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  • Tales of the Stage Winners

    Tales of the Stage Winners

    It was a tale of two drives with the stage winners, Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott, in the Tales of the Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.

    Leading the field to the green flag, Busch lead all but two laps during the first cycle of green flag stops on his way to winning the first stage. Leading the field back to green on Lap 88, Kevin Harvick powered by his outside to take the lead exiting Turn 2.

    Busch was running second when he made an unscheduled stop on Lap 97 for a loose wheel. Adding insult to injury, he was hit with a pass through penalty for his crew jumping over the wall too soon. He rejoined the race in 27th, two-laps down.

    He came close to getting back on the lead lap, being the first car a lap down, but race leader Martin Truex Jr. passed Landon Cassill just five laps before Erik Jones suffered a right-rear tire blowout and spun out in Turn 4 on Lap 210, bringing out the fourth caution of the race.

    Busch brought his car home to a 15th-place finish.

    “Oh well. We’ll move on…next week. That’s all we can do.”

    For Elliott, it was a more stable and stronger run.

    After a third-place finish in the first stage, he exited pit road just feet ahead of Harvick on Lap 124, cycled to the lead the following lap and drove onto victory in the second stage.

    As was the case with Busch, Elliott lost the lead on the ensuing restart to Harvick — this time, sliding up ion front up him from the bottom lane — exiting Turn 2 on Lap 168.

    He didn’t regain the lead, but he did retake and finish second when the checkered flag flew.

    “Yeah, just a much-improved day from where we’ve been, which is nice,” Elliott said in his post-race media availability. “Obviously would have been great to battle with Martin a little bit more. We didn’t have anything for him. From where we’ve been to where we ran today was a major, major step in the right direction, frankly where we need to be, where we deserve to be, to the potential we can run.

    “It was nice to see that we can do it if all things are clicking in the right way, car is driving good, pit stops are good, race execution was nice. It was a pretty uneventful race for the most part.

    “I felt like typically when that happens, the better cars always kind of end up towards the front. That proved to be with Martin winning. I didn’t have anything for him, without a restart or something. It also proved that we were second to him. I’m not sure about the 18, if he could have got back up there.

    “Aside from those two, I feel like we could run about everybody else. That’s a lot better than we’ve been.”

    Busch leaves fifth in points, trailing Truex by 41, while Elliott leaves sixth, 43 back of Truex.

  • Kyle Busch Fastest in Final Chicagoland Practice

    Kyle Busch Fastest in Final Chicagoland Practice

    Kyle Busch topped the chart in final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Chicagoland Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was the fastest with a time of 29.958 and a speed of 180.252 mph. Austin Dillon was second in his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet with a time of 30.094 and a speed of 179.438 mph. Brad Keselowski was third in his No. 2 Team Penske Ford with a time of 30.119 and a speed of 179.289 mph. Chase Elliott was fourth in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 30.145 and a speed of 179.134 mph. Clint Bowyer rounded out the top-five in his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford with a time of 30.245 and a speed of 178.542 mph.

    Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney rounded out the top-10.

    Kyle Larson was 11th, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was 12th, Jamie McMurray was 13th, Ryan Newman was 17th, Kurt Busch was 22nd, Matt Kenseth was 23rd, Jimmie Johnson was 24th and Kasey Kahne rounded out the Playoff drivers in 27th.

    Harvick posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 175.784 mph.

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  • Sauter Wins the NCWTS TheHouse.com; Bell Clinches 2017 Regular Season Championship

    Sauter Wins the NCWTS TheHouse.com; Bell Clinches 2017 Regular Season Championship

    Johnny Sauter passed Christopher Bell for the lead on Lap 123 of 150 and drove away to win Friday Night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) TheHouse.com at Chicagoland Speedway.

    This was Sauter’s first win at Chicagoland, the second this season and the 15th career NCWTS win.

    “This truck was unbelievable.  We had a great truck yesterday (in practice). I was worried with the Cup guys and the XFINITY guys here the track might change a little bit.  This is what we needed. This is the momentum, the shot in the arm.  This thing was on rails the last run.” said Sauter.

