Live updates from NASCAR race at Dover: Martin Truex Jr. wins, holds off Ross Chastain

Charlotte Observer NASCAR reporter Alex Zietlow will be passing along live updates during today’s race at Dover Motor Speedway. See the section below for the latest news. Results and analysis will be posted after the race.

For post-race analysis from Zietlow, click here.

Official results from Dover Motor Speedway

Post-race inspection is complete, per NASCAR. No issues. No cars are going back to the R&D Center in Concord for teardown.

Live updates: Dover Motor Speedway

Stage 3

Lap 400: Martin Truex Jr. wins! The driver of the 19 car has a great restart, then he holds off Ryan Blaney, then Ross Chastain (on four tires) closes the gap to get right next to Truex — but Truex pulls it out nonetheless. A streak is broken. More to come.

Here’s a look at that finish:

Lap 390: Martin Truex Jr. took two tires on that pit stop. So did Ryan Blaney and Christopher Bell. Those will be the Top 3 on this restart. Ross Chastain took four tires and will start fourth. Can the 1 car pass three cars in this incoming short run and make it happen? A pair of fun facts (depending on who you tell them to): Truex is looking for his first points-race win in 54 tries; Blaney is looking for his first points-race win in 56 tries. Will a streak be broken today?

Lap 387: Caution! Joey Logano spins out on his own! And we have a late-race restart incoming. Martin Truex Jr. versus Ross Chastain. Just over 10 laps to go at Dover. Only eight other drivers outside of the two leaders are on the lead lap. Caution pit stops coming soon.

Lap 381: Martin Truex Jr. and Ross Chastain are weaving through lapped cars and are really the only two competing for the win here. Barring a caution, it’ll come down to these two. They are 1.5 seconds apart. The next-closest driver is Ryan Blaney, who is 9.8 seconds behind the leader.

Lap 335: All green-flag pit stops have been made, and Martin Truex Jr. has overtaken Ross Chastain thanks to a great pit stop. The driver of that 19 car got his wish: He’s now in the lead. What can he do with it?

Lap 310: Can Martin Truex Jr. make this one interesting? Ross Chastain has been dominant today — even if he hasn’t exactly been “likable” — but Truex has hung tough along with him. Truex told his team over the radio in the middle of Stage 2 that if he was in the lead he’d “drive away” from his competition with ease, but passing is so difficult that having the best car doesn’t guarantee you a good day. William Byron has dropped a bit since Chastain took the top spot away from him. The Top 10 running right now: Chastain, Truex, Ryan Blaney, Ty Gibbs, Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher.

Lap 255: After a productive row of caution pit stops, here’s how the Top 10 will shake out to start the third and final stage: William Byron (edging out that 1 car by a hair), Ross Chastain, Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr., Ty Gibbs, Bubba Wallace, Chris Buescher, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell.

Stage 2

Lap 250: Ross Chastain takes Stage 2. The driver who seems to draw the ire of everyone in the garage area at some point every weekend has notched another stage win on the year. Still a long way to go, but that 1 car is fast. Everyone collecting stage points (in order): Chastain, William Byron, Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, Chris Buescher, Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell.

Lap 206: All green-flag pit stops are done, and Ross Chastain has cycled out as the leader in Stage 2. William Byron closely behind him. Kyle Busch, after starting Stage 2 down a lap, is somehow hanging in there in the Top 10. The 8 car is looking like the quickest car on the track — but he’s just been bit by the unlucky bug today. Top 10 running now with about 40 laps to go: Chastain, Byron, Ryan Blaney, Austin Dillon, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Busch, Chris Buescher, Chase Elliott, Ty Gibbs.

Lap 170: Checking in. William Byron still leading. Top 10: Byron, Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Christopher Bell, Chris Buescher, Ty Gibbs, Chase Elliott, Erik Jones.

Lap 130: Green green green! Kyle Larson is back on track. He started Stage 2 down 28 laps.

Lap 125: Race off of pit stop is tough for Denny Hamlin. He falls down to ninth. Brad Keselowski emerged in second, but he had an uncontrolled tire in his pit stall, and that will send him to the rear. The running order to start Stage 2: Byron, Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain, Christopher Bell, Kevin Harvick, Chris Buescher, Ty Gibbs, Hamlin, Joey Logano and Josh Berry.

Stage 1

Lap 120: Stage 1 goes to William Byron! Sixth stage win of the season. What an eventful Stage 1. Denny Hamlin couldn’t quite chase down the 24 car. Austin Dillon edges Kyle Busch to the finish — both were running a lap down — so Dillon gets the free pass for Stage 2. Busch will start Stage 2 not on the lead lap. The 8 car has had a frustrating day, huh? Those earning stage points on that Stage 1 finish (in order): Byron, Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Ross Chastain, Chris Buescher, Christopher Bell, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Lap 92: Green green green! Top 10 running now: William Byron, Ross Chastain, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, Tyler Reddick, Chris Buescher, Christopher Bell, Kevin Harvick. Brennan Poole talked to Fox Sports after emerging from the infield care center and responded to a question about Ross Chastain running him over. What he said, in part: “This is something he’s known to do. ... Might need to get his butt whooped.”

