Kyle Busch, Ben Rhodes, The Last One’s Standing at Bristol

NASCAR ventured out to Bristol Motor Speedway for Easter Weekend, but with a twist, much similar to last season, this Bristol race was run on dirt. Before 2021, NASCAR had not contested a Cup race on dirt since 1970.

In the truck series race, the race was won by defending champion Ben Rhodes, earning his first win of 2022. Rhodes led for the first 91 laps of the 150-lap race, as well as winning both stages, but would end up pitting at the end of stage two, sending him to the back. Rhodes was originally planning to pit at the end of stage one but had missed the entrance. Despite the mishap, it all worked out for Rhodes as he ended up passing by Carson Hocevar with four laps to go to score the win. John Hunter Nemechek, Parker Kligerman, and Christian Eckes rounded out the top five. Joey Logano, who started from the pole, ended up finishing sixth.

“My crew gave me such an awesome Tundra this weekend that I wasn’t going to let them down,” said Rhodes in his post-race interview. “I had to go back up there and earn the spot back. I’m really proud of all their effort.”

Rhodes, who earned his sixth career truck series victory, leaves Bristol with the points lead as the Truck Series heads next to Darlington on Friday, May 6th at 7:30 PM EST.

Carson Hocevar, who was close to gaining his first truck series win, said that he could’ve done a better job defending Rhodes at the end of the race.

“He slide-jobbed me, and I should have prepared for it, crossed him over, and raced him really hard. Second just sucks. It’s terrible, especially being that close.”

This race also marked the NASCAR debut of defending USAC National Midget Champion Buddy Kofoid, who drove the No. 51 Toyota Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports.

Carson Hocevar wasn’t the only driver who left the track heartbroken and close to their first win. In the closing laps of the NASCAR Cup Series Race, Chase Briscoe was chasing down Tyler Reddick for his second win of the season while Reddick was chasing his first career win. On the final lap, Chase Briscoe sent his No. 14 Ford Mustang hard to the inside of Reddick, but pushed it too hard, losing control and taking Reddick with him. Briscoe couldn’t get going right away and would finish 22nd. Reddick was able to get back going but Kyle Busch, who was in third, took the win as Reddick came in second. Kyle Busch’s win also ties Richard Petty for the most consecutive seasons a driver has won a race at 18 seasons.

“Man I feel like Dale Earnhardt Sr. right now, this is awesome- I didn’t even do anything!” Kyle Busch said in his post-race interview, “Just a testament to our team and Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota, M&M’s, I appreciate the crunchy-cookie TRD Camry here.”

“Overall, just real pumped to be back, real pumped to get a win. This one means a lot. I can win on any surface here at Bristol, bring it on baby!” 

Tyler Reddick didn’t have anything bad to say about what Chase Briscoe did on the final lap, as Briscoe approached Reddick during his FOX interview and apologized.

“I don’t think I did everything right. Briscoe was able to run me back down there,” Reddick said. “You’re racking on dirt, going for the move on the final corner- it’s everything that as a driver you hope to battle for in his situation, and it made it really exciting for the fans. It does suck, but we were able to finish second still and, if I’m being honest, I should have done a better job and pulled away so he wasn’t in range to try to make that move. That’s how I look at it.”

The race was delayed twice due to rain, but the race was able to be run in full. The Cup Series heads to Talladega Superspeedway next weekend for the GEICO 500 on Sunday, April 24th at 3 PM EST.