    Chase Briscoe finished second, Christopher Bell third, Ryan Truex fourth and Grant Enfinger finished fifth.

    Bell clinched the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series 2017 Regular Season Championship.

    There were six caution flags for 28 laps with 12 lead changes among six drivers.

    Ryan Truex earned his first-career NCWTS pole, led two times for 29 laps and won the first stage event, but he missed the Playoffs by a tie-breaker (Rhodes’ best finish of the season being a second-place result at Pocono vs Truex’s best result of third-place at Pocono).

    “I felt like I had to be really, really aggressive on the restarts and I was and I was able to get those spots, but deeper in the run they passed me back and I couldn’t hold them. It sucks. Half the guys in the playoff field run 12th to eighth every week and we run top-five and miss it. That’s racing.” Truex said.

    The eight-driver field for the seven-race playoff:
    1. Christopher Bell, No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota: 2,040 points
    2. Johnny Sauter, No. 21 GMS Racing Chevrolet: 2,025 points
    3. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 8 NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet: 2,014 points
    4. Matt Crafton, No. 88 ThorSport Racing Toyota: 2,014 points
    5. Chase Briscoe, No. 29 Brad Keselowski Racing Ford: 2,009 points
    6. Austin Cindric, No. 19 Brad Keselowski Racing Ford: 2,007 points
    7. Ben Rhodes, No. 27 ThorSport Racing Toyota: 2,007 points
    8. Kaz Grala, No. 33 GMS Racing Chevrolet: 2,005 points

     

    Race Results
    Chicagoland Speedway, Joliet, Illinois
    Friday, September 15, 2017
    ============================
    1. (4) Johnny Sauter, Chevrolet, 150.
    2. (2) Chase Briscoe #, Ford, 150.
    3. (3) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 150.
    4. (1) Ryan Truex, Toyota, 150.
    5. (8) Grant Enfinger #, Toyota, 150.
    6. (13) Ben Rhodes, Toyota, 150.
    7. (12) John H. Nemechek, Chevrolet, 150.
    8. (6) Noah Gragson #, Toyota, 150.
    9. (14) Kaz Grala #, Chevrolet, 150.
    10. (10) Myatt Snider, Toyota, 150.
    11. (11) Cody Coughlin #, Toyota, 150.
    12. (16) Regan Smith, Ford, 149.
    13. (15) Tyler Young, Chevrolet, 149.
    14. (9) Justin Haley #, Chevrolet, 149.
    15. (7) Austin Cindric #, Ford, 148.
    16. (5) Matt Crafton, Toyota, 148.
    17. (17) Justin Fontaine, Toyota, 148.
    18. (23) Wendell Chavous #, Chevrolet, 144.
    19. (25) Josh Reaume, Chevrolet, 143.
    20. (18) Austin Wayne Self, Chevrolet, 143.
    21. (21) Jordan Anderson, Chevrolet, Clutch, 133.
    22. (22) Camden Murphy, Chevrolet, Suspension, 102.
    23. (30) Norm Benning, Chevrolet, Transmission, 101.
    24. (31) Jennifer Jo Cobb, Chevrolet, Suspension, 27.
    25. (19) Gray Gaulding(i), Chevrolet, Fuel Pump, 25.
    26. (27) Ted Minor, Chevrolet, Engine, 23.
    27. (28) Mike Harmon(i), Chevrolet, Transmission, 12.
    28. (29) Tommy Regan(i), Chevrolet, Engine, 11.
    29. (24) Kevin Donahue, Chevrolet, Accident, 10.
    30. (26) BJ McLeod(i), Chevrolet, Electrical, 10.
    31. (20) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, Vibration, 7.
    32. (32) Mike Senica, Chevrolet, Rear Gear, 0.

  • Kyle Busch Speeds to Coors Light Pole in Chicago

    Kyle Busch Speeds to Coors Light Pole in Chicago

  • Jeremy Clements Savors Success While Preparing for Playoffs

    Jeremy Clements Savors Success While Preparing for Playoffs

    DARLINGTON, S.C. — Once in awhile, a particular driver catches your eye and you think to yourself, this one has possibilities.

