

Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Despite its short length, Bristol is among the most popular tracks on the NASCAR schedule because of its distinct features, which include extraordinarily steep banking, an all concrete surface, two pit roads, and stadium-like seating.

In 2021, the race shifted to a dirt surface version of the track and was renamed the Pinty's Truck Race on Dirt.^[2] On January 25, 2021, NASCAR announced the stage lengths of all events in all three series. According to the stage lengths, it states the race will consist of 150 laps.

Heat qualifying

Practice was originally scheduled to be held on Friday, April 7, at 5:35 PM EST, and 8:02 PM EST, but was cancelled due to rain showers. Qualifying was held on Saturday, April 8, at 4:30 PM EST. For qualifying, drivers will be split into four different 15 lap heat races, and their finishing position will determine the starting lineup.^[3][4] Ben Rhodes, Stewart Friesen, Joey Logano, and Matt Crafton would win the four heat races, and Zane Smith would earn the pole.^[5]

Race results

Stage 1 Laps: 40

Stage 2 Laps: 50

Stage 3 Laps: 60

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Ty Majeski 259 2 Zane Smith 225 (-34) 3 Ben Rhodes 212 (-47) 1 4 Matt Crafton 198 (-61) 1 5 Christian Eckes 194 (-65) 6 Grant Enfinger 188 (-71) 7 Corey Heim 170 (-89) 4 8 Tanner Gray 156 (-103) 5 9 Matt DiBenedetto 150 (-109) 1 10 Nick Sanchez 148 (-111) Official driver's standings Note: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.

References