James Small calculated the risk and took a chance. On Lap 217 of Sunday’s Shriners Children’s 500, the crew chief for the No. 19 Toyota instructed NASCAR Cup Series driver Martin Truex Jr. to remain on the 1-mile, low-banked, tri-oval track at Phoenix Raceway and not pit.
The decision paid off in the short term as Truex pulled away from the field, extending his lead to five seconds after lapping Erik Jones with 52 rotations to go.
The long-term strategy soon started falling apart as Truex was forced to pit on Lap 271, handing the momentum over to Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell, whose advantage grew to four seconds with 30 rotations remaining.
Truex emerged from pit row in 22nd place. As Bell cruised to the checkered flag, Truex rallied to finish seventh. The 2017 Cup champion has finished out of the top five after 17 consecutive outings.
Still, it was a risk Smalls calculated the team needed to make.
50 laps to go.@MartinTruex_Jr is leading, but he cannot make it on fuel.@CBellRacing just passed @TyGibbs for 2nd.@dennyhamlin is 15th after his spin.#TeamToyota pic.twitter.com/YN1qWhBmVj
— Joe Gibbs Racing (@JoeGibbsRacing) March 10, 2024
NASCAR Weekend Schedule At Bristol Motor Speedway
Here is a list of NASCAR’s events this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway (All Times ET):
Saturday
- 3 p.m.: Truck Series practice
- 3:40 p.m.: Truck Series qualifying
- 5 p.m.: Cup Series practice
- 5:50 p.m.: Cup Series qualifying
- 8 p.m.: Truck Series Weather Guard Truck Race
Sunday
- 3:30 p.m.: Cup Series Food City 500 race
How excited are the drivers (and you) that the classic #FoodCity500 is back on concrete?!
Oh yea…WE’RE NEXT!
🎟 https://t.co/jRTYOMlTYZ#ItsBristolBaby #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/sXtW04Sbhn— Bristol Motor Speedway (@ItsBristolBaby) March 11, 2024
NASCAR Cup Series Food City 500 Entry List
Entry, Driver, Team, Car No.
- 1, Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing, No. 1 Chevrolet
- 2, Austin Cindric, Team Penske, No. 2 Ford
- 3, Austin Dillon, Richard Childress Racing, No. 3 Chevrolet
- 4, Josh Berry, Stewart-Haas Racing, No. 4 Ford
- 5, Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports, No. 5 Chevrolet
- 6, Brad Keselowski, RFK Racing, No. 6 Ford
- 7, Corey LaJoie, Spire Motorsports, No. 7 Chevrolet
- 8, Kyle Busch, Richard Childress Racing, No. 8 Chevrolet
- 9, Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports, No. 9 Chevrolet
- 10, Noah Gragson, Stewart-Haas Racing, No. 10 Ford
- 11, Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 11 Toyota
- 12, Ryan Blaney, Team Penske, No. 12 Ford
- 13, Chase Briscoe, Stewart-Haas Racing, No. 14 Ford
- 14, Kaz Grala, Rick Ware Racing, No. 15 Ford
- 15, AJ Allmendinger, Kaulig Racing, No. 16 Chevrolet
- 16, Chris Buescher, RFK Racing, No. 17 Ford
- 17, Martin Truex Jr., Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 19 Toyota
- 18, Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 20 Toyota
- 19, Harrison Burton, Wood Brothers Racing, No. 21 Ford
- 20, Joey Logano, Team Penske, No. 22 Ford
- 21, Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing, No. 23 Toyota
- 22, William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports, No. 24 Chevrolet
- 23, Daniel Hemric, Kaulig Racing, No. 31 Chevrolet
- 24, Michael McDowell, Front Row Motorsports, 34 Ford
- 25, Todd Gilliland, Front Row Motorsports, No. 38 Ford
- 26, Ryan Preece, Stewart-Haas Racing, No. 41 Ford
- 27, John Hunter Nemechek, Legacy Motor Club, No. 42 Chevrolet
- 28, Erik Jones, Legacy Motor Club, No. 43 Chevrolet
- 29, Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing, No.45 Toyota
- 30, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., JTG Daugherty Racing, No. 47 Chevrolet
- 31, Alex Bowman, Hendrick Motorsports, No. 48 Chevrolet
- 32, Justin Haley, Rick Ware Racing, No. 51 Ford
- 33, Ty Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 54 Toyota
- 34, Zane Smith, Spire Motorsports, No. 71 Chevrolet
- 35, Carson Hocevar, Spire Motorsports, No. 77 Chevrolet
- 36, Daniel Suárez, Trackhouse Racing, No. 99 Chevrolet
You’ve NEVER seen it like this before!#ItsBristolBaby #NASCAR #FoodCity500 pic.twitter.com/F8WigJZr1L
— Bristol Motor Speedway (@ItsBristolBaby) March 6, 2024
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