    In April 2014, I wrote, ‘Jeremy Clements’ recipe for success is a combination of talent, tenacity and mathematical wizardry. Throw some sponsorship dollars and a little luck into the mix and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him standing in victory lane.’

    Almost 3 1/2 years later, Clements finally captured his first career XFINITY win at Road America and I can’t help but feel a sense of pride in his accomplishments.

    For him, it’s a childhood dream come true.

    “It’s what a lot of people dream about, myself included,” Clements told me, “competing and then winning a race in the next level. I’m extremely pleased. And obviously it makes me want more, so I can taste it again. Hopefully, it’s the first of many.”

    That sweet taste of success in a national series was a long time coming. He began racing go-karts when he was seven-years-old, thanks to his grandfather, Crawford Clements.

    “My grandfather was a crew chief for Rex White and Buck Baker in the 1960s,” Clements said, “and they won a championship. So he’s the one who got all this started. It was very special. He was in his upper 60s at that time and I learned a ton from him. He’s the reason I started racing. He was very smart and he could figure out how to make cars go faster. He was always a whiz with carburetors. We could use him today, I promise you that.

    “He passed away in ‘96 from lung cancer when I was about 11; I owe it all to him. I know he’s smiling down from heaven and I can’t wait to talk to him one day about all this and how it went down. I’m sure he’s proud of me.”

    Clements won 47 feature events in go-karts before moving on to dirt track racing. He began racing four cylinders on dirt in 1999 and over the next three years, he scored wins in over 50 feature events as well as two track championships.

    In 2002, he began competing in the Late Model division winning nine races and the championship at Cherokee Speedway. On October 25, 2002, Clements made his first ARCA Series start at Talladega Superspeedway.

    The following year he competed in Late Models and made five more starts in the ARCA Series with three top-10 finishes. His first start in the XFINITY Series came in 2003 when Clements was 18-years-old. In 2011 he began competing full-time in the series with a career total of one win, two top fives and 13 top 10s in 257 starts.

    Those numbers take on more significance when you realize that Jeremy Clements Racing is a small family-owned team with limited funding and a full-time staff of only four people.

    While Clements is basking in the afterglow of a trip to Victory Lane, he’s focused on what comes next – the Playoffs.

    “We’re trying to get ready for the Playoffs and trying to learn as much as we can to apply toward Kentucky, Dover, Charlotte,” Clements said. “Those are the first three and we want to try to make it to the next round, we don’t want to be a team that gets knocked out in the first round of the playoffs.”

    Their game plan is simple. It includes “not making any mistakes and finishing each race,” he explained. “Some of those guys are gonna have problems. They’ll wreck trying to race each other and if we can just be smart, be there at the end, get a good finish and I think we can possibly move on to the next round.”

    To say it’s been a year to remember is quite the understatement. In addition to the NASCAR XFINITY Series victory, Clements also got married in May. He doesn’t know what impact the win will have on his future but he is certain of one thing.

    “I’m very blessed to be able to do both in the same year, that’s pretty dang cool,” he said. “I’ll never forget this year regardless of what happens.”

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

     

  • Hendrick Motorsports to have new look in 2018 with four iconic car numbers

    Hendrick Motorsports to have new look in 2018 with four iconic car numbers

    CHASE ELLIOTT TO RACE FATHER’S LEGENDARY NO. 9, WILLIAM BYRON TO DRIVE FAMED NO. 24 CHEVROLET

    CONCORD, N.C. (Aug. 29, 2017) – When a new NASCAR season begins in February, rising star Chase Elliott will be reunited with the number synonymous with his legendary racing family and rookie William Byron will take the wheel of one of the most iconic cars in motor sports history.

    In 2018, 12-time NASCAR Cup Series champions Hendrick Motorsports will introduce the No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro to its four-car team with Elliott in the driver’s seat. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native raced the No. 9 to the 2014 NASCAR Xfinity Series title, and his Hall of Fame father Bill Elliott memorably drove it to 38 Cup-level wins and the 1988 series championship.