Also of note, Larson met minimum speed. The car is heading to the garage to see if the car can be salvaged for the rest of the race. He is not necessarily out of the race.

Lap 81: Welp, so much for green racing the rest of the stage! Some aggressive movement today. Ross Chastain appeared to have gotten into Brennan Poole on a turn, and Poole then spun and rose up the racetrack and crashed into Kyle Larson. That likely knocks Larson out of winning contention with the damage the car suffered. Bad luck for the Hendrick Motorsports star. Larson files down pit road and has some choice words for Chastain over his radio: “What a(n) (expletive) idiot!”

See below for what happened. Chastain appeared apologetic over the radio: “I did not mean to do that at all.”

Lap 50: Alright we have been green here for a while, and if I had to guess, we’ll be green the rest of Stage 1. Here’s the Top 10 at the moment: William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain, Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski, Chris Buescher, Josh Berry, Kyle Larson and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Another note: Noah Gragson couldn’t meet minimum speed after his wreck back on Lap 27 — so he’s been ordered to the garage. He’s done for the day.

Lap 35: Annnnnnd some more carnage after the restart. Those involved: Daniel Suarez and Ty Dillon, among others. Kyle Busch might have gotten roped into that mess — an unlucky break after having to restart in the back for a costly speeding-on-pit-road penalty after the competition caution.

Suarez was the one who spun. His day is reportedly done. Brutally early exit for the 99. The car had a beautiful paint scheme — which was a tribute to Pitbull’s new album entitled “Trackhouse” — but it unfortunately won’t get much TV time. See the spin below:

Lap 34: Green green green!

Lap 27: On the restart, Noah Gragson knocks into the wall on Turn 2 and spins out. That prompts a caution. Likely a broken toe link too. New Top 10 for new restart: William Byron, Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Chris Buescher, Ryan Blaney, Josh Berry, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Martin Truex Jr., Daniel Suarez, Chase Elliott. Going green soon!

See Gragson’s spin here:

Lap 26: Track position is everything at Dover, and Kyle Busch has squandered it. Suffered a speeding on pit road penalty, and will now restart last after leading every lap before that. Teams are reporting not much tire wear, and Josh Berry took advantage of that by only taking two tires. He’s now on the second row. Let’s do this again!

Lap 21: Competition caution. The pace hasn’t fallen off too much, but teams get a chance to look at the tire wear when they come down pit road now. Top 10 at the moment: Kyle Busch, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, William Byron, Chris Buescher, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, Kevin Harvick.

Green flag 12:12 p.m.: At long last, here we go!

12:05 p.m.: Engines fired. Austin Dillon is sent to the rear for using a backup car. Mike Joy and Clint Bowyer and Rusty Wallace in the booth. Streaming on FS1 now.

11:36 a.m.: Some story lines to keep up with ahead of today’s race: Dover is a “measuring stick race” for the three top teams in the NASCAR Cup Series (Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing). Is today the day Denny Hamlin finally gets his first win of 2023? And Alex Bowman is out due to a fractured vertebra he suffered running in a sprint car earlier this week. (He’s being replaced by Josh Berry.)

11:14 a.m.: The starting lineup for this weekend’s Cup Series race was set by the rule book after rain canceled Saturday qualifying. Kyle Busch and Christopher Bell will start on the front row. The green flag is scheduled for 12 p.m. after rain postponed the race to Monday on Sunday morning. Other administrative updates: Today’s drivers meeting was canceled; the garage opened for fans at the racetrack at 9 a.m.; and driver introductions are scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m.

NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover details

• Race: Würth 400
• Place: Dover Motor Speedway
• Date: Monday, May 1
• Time: 12 p.m. ET
• Purse: $7,629,649
• TV: FS1
• Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
• Distance: 400 miles (400 laps around 1-mile track)
• Stages: Stage 1 (Lap 120), Stage 2 (Lap 250), Stage 3 (Lap 400)

Starting lineup for Dover Cup race

Austin Dillon has been sent to the rear for using a backup car.

This story was originally published May 1, 2023 at 11:13 AM.

Alex Zietlow

The Charlotte Observer

Alex Zietlow writes about the Carolina Panthers and the ways in which sports intersect with life for The Charlotte Observer, where he has been a reporter since August 2022. Zietlow’s work has been honored by the Pro Football Writers Association, the N.C. and S.C. Press Associations, as well as the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) group. He’s earned six APSE Top 10 distinctions for his coverage on a variety of topics, from billion-dollar stadium renovations to the small moments of triumph that helped a Panthers kicker defy the steepest odds in sports. Zietlow previously wrote for The Herald in Rock Hill (S.C.) from 2019-22. Support my work with a digital subscription