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  • Kyle Larson Hits the Jackpot and Wins the Xfinity Race at Las Vegas

    Kyle Larson Hits the Jackpot and Wins the Xfinity Race at Las Vegas

    Kyle Larson, driving his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Chevy, brought home the prize in the Xfinity Series Boyd Gaming 300 Saturday afternoon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He dominated the field and would lead the most laps, 142-of-200, before finally capturing the checkered flag.

    This is his first win at the track after his runner-up finish last year. It’s also his ninth career victory at eight different tracks.

    After the race, Larson commented, “It was an awesome day for DC Solar. I think this is their first win so I’m glad to get them their first win here in the Xfinity series.” Larson would go on to say, “This race car is so fast, it was really fast last year, but you never really know. This is my first time with this body and it performed well. I’m happy about that, it’s a great day.”

    Stage 1 would only have one caution caused by a spinning Dylan Lupton. The rest of the stage we saw a great battle from the drivers, especially between Larson and Christopher Bell. Bell and Larson would swap the lead so often they were putting on a great race for the fans. However, it would be Bell who would become the winner of Stage 1.

    Stage 2 would go caution free but there was still plenty of action. After a bad pit stop, Bell would fall back a little giving Ryan Blaney the chance to vie for the lead with Larson. Another great battle would ensue between the two but this time Larson would take the Stage 2 win.

    The final stage of the race saw Bell back up front once again battling with Larson for the lead. It started to look like it was going to be a fuel mileage race. This had teams scrambling to see if they could make it to the finish without pitting and it seemed that Larson was going to be a little short. You could almost hear the sigh of relief when a caution with 16 laps to go came out. Once the race got back underway Larson would get the lead and not look back until he took the checkers.

    Bell would bring his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota home in second place. He battled with Larson hard but it just wasn’t enough today.

    Bell who had given Larson a shove to the lead told reporters, “It would have been nice to get up to the lead but I knew if I could put Kyle out there we’d be able to race it out. It was a lot of fun racing and I hope it was a lot of fun watching.”

    Justin Allgaier finished his No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet in third place. He will be celebrating his 12-year Anniversary with wife Ashley, tomorrow.

    Allgaier commented, “At the end of the race we got ourselves good track position, led laps, and there I probably burnt up the right front a little bit too much on that long run and started fading. I was glad to see that caution at the end, but you’re never really sure how those are gonna go.”

    Ryan Blaney and Elliott Sadler would round out the top five. Daniel Hemric, Brandon Jones, Tyler Reddick, Cole Custer, and Spencer Gallagher finished sixth through 10th, respectively.

    Reddick leads the Xfinity Series standings with 123 points, by virtue of a win, over Sadler, who also has 123 points. Bell is in third, 23 points behind, with Allgaier in fourth and Gallagher rounding out the top five.

    The Xfinity Series heads next to ISM Raceway (formerly Phoenix International Raceway) on March 10.

     

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Las-Vegas-Xfinity-Series-Unofficial-Results-3-3-18.pdf” title=”Las Vegas Xfinity Series Unofficial Results 3-3-18″]

  • Four Takeaways From The Truck Series Race At Daytona

    Four Takeaways From The Truck Series Race At Daytona

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series started the 2018 season last Friday night at Daytona International Speedway. Here are four takeaways from the event itself.

    1. GMS Racing Look To Recapture Championship – GMS Racing’s Johnny Sauter started off the season with a win, followed by the No. 24 of Justin Haley. If history repeats itself, Sauter would wind up winning his second championship this year as he won the season opener a few years ago and won the championship in that year. It could happen again, but there are a lot of hungry and new drivers looking to knock off the seasoned veterans for the championship.
    2. Scott Lagasse Jr. Gets A For Effort – Lagasse Jr earned a fifth-place finish Friday night at Daytona. It was his best finish at the historic 2.5-mile superspeedway since the 2015 race where he finished third. Regardless of where he finished in the stages, he gets an A for effort while earning his second top five of his career.
    3. Kyle Busch Motorsports Has Star-Studded Lineup – The driver lineup will look different this year for Kyle Busch Motorsports than it did in past years. Noah Gragson returns for his second full-time season driving the famed No. 18. Todd and David Gilliland will split the rides until Todd turns 18 at Charlotte in May. Spencer Davis and Kyle Busch will also spit the No. 51 Truck. While at Charlotte, KBM will field four entries with Todd in the No. 4, Gragson in the No. 18, Busch in the No. 51 and Brandon Jones in the No. 46. As you can see, the KBM entries are fielded with bright stars looking to make an impact and headlines in 2018.
    4. Jordan Anderson Fields Own Entry In 2018 – It will be interesting to see how Anderson does competing in his own team this year. He will be fielding the No. 3 Toyota Tundra in 2018. He was there at the end challenging for the win despite not finishing in the top 10 in both stages. However, just like Spencer Davis, Anderson went spinning around at the start-finish line to earn the first top 10 of his career. If Anderson can keep this up, he will have a solid 2018 season.
  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Bristol