    “I wasn’t sure I’d ever drive the ‘9’ again,” said Chase Elliott, 21, who is currently in his second season driving the No. 24 Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports. “It’s a huge deal to my family and everyone back home (in Georgia), and I hope all of our fans will be pumped to see it back on the racetrack. There’s a legacy attached to that number, and I want to carry it on. I think it’s awesome that Hendrick Motorsports and NAPA wanted to do this. It’s impossible not to be excited.”

    When Byron starts his first career Daytona 500 next year, it will be in the iconic No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet made famous by four-time Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon and his storied Rainbow Warriors team. Byron will begin his 2018 rookie season at the same age Gordon was (20) when he made his Cup debut in 1992.

    “Jeff and Jimmie (Johnson) are the drivers I’ve always watched most closely and tried to learn from,” said Byron, 19, who grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, and signed with Hendrick Motorsports in August 2016. “I didn’t think I could be more motivated, but when Mr. (Rick) Hendrick called to tell me (about driving the No. 24), it took things to another level. I have so much respect for all the people who have contributed to the success of the ‘24.’ I know it’s rare to have the chance to be part of something like this. I’m going to make the most of it.”

    Next season, Elliott and Byron will team with the No. 48 of seven-time Cup champion Johnson, 41, and the No. 88 of 24-year-old newcomer Alex Bowman in the Hendrick Motorsports stable.

    “I know what the ‘9’ means to Chase and his whole family,” said Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. “They’ve contributed so much to our sport, and I’m happy we can honor that history by bringing the number back. I think fans will really love seeing it out there. I told Chase we’d only do it if he promised to win a bunch of races, so I’m going to hold him to that.

    “The ‘fit factor’ is something I’ve always believed in, and that’s what I see with William and our organization. He reminds me a lot of Jeff at that age with regard to being a special talent and having a great head on his shoulders. But William is also his own person with his own career ahead of him. It’s going to be fun to watch him jump in the ‘24’ and show what he’s capable of.”

    The debut of the No. 9 will mark the first time in nearly a decade that Hendrick Motorsports will field a new car number for one of its full-time teams. The most recent addition was the No. 88, which was added in 2008 when driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. joined the organization.

    “I’m excited about the future,” Hendrick said. “We’ve made some management decisions recently that I feel really good about. Looking at next year, Jimmie will continue to be a leader and help set the tone. Alex is chomping at the bit and ready to go. When you add the (new) Chevrolet Camaro race car into the mix, it’ll definitely be a new look for us. Everyone’s energized.”

    Following the 2017 season, Hendrick Motorsports will withdraw its No. 5 car number from competition. It was the organization’s first car number and has run full-time since the team was founded in 1984. The No. 5 was raced to Hendrick Motorsports’ first victory at Martinsville Speedway during its inaugural season, and Terry Labonte drove it to a Cup Series championship in 1996.

    “That was by far the hardest part (of the car number decisions),” Hendrick said. “The ‘5’ means so much to everyone at Hendrick Motorsports and to a lot of our fans. The memories and the history will always be there, and I won’t rule out bringing it back some day. Never say never.”

    Next season, Elliott and the No. 9 will be fielded by his current No. 24 team while Byron and the No. 24 will be fielded by the current No. 5 team.

    NO. 9 QUICK FACTS:
    · Will make its Hendrick Motorsports debut with driver Chase Elliott in 2018
    · Hall of Fame driver Bill Elliott raced it in the NASCAR Cup Series for the first time in 1976
    · 1988 Cup Series championship with Bill Elliott; raced to 38 of his 44 career Cup wins
    · 2014 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship with Chase Elliott
    · 53 combined points-paying wins in Cup Series competition with five drivers

    NO. 24 QUICK FACTS:
    · First fielded by Hendrick Motorsports with Jeff Gordon in 1992; driven by Gordon until 2015
    · Currently raced by Chase Elliott, who debuted in 2016 and won Cup Series rookie of the year
    · With Gordon, four Cup Series championships and all 93 of its points-paying Cup victories; race wins include three Daytona 500s and a record five Brickyard 400s

