Checkered flag goes to Logano on Bristol dirt
BRISTOL, Tenn. — Somewhere under the thick red haze floating over Bristol 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.
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.
More auto racing: Martin Truex 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 led 105 of the 150 laps.
MLB: Yankees slugger Aaron Judge was scratched from the lineup for Monday’s spring training finale against Detroit due to illness but is set to play on opening day. Also, Domingo German allowed two runs and four hits in four innings in the 5-2 loss to Detroit . ... The Mets and Cardinals tied 3-3 in nine innings. Mets starter Taijuan Walker allowed two runs and three hits in five innings . ... Milwaukee reliever Justin Topa has a flexor strain in his right elbow and will miss at least half the season . ... Anthony Rizzo is cutting off talks with the Cubs on a new contract and is prepared to play the season as free agency looms . ... Minnesota signed right-hander Randy Dobnak to a $9.25 million, five-year contract . ... Mask use would be dropped from dugouts and bullpens, and electronic tracing devices would be eliminated when 85 percent of major league players and field staff are vaccinated against the coronavirus, an MLB memorandum said.
Tennis: Ash Barty reached the Miami Open quarterfinals, holding off 14th-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-1, 1-6, 6-2.
Wrestling: Iowa’s Spencer Lee and Minnesota’s Gable Steveson have been named winners of the Dan Hodge Trophy as the most dominant college wrestlers in 2020-21.