The NASCAR Ford teams showed muscle in the early stages of the Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway on April 17th, 2023, but a series of cautions, both for stage breaks and on-track incidents, cut The Blue Oval’s efforts short of a win.
Ryan Preece and the No. 41 NASCAR Ford Mustang started on the pole position, showing the way for every lap on his way to his first career stage win. He went on to lead 135 of 400 laps before being nabbed for speeding on Pit Road, forcing Preece and the No. 41 Mustang to the tail end of the field. Ultimately, he recovered enough to finish 15th, but once the No. 41 Mustang became mired deep in traffic, Preece found himself unable to pass and make it back to the front.
Meanwhile, Chase Briscoe led 109 laps in the No. 14 NASCAR Mustang, but fell to fifth place once the checkered flag flew. Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Mustang, captured his first stage win since 2020 and led for 20 laps, but a mechanical issue relegated him to a 20th-place finish at the line.
Joey Logano’s No. 22 Mustang had better luck than his fellow NASCAR Ford compatriots. He started at the rear due to a water tank leak that his team had to address ahead of the race, and fought his way through traffic, salvaging a second-place finish. Martin Truex Jr.’s No. 19 Toyota TRD Camry finished third, followed by the No. 11 Camry of Denny Hamlin in fourth. After Briscoe’s No. 14 Mustang in fifth, the No. 10 Mustang of Aric Almirola finished sixth.
Kyle Larson’s No. 5 Camaro crossed the finish line first, over four seconds ahead of Logano’s No. 22 Mustang.
It’s worth noting that the Mustang race cars were not the only pony cars out at Martinsville Speedway. The official pace car for the Cup Series race was the 2024 Ford Mustang, making its debut on the racetrack.
| Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 | 5 | Kyle Larson | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 400 | 30 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 2 | 15 | 22 | Joey Logano | Verizon 5G Ford | 400 | 25 | Ford Mustang |
| 3 | 5 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Bass Pro Shops Toyota | 400 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 4 | 11 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota | 400 | 36 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 5 | 4 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | HighPoint.com Ford | 400 | 109 | Ford Mustang |
| 6 | 3 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Smithfield Ford | 400 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 7 | 31 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Advance Auto Parts Ford | 400 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 8 | 16 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Kroger/Tree Top Chevrolet | 400 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 9 | 9 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | McDonald's Toyota | 400 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 10 | 24 | 9 | Chase Elliott | NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet | 400 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 11 | 23 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Ally Chevrolet | 400 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 12 | 18 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet | 400 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 13 | 34 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Unishippers Chevrolet | 400 | 31 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 14 | 10 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Nexletol Ford | 400 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 15 | 1 | 41 | Ryan Preece | HaasTooling.com Ford | 400 | 135 | Ford Mustang |
| 16 | 22 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Shingrix Toyota | 400 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 17 | 2 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Worldwide Express Chevrolet | 400 | 7 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 18 | 12 | 54 | Ty Gibbs # | Monster Energy Toyota | 400 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 19 | 20 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Long John Silver's Ford | 400 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 20 | 7 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Realtree/Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford | 400 | 20 | Ford Mustang |
| 21 | 17 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Mark III Employee Benefits Chevrolet | 400 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 22 | 6 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | The Beast Unleashed Toyota | 400 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 23 | 8 | 24 | William Byron | Liberty University Chevrolet | 400 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 24 | 21 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | Fastenal Ford | 400 | 7 | Ford Mustang |
| 25 | 13 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Frontline Enterprises Inc. Ford | 399 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 26 | 27 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | NEGU Chevrolet | 399 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 27 | 14 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Action Industries Chevrolet | 399 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 28 | 26 | 31 | Justin Haley | LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet | 398 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 29 | 32 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford | 398 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 30 | 29 | 42 | Noah Gragson # | Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet | 398 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 31 | 28 | 43 | Erik Jones | Allegiant Chevrolet | 398 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 32 | 35 | 77 | Ty Dillon | NationsGuard Chevrolet | 397 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 33 | 25 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Menards/Libman Ford | 397 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 34 | 33 | 51 | Zane Smith(i) | Biohaven/Jacob Co. Ford | 395 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 35 | 30 | 78 | Anthony Alfredo(i) | Andy's Frozen Custard Chevrolet | 390 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 36 | 36 | 15 | JJ Yeley(i) | Isaacson Concrete & Excavating Ford | 337 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
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Comments
Why is the 21, Harrison Burton so slow every week?
He’s not the slow one here, you are. You forget he’s the new guy at the Wood Brothers team. He’s had some good runs but still needs more wheel.time under his belt to be a serous contender. He’ll come around in due time. Don’t count him.out to soon as he may just surprise in the long run. Go Harrison…
Another humiliating defeat for Ford administered by Chevrolet!
To whom it may concern my name is clarencewalker I look for work I work on race car