April 17, 2022 | By Lee Spencer

Kyle Busch steals one on Bristol dirt

BRISTOL, Tenn.—Kyle Busch laid in wait and it played into his favor at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday.

While two dirt regulars—Tyler Reddick and Chase Briscoe—were battling for the lead a quarter-track ahead of Busch, the two made contact entering Turn 4 on the last lap and the driver of the No. 18 capitalized.

Before Reddick or Briscoe could get moving, Busch crossed the line to win the Food City Dirt Race.

“We got one,” said Busch after scoring his 60th Cup win. “Doesn't matter how you get 'em. It's all about getting 'em. Can't say enough. I mean, man, I feel like Dale Earnhardt Sr., right now (as the crowd booed in front of him). This is awesome. I didn't do anything.

“Just a testament to our team, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota, M&M's. Appreciate the Camry TRD, and it being fast, fast enough to stay in contention, fast enough to see those guys.”

Reddick, who led a race-high 99 laps, finished .330-seconds behind and accepted the blame for allowing Briscoe to get close enough to his bumper.

“I don't think I did everything right, to be honest with you,” Reddick said. “Briscoe was able to run me back down there. Just looking at it, I should have done a little bit better job of just—I don't know. I shouldn't have let him get that close. He ran me back down. Worked really hard to do that.

“I mean, you're racing 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. Made it really exciting for the fans, so...It does suck, but we were able to finish second still. 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.”

Logano was nearly a half-lap behind Reddick but held off Kyle Larson for third-place. Larson, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, Michael McDowel and Ty Dillon rounded out the top 10.

Briscoe grabbed the lead from teammate Cole Custer on the first lap and remained at the point for 48 circuits before his tire blew and he hit the wall. Larson took the lead on Lap 49. He was headed for the Stage 1 win when something broke on Justin Allgaier’s car and the No. 77 Chevy slammed the wall between Turns 3 and 4. Larson maintained a sizable lead over Ty Dillon coming to the first green-white-checkered flag.

NASCAR red-flagged the race to allow teams to work on the cars. Briscoe, who had dropped to 32nd following repairs after his wreck, remained on track behind Suarez and Ross Chastain while the leaders pitted.

Suarez assumed the lead on Lap 77. With a solid restart, Larson quickly moved up to second. Denny Hamlin, who restarted 24th, reported an issue on Lap 80. His engine expired 10 laps later and Hamlin finished 35th.

Bowman spun out in Turn 4 one lap later to trigger Caution 4. The race returned to green on Lap 97—but the action was short-lived after Corey LaJoie went sideways coming out of Turn 2 and collected Kevin Harvick, Justin Haley and Bowman two laps later. Harvick's day ended with a 34th-place result.

Suarez held serve through the sixth caution when Austin Dillon turned Brad Keselowski in Turn 2 on Lap 114 until Lap 139 when Briscoe finally regained the lead. The driver of the No. 14 Ford maintained the lead for the second stage win on Lap 150—when rain stopped the race.

After over an hour’s delay—and additional track prep—the race restarted with Busch, Logano, Blaney, Reddick and Austin Dillon electing to remain on the track.

The restart was worth the wait as Reddick blasted through Logano on his left and Kyle Busch on his right to take the lead out of Turn 2 on Lap 151. Holding off Busch wasn’t an easy task, but Reddick remained at the point through a rash of cautions—until the 15th when NASCAR red-flagged the race for a second time due to rain.

Reddick held the high lane with Kyle Busch inside. With a push from Briscoe, he shot out to the lead once again with 25 laps to go. Briscoe grabbed second from Busch three laps later and set his sights on Reddick. Briscoe cut the lead to a second with 10 laps remaining—then took a look to the inside in Turn 3 two laps later.

The leaders hit traffic with three laps to decide the contest—and Briscoe on Reddick’s bummer. After taking the white flag Briscoe tracked down Reddick, moved to his inside in Turn 4 and the No. 14 Ford went sideways collecting both drivers.

"I was running Tyler down and tried throwing a slider and didn't expect him to drive in there on me and I got loose,” said Briscoe, who finished 22nd. “I was spinning either way. I feel terrible. I didn't want to wreck him. That was my fault 100-percent. I hate it for Tyler, he's a good friend of mine.”

As the dust settled, Busch stayed the course for his ninth win at the Last Great Coliseum—and his first on dirt. Busch also tied Richard Petty for 18-consecutive seasons with at least one victory.

“I don't know why, we couldn't fire off after it rained, both times,” Busch added. “It just would not fire. Took it about 20 laps to get going.

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

Elliott maintains a three-point advantage over Blaney in the Cup standings.