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Bristol

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads to Bristol Motor Speedway for a rare mid-week event. It will be the 14th race of the 2017 season with three races remaining before the playoffs begin. For some drivers, Bristol could be the place to score their first win of the season, but there could also be a repeat 2017 winner. Let’s take a look at who could tame the “Fastest Half Mile” on the Truck Series circuit.

    In the past five races, there have been five different winners, with the winner coming from the lowest starting position, 13th, which came from Ben Kennedy in last year’s race.

    Currently, there are 34 Trucks on the preliminary entry list.

    1. Kyle Busch – Busch will be competing in his sixth race of the season. Bristol has been a strong suit for the younger Busch brother. In the last five races, Busch has one win that came in 2013, two top fives and two top 10 finishes. Busch will look to add another win at Bristol. Also to note, Bristol was the home of his sweep that came in 2010.

    2. Christopher Bell – Bell looks to continue his summer hot streak as he heads to Bristol for the second time in his career. In his only start, he finished seventh in last year’s race. Even though he has four wins this and the points lead, that won’t stop him going for his fifth win of the year and his first at Bristol.

    3. John Hunter Nemechek – Nemechek is looking to rebound after a disappointing outing at Michigan. In three races at Bristol, he has finished eighth, third and sixth, respectively. If Nemechek wants to rebound and get his season back on track, Bristol could be the place.

    4. Matt Crafton – Crafton finished sixth this past weekend at Michigan but is hungry for another win this season. In the last five races, Crafton has an average finish of 12.4 but has one top five and four top 10 finishes. Bristol might be the site of his second win of the season.

    5. Brandon Jones – Jones could be a spoiler and wild card Wednesday night at Bristol. In his only start that came in 2016, he finished ninth. In 2017 on the Truck Series side, Jones has given the No. 99 team, two top fives and three top 10 finishes. This might be a momentum booster for Jones as he’s been struggling on the XFINITY Series side.

    The winners of the last five races have come from inside the top 10, with the exception of the 2016 race where Ben Kennedy won from the 13th starting position. Qualifying will be an important factor if the drivers want a shot at the win.

    There will be two practices on Wednesday with the first one at 9 a.m. ET and the final at 11 a.m. ET, both on FS1.

    Qualifying is set for 4:35 p.m. ET on FS2 and race coverage will begin at 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1 and MRN Radio.

  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rankings – Kentucky

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rankings – Kentucky

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series took center stage at Kentucky Speedway Thursday night. Barring a three-hour rain delay, it was an action filled race. Here are the power rankings following Kentucky.

    1. Christopher Bell – While Bell was the dominant truck throughout the race, it did not come without issues. On lap 28, Bell took a spin in turn 3 bringing out the second caution. Bell had another issue in Stage 2, by being involved in a wreck on lap 43, but came away with no damage. He rebounded by the end of Stage 2 to finish sixth. In the remaining laps of the race, Bell swapped the lead with John Hunter Nemechek until he took the lead for good on lap 114. He eventually held off a hard charging Brandon Jones with just a few laps remaining to score his third win of the year.

    “This is pretty special man,” Bell said. “This is an extremely tough race for me. We had our ups and downs there and through practice yesterday.” “We had such a great Toyota Tundra that I knew, I knew if the right circumstances came up we could do it and Rudy (Fugle) did a great job on top of the pit box just getting me track position after I made a mistake there and spun out.”

    2. Brandon Jones – Jones’s race came with issues as well. After starting sixteenth, Jones slipped back to finish seventh in Stage 1 and ninth in Stage 2. However, on lap 115, Jones and Ryan Truex made contact to bring out the last caution. It took him several laps to rebound, but he challenged for the win and eventually settled for second behind race winner Christopher Bell.

    “Yeah, I’m dying for a win right now for sure,” Jones said. “I was trying everything I could to get to the 4 (Christopher Bell) at the end. Eventually, I finally just started holding my line and you see him trying to move around stuff and try to mess us up a little bit. It was all fun and games for sure. I enjoyed it. It was a great start so far.”