    NO. 48 QUICK FACTS:
    · First fielded by Hendrick Motorsports with driver Jimmie Johnson in 2001
    · With Johnson, a record-tying seven Cup Series championships and 83 of its 86 points-paying Cup wins; Johnson’s wins include two Daytona 500s and four Brickyard 400s
    · From 2002-2016, 5.3 average wins per year and 3.4 average championship points finish

    NO. 88 QUICK FACTS:
    · First fielded by Hendrick Motorsports with driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2008
    · With Earnhardt, nine points-paying race wins, including the 2014 Daytona 500
    · 74 combined points-paying wins in Cup Series competition with five drivers: Earnhardt, Dale Jarrett, Bobby Allison, Darrell Waltrip and Buck Baker; 1999 Cup championship with Jarrett

     

    ABOUT HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS:
    Founded by Rick Hendrick in 1984, Hendrick Motorsports has earned 249 points-paying race victories and a record 12 car owner championships in the premier NASCAR Cup Series. The organization fields four full-time Chevrolet teams on the Cup circuit with drivers Kasey Kahne, Chase Elliott, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Headquartered in Concord, North Carolina, Hendrick Motorsports employs more than 600 people. For more information, please visit HendrickMotorsports.com or interact on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

  • Q&A With Matt Crafton

    Q&A With Matt Crafton

    The series of questions and answers series continues this week with two-time Truck Series champion Matt Crafton.

    Crafton is one of the longest active drivers in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Since making his debut in 2000 at Fontana driving for Thorsport Racing, Crafton has notched 14 career wins, 100 top fives, 235 top 10s with 2,241 laps led and he won consecutive championships in 2013 and 2014.

    Every driver has a different story about how they got into racing. For Crafton, though, he’s been interested since he was born. “I’ve gotten into racing since birth,” Crafton said. And with every story, each driver has a favorite win in their career. Currently, Crafton has 14 career wins in the Truck Series, however, his favorite was the first win that came for him at “Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2008.” In that race, Crafton had only ten laps to score his first career win.

    “I’ve gotten into racing since birth,” Crafton said. And with every story, each driver has a favorite win in their career. Currently, Crafton has 14 career wins in the Truck Series, however, his favorite was the first win that came for him at “Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2008.” In that race, Crafton had only ten laps to score his first career win.

    And with every story, each driver has a favorite win in their career. Currently, Crafton has 14 career wins in the Truck Series, however, his favorite was the first win that came for him at “Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2008.” In that race, Crafton led only 10 laps as he scored his first career win.

    Before a race, some drivers have a pre-race ritual and some don’t. In Crafton’s case, it’s entirely different and it may be interesting to people on what his ritual is.

    “Eat a PB&J on wheat bread with Strawberry Jelly,” Crafton said.

    Each racer has someone who they have idolized growing up and would have liked to race with from the past. Crafton says his racing hero growing up was, “Davey Allison.” He said he “would have liked the chance to race with him from the past.”

    Every racer also has a preference on what type of track they would like to race on. In night races, the track and air temperature is much cooler and not as hot, compared to what it’s like during a race in the day. Crafton enjoys racing at “night.”

    A track Crafton would like to have back on the schedule is “The Milwaukee Mile,” Crafton said. And finally, Crafton says, “The Camping World Truck Series is the most competitive series in NASCAR.”

    You can follow Matt Crafton on Twitter @Matt_Crafton.

  • Blaney Fastest at Bristol in Final Cup Practice

    Blaney Fastest at Bristol in Final Cup Practice

    BRISTOL, Tenn. — Ryan Blaney topped the chart in final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford was the fastest with a time of 14.926 and a speed of 128.554 mph. Kyle Larson was second in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet with a time of 14.983 and a speed of 128.065 mph. Ryan Newman was third in his No. 31 Wood Brothers Racing Chevrolet with a time of 15.016 and a speed of 127.784 mph. Jamie McMurray was fourth in his No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet with a time of 15.051 and a speed of 127.487 mph. Kyle Busch rounded out the top-five in his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with a time of 15.078 and a speed of 127.258 mph.

