Logano wins Bristol dirt race in OT

Somewhere under the thick red haze floating over Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, Joey Logano took the checkered flag for NASCAR’s first Cup Series race at a dirt track in 50 years.

He couldn’t see much — visibility was next to nothing during this Monday dust storm — but Logano clung to the familiar bottom lane around the bullring to collect the checkered flag on this NASCAR experiment.

Logano got a jump on Denny Hamlin on the overtime restart to earn his third career victory at Bristol. But this was not the Bristol of old, the track had been covered with 2,300 truckloads of red Tennessee clay so that NASCAR could add a dirt track to the Cup schedule for the first time since 1970.

“How about Bristol on dirt, guys! This is incredible,” Logano said to the crowd, a reduced capacity sellout of about 30,000 fans.

“There’s nothing like winning at Bristol, but putting it on dirt and being the first to do it is very special.”

Logano became the seventh race winner through seven races this season and gave Team Penske back-toback victories. Ryan Blaney won in a Penske Ford last week.

The Logano victory closed a weekend of uncertainty and even some hysteria as NASCAR launched this drive through the dirt. It was broadcast partner Fox who wanted a dirt race on the Cup schedule and Speedway Motorsports, seeking some new energy at its beloved Bristol

bullring. said it would take the race.

So NASCAR awarded the experiment to Bristol, bypassing dozens of quality established dirt tracks across the country. Marcus Smith, the CEO of Speedway Motorsports, insisted concrete Bristol was up to the challenge and he told The Associated Press he’d spent nearly $2 million to make the dirt dream a reality.

He was pleased with the buzz generated by the event, even as NASCAR huddled for solutions to extreme dust, poor tire durability and shifting weather conditions that made the buildup a muddy mess. When race day finally arrived, torrential overnight rains had flooded the Bristol grounds and NASCAR had to postpone Sunday’s show by a day.

The wait seemed worth it and the end product has been deemed a win: before the race was even over, the track announced over the public address system that Bristol would run on dirt again next season.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., a veteran dirt racer, was second for his highest finish of the season. Hamlin finished third. Daniel Suarez was a season-best fourth for new team Trackhouse Racing, which is partowned by Pitbull. Suarez led his first laps of the season — 58 of them in all — and even bumped Logano out of his way to take over the point.

But Logano took over with 61 laps remaining and wasn’t challenged until the final restart when the race went to a two-lap overtime. TRUEX ROUTS BRISTOL FIELD ON DIRT TO WIN HIS 1ST TRUCK RACE >>

Jr. entered the Truck Series race for the first time in 15 years just to get extra laps on the dirt surface at Bristol Motor Speedway. That reconnaissance mission turned into a runaway victory for Truex, who dominated the Monday afternoon race. Truex was one of seven Cup drivers entered in the trucks’ opener in their attempt to learn how to race the surface.

NFL COACH CONFIRMS JAGS LEANING TOWARD LAWRENCE AT NO. 1 >>

New Jacksonville Jaguars coach Urban Meyer just about confirmed the worst-kept secret in the NFL: His team is likely to select Trevor Lawrence with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft next month.

“I’d have to say that’s the direction we’re going,” Meyer told NBC Sports. “I’ll leave that up to the owner when we make that decision official. But I’m certainly not stepping out of line that that’s certainly the direction we’re headed.”

CHIEFS BOLSTER PASS RUSH WITH DEAL FOR TACKLE JARRAN REED >>

The Kansas City Chiefs and defensive tackle Jarran Reed agreed to a $5 million, one-year contract that could be worth up to $7 million and gives the AFC champions another interior pass rusher to play alongside Chris Jones.

The 28-year-old Reed was a second-round pick by the Seahawks in the 2016 draft. He’s spent his entire career in Seattle, where he had a reputation as a run-stuffer but showed he could get to the quarterback. Reed had 10 1/2 sacks in2018andand61/2sacks last season.

Baseball TWINS LOCK UP PITCHER DOBNAK FOR LONG TERM >>

The Minnesota Twins signed right-hander Randy Dobnak to a $9.25 million, five-year contract that includes three club options to extend and increase the deal. Dobnak went 6-4 with a 4.05 ERA in 10 starts last season, before hitting a slump and being sent to the team’s alternate training site.

He’ll be the team’s primary long reliever to start, essentially the sixth starter behind José Berríos, Kenta Maeda, Matt Shoemaker, Michael Pineda and J.A. Happ.

HERNANDEZ OPTS OUT OF DEAL WITH ORIOLES >> Righthander Felix Hernandez requested and received his release from the Baltimore Orioles, the team announced. Hernandez, who will turn 35 on April 8, signed a minor league deal in February in a bid to catch on with the Orioles.

The former American League Cy Young Award winner has been nursing a right elbow injury since being removed from a game against the Tampa Bay Rays earlier this month.

College football

CAL POLY ABRUPTLY ENDS ITS SPRING SEASON >> The Cal Poly football team ended its season early due to multiple injuries and several players who deferred enrollment to the fall, the university announced Monday. The team would have only had 49 players to compete on Saturday out of its roster of 110, according to the university.

That falls below the Big Sky minimum requirements for competition.