    3. Justin Haley – Haley made his fourteenth career start last night and a career-best third. After starting 10th, Haley had a solid Stage 1 finish by finishing sixth. During Stage 2, Haley led only four laps to finish third. Haley eventually held on to finish where he finished in Stage 2, third.

    “We had a really good night in the No.24 Fraternal Order of Eagles Chevy,” Haley said. “We knew track position was going to be key and Kevin (Bellicourt, Crew Chief) worked out great strategy for us.”

    4. Noah Gragson – Gragson had a solid night at Kentucky. After starting eleventh, Gragson finished just two spots ahead in Stage 1 as the truck needed adjustments to get to Gragson’s liking. When Stage 2 began, Gragson started second and assumed the lead on lap 41 to win his first ever stage of his career. However, issues came in Stage 3. Gragson brought out a caution on lap 77 for a collision between him and Austin Cindric but started to work his way to the top. He was up to seventh with 10 laps to go, before eventually finishing in fifth place.

    “We led some laps during the second stage and were in a really good position running seventh to start the third stage,” Gragson said. “I just made a rookie mistake down there running the apron. Not running this track before, I didn’t know there was a bump there and I had a little bit of wheel into it down there in the front stretch and spun out.”

    5. Parker Kligerman – Kligerman has been solid recently in the truck series in 2017. Before Kentucky, Kligerman had only competed in three races and scored just one top 10 coming at Charlotte. Kligerman started in the 30th position after qualifying was rained out. While he did not finish in the top 10 in the first two stages, circumstances worked out for him and he came home to finish seventh, his best finish of the year.

    “Glad we had a solid night and we will take this and keep building on runs like this,” Kligerman said. “Good momentum going into our next few races.”

    Next up: The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series takes a week off, before heading to the famed Eldora Speedway on July 19.

  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rankings – Iowa

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rankings – Iowa

    Iowa Speedway was the site for the ninth race of the 2017 season. The race featured a variety of pit strategies and a back to back winner.

    1. John Hunter Nemechek – Nemechek started the race in the fifth position, but quickly fell back in the early going. In Stage 1, he finished in the seventh position. Stage 2 was a better turnout for Nemechek, however, as he worked his way up and finished third. When a late race caution fell, the race leader Sauter stayed out, when the rest of the field, including Nemechek, pitted. Nemechek took four tires on the last pit stop. It wasn’t until six laps to go when he made the pass for the win on Sauter. He would go on to win his second race of the year and it was the first time he went back to back.

    “That’s definitely special,” Nemechek said. “All year, we felt really good about this whole stretch, Gateway, Iowa and Kentucky. So hopefully, we can go to Kentucky and make it three in a row.” Nemechek led once for six laps.

    2. Johnny Sauter – Sauter had the truck to beat but in this case he was beaten on a final restart with six laps remaining. After starting fourth, Sauter stayed in the top five for Stage 1 by finishing third. In Stage 2, however, Sauter dominated by taking the lead on Lap 116 and went on to win the second stage. Although, when the late race caution came out with 13 to go, Sauter and his team elected to stay out. This would be costly as he would lose the lead with six to go and finish second.

    “Yeah, you know, obviously, tires prevail here, but we made a great call,” Sauter said. Chase (Briscoe) actually took me to school there. That kid is a hell of a wheelman.”

    Sauter continues to lead the point standings by 42 points over Christopher Bell.

    3. Brandon Jones – Jones was quiet all night until late in the going. It wasn’t until Stage 2, where he finished 10th. Along with the rest of the field, Jones pitted late and took fresher tires. He would rally to finish third, giving him his first top-five of the year.

    “I feel like our Soleus Air Chevy was a strong truck from the drop of the green flag tonight,” Jones said. “Track position was key the whole race, and it got to where you really couldn’t pass anyone once the field strung out. Shane Huffman made a great call to take four tires there with a handful laps left and that was really the difference that let us get up there in the mix. If we would’ve had just a few more laps, I think we definitely could’ve had something for them.”

    4. Grant Enfinger – Enfinger had another decent run this season. He started in the 10th position, stayed around for Stage 1 by finishing ninth. In Stage 2, Enfinger fell outside the top 10. Toward the end of Stage 3, it brought some controversy between Thorsport Racing teammates. Enfinger had accidentally bumped Matt Crafton in Turn 4, thus sending Crafton hard into the wall and ending his night. However, Enfinger went on to finish a solid fourth, but not the best fourth place finish.

    “Yeah I mean, I’m just embarrassed,” Enfinger said. “I was going for the bottom and I thought he (Matt Crafton) was going to go in the middle, and I just came down, it was completely my fault. I mean I just ran him over. I feel terrible.”