    Chris Buescher, Trevor Bayne, Erik Jones, AJ Allmendinger and Clint Bowyer rounded out the top-10.

    Matt Kenseth, who clocked in the 13th-fastest single lap, posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 125.930 mph.

    First Cup Series Practice Results

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  • Kenseth Searching for First Win of the Season at Bristol

    Kenseth Searching for First Win of the Season at Bristol

    With three races remaining in the regular season, Matt Kenseth is still searching for his first win of the year. As the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend, his past success at the .533-mile track could easily translate into a trip to Victory Lane.

    In 35 starts at Bristol, Kenseth has proven his mastery of the track. He has captured four checkered flags and two of those victories were won from the pole, in 2005 and 2015. He enters the race with the highest driver rating (100.2) and has the series-most quality passes with 810. Kenseth leads all active drivers with 14 top fives and the most top 10s (21). In this year’s spring Food City 500 at Bristol, he finished in fourth place.

    Although he has had an inconsistent year, in the four races leading up to the Pure Michigan 400 last week, he gained some momentum, scoring three top-fives and finishing ninth at Pocono Raceway. Kenseth was in third place at Michigan International Speedway when, after a caution late in the race, contact on the restart caused him to fall back through the field which resulted in a 24th place finish.

    After a second place result at Watkins Glen, his best finish this year, Kenseth was optimistic about returning to Victory Lane soon.

    “So, we’ve been able to make a little comeback in the points, which is nice especially for the season that we’ve had. But, lately we’ve been running a lot better,” he said, “and I feel like we keep running like this, hopefully, we can get a win the next few weeks.”

    The Joe Gibbs Racing driver is in the last available position in the current playoff scenario. Chase Elliott in 14th and Jamie McMurray in 15th, are winless this season, as well. What this means is that if a new driver wins at Bristol, other than Elliott or McMurray, Kenseth loses his spot in the playoffs.

    Kenseth also has Clint Bowyer closing in on him for the final spot, just 31 points behind in 17th place. With time running out, a victory is the only way he can secure his position in the playoffs. Considering Kenseth’s status as a free agent, the opportunity to contend for the championship at this point in his career is vital.

    “I think I’ve got some wins left in me and hopefully can race for championships. Right now,” Kenseth said, “my focus is on finishing up this year.”

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

     

  • Kyle Busch Rallies from Speeding Penalty to Win Bristol Truck Race

    Kyle Busch Rallies from Speeding Penalty to Win Bristol Truck Race

    BRISTOL, Tenn. — While Kyle Busch was the dominant driver, he had to overcome a speeding penalty, which he did with ease, ran down and passed Matt Crafton, and even held him off on an overtime restart to win at Thunder Valley.

    Busch was busted for speeding under the second stage break caution and restarted at the tail-end of the field on the ensuing restart. He made quick work of the field, catching and passing Crafton for the race lead with 33 laps to go to score his 49th career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory in 140 career starts.

    Crafton finished second and John Hunter Nemechek rounded out the podium.

    Grant Enfinger and Ben Rhodes rounded out the top-five.

    Johnny Sauter, Christopher Bell, Parker Kligerman, Austin Cindric and Brandon Jones rounded out the top-10.

    RACE SUMMARY

    Busch led the field to the green flag at 10:44 p.m. He led every lap of the first stage on his way to winning it on Lap 56.

    Cindric took the lead under the caution and restarted the race leader. A lap after the Lap 64 restart, however, Crafton got to his corner panel and loosened him. Taking the lead on Lap 65. But Busch ran him down, and lapped traffic allowed him to pass Crafton exiting Turn 2, retake the lead and win the second stage on Lap 121.

    He was busted for speeding, which set up the run to the finish.

    NUTS & BOLTS

    The race lasted one hour, 13 minutes and five seconds, at an average speed of 88.829 mph. There were six lead changes among four different drivers and five cautions for 31 laps.

    Bell leaves with a 42-point lead over Sauter.

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