    5. Christopher Bell – Bell was a contender throughout most of the night. He would go on to sweep Stage 1. Bell led early in Stage 2, before handing the lead over to Johnny Sauter on Lap 116. Bell went on to finish fourth in Stage 2. After leading early in the race, Bell had to settle for a fifth place finish.

    “We had really fast Toyota Tundra, man”, Bell said. “Out front, it was just lights out- we were really, really good and on the short run too, but the long run was where we excelled. I don’t know man,” Bell continued, “It’s so tough to pass whenever it’s on the bottom and, finally, the top came in and then we could finally start passing guys, but still it’d take way too long to pass them and then- but the yellow came out and that gave us a shot at it and just didn’t work out.”

    Bell continues to be second in the point standings 42 points behind Sauter.

    The race featured four cautions for 34 laps, with five leaders among six lead changes.There is no NASCAR Camping World Truck Series action next weekend as the series is off, but the action returns to Kentucky Speedway Thursday, July 6.

  • John Hunter Nemechek Goes Back To Back In 2017

    John Hunter Nemechek Goes Back To Back In 2017

    John Hunter Nemechek won the M&MS 200 at Iowa Speedway Friday night, capturing his second straight victory.

    Noah Gragson set the pole in qualifying, alongside him was Kyle Busch Motorsports teammate Christopher Bell, who has won twice this season. Sixty laps each made up Stages 1 and 2, while 80 laps made up the final laps.

    When Stage 1 began, Gragson led early, but it was Bell who took the lead on Lap 17 and never looked back. Bell would go on to win the first stage, which was incident free.

    Stage 2 took place on lap 69; Bell and Chase Briscoe were on the front row after pit stops. While it looked like the stage would remain incident free once again, problems began on Lap 95 for Ben Rhodes, who had a vibration and had to pit from fifth place. The second caution came out on Lap 108 when Mike Senica spun off Turn 2.

    This caution brought many varying pit strategies. The race leader Bell stayed out while the rest of the field pitted.

    Stage 2 went back to green on Lap 113 and Johnny Sauter took the lead away from Bell three laps later. Toward the end of the stage, Kaz Grala and Cody Coughlin made contact on the backstretch to bring out another caution. Rhodes was also involved, getting a flat tire due to contact. NASCAR made the decision to end the stage under caution, to allow clean up due to extensive fluid laid down the track. Sauter ended up winning the second stage.

    Stage 3 got underway with 68 laps to go. Sauter was setting the pace until Briscoe took the lead with 17 laps to go. It looked like the race was going to remain green but Matt Crafton wrecked and hit the wall hard in Turns 3 and 4, due to a bump by his teammate Grant Enfinger. Under this caution, we saw the race-winning call. Sauter stayed out, while others pitted. This also saw eventual race winner, Nemechek, take four tires and restart in the fourth position.

    With seven to go for the restart, Sauter was on old tires as Briscoe made a pass for the lead and held on for one lap. Nemechek made the winning pass with six to go on the backstretch. When he took the checkered flag, there was a wreck involving Harrison Burton and Justin Haley. Both drivers were uninjured.

    “That’s definitely special,” Nemechek said. “All year, we felt really good about this whole stretch, Gateway, Iowa and Kentucky. So hopefully, we can go to Kentucky and make it three in a row.”

    “I can’t say enough,” Nemechek said. “Thank you to all my guys. They’re so determined. They work as many hours as needed. This is fun getting to victory lane.”

    Sauter, Brandon Jones, Enfinger and Bell rounded out the top five. Current Truck Series champion Sauter is the points leader by 42 over second place Bell.

    This was Nemechek’s second win of the year and his fifth career win. He led once for six laps.

    There were five leaders among six lead changes, with four cautions for 34 laps.

    Next Up: The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series takes next weekend off, before heading to Kentucky Speedway Thursday, July 6.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Iowa-NCWTS-result-6-23-17T1709_UNOFFRES.pdf” title=”Iowa NCWTS result 6-23-17T1709_UNOFFRES”]

     

     

  • Camping World Truck Series Preview – Iowa

    Camping World Truck Series Preview – Iowa

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads to Iowa Speedway this Friday night for race number nine of the 2017 season.

    Currently, there are 34 trucks on the preliminary entry list. In the last five races, there have been three different winners. Erik Jones, who is not entered, is the only repeat winner with victories in 2014 and 2015.

    Here are some of the drivers to keep an eye on during Friday night’s M&M’s 200.

    Matt Crafton – Crafton has one win at Iowa which came in 2011. However, in the last three races at Iowa, he has two top fives and three top 10 finishes, with 33 laps led. Crafton ranks number one among active drivers at Iowa Speedway. He has not won yet this season but looks to turn that around at Iowa.

    John Hunter Nemechek – Nemechek is coming off his first win of the season last week. In the last three races at Iowa, Nemechek has one top 10 and one pole, along with 53 laps led. His average finish 15.0, but a win carries momentum into the next race. Keep an eye on Nemechek once again this week.

    Christopher Bell – Bell is having a strong season so far. In Iowa, he has competed in the last two races with a finish of ninth or better. He has one top five and two top ten finishes. Bell is always a threat week in and week out.

    Johnny Sauter – Sauter has been decent in his recent Iowa outings. In the past five races, he has one top five and two top finishes. In his championship season last year, Sauter finished 10th in the 2016 race. Sauter might just sneak a win out on Friday night.

    Ben Rhodes – Rhodes only has one start at Iowa coming in 2016, earning a fourth place finish.

    Drivers To Watch:

    Ryan Truex -Truex has been strong as of late. This season he has placed two top fives and six top 10 finishes, although, Truex has never competed in the Truck Series at Iowa.

    Brandon Jones – Jones is competing in the Truck Series once again this weekend. He has competed in two races at Iowa with the best finish of second in 2015.

    Chase Briscoe – Briscoe has been oh so close this season regarding victory lane. The driver of the No. 29 Brad Keselowski Racing F-150 has finished second in the last two races. In 2016, Briscoe competed at Iowa in the ARCA Racing Series and notched a win at the track.

    Noah Gragson – Iowa might be a breakthrough point for Gragson. During his K&N Pro Series days, Gragson has a finish of third, second and sixth, respectively.

    Coverage starts on Friday morning with the first of two practices beginning at 10:00 a.m. ET on Fox Sports 1. Qualifying is slated for 6:05 p.m. ET Friday evening. Race coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. on FS1 and the Motor Racing Network with the green flag scheduled for 8:47 p.m.

     

  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Fantasy Preview – Charlotte

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Fantasy Preview – Charlotte

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series return to Charlotte Motor Speedway this Friday night for the annual running of the N.C. Education Lottery 200. Thirty-three trucks are currently entered so far on the entry list. So who are some drivers to keep an eye on at Charlotte?

    Kyle Busch: Coming off a win last week at Kansas, Busch has two wins at Charlotte in the last five years. Expect him to be in contention for the win on Friday night.

    Matt Crafton: After a disappointing finish at Kansas, Crafton is looking for a rebound and Charlotte may be the place. Dating back to 2013, Crafton has one win (2016) and three top fives. If anyone can beat Busch, it’s Crafton.

    Christopher Bell: 1.5-mile tracks have been Bell’s strong suit as of late. Bell won at Atlanta earlier this year and placed fourth last week at Kansas. Last year at Charlotte, Bell came home in the eighth position.

    Timothy Peters: Peters has a great track record at Charlotte. In the last three years, Peters finished seventh or better. Look for him to be a contender this weekend.

    Ben Rhodes: Rhodes is looking for a win this week after his engine blew up at Kansas late in the going. In his only start coming in 2016, Rhodes finished 17th. However, despite Kansas, he finished fourth at Atlanta earlier this year, the other 1.5-mile track.

    Brandon Jones: Jones returns to the truck series this weekend at Charlotte driving the no.99 for Matthew Miller. In two starts, Jones has finished 13th or better.

    These are just some of the names to keep an eye on at Charlotte this weekend.

    On track activities kick-off Thursday, May 18, for two rounds of practice at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. ET. Qualifying is set for Friday afternoon at 4:45 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1 followed by the race at 8:30 p.m., also on Fox Sports 1.

  • Brandon Jones Fastest at Talladega in Final XFINITY Practice

    Brandon Jones Fastest at Talladega in Final XFINITY Practice

    TALLADEGA, Ala. — Brandon Jones topped the chart in final NASCAR XFINITY Series practice at Talladega Superspeedway.

    The driver of the No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet was the fastest with a time of 52.381 and a speed of 182.814 mph followed by Blake Koch in second in his No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet with a time of 52.508 and a speed of 182.372 mph.

    Daniel Hemric was third in his No. 21 GMS Racing Chevrolet with a time of 52.623 and a speed of 181.974 mph. Ben Kennedy was fourth in his No. 2 Childress Chevrolet with a time of 52.766 and a speed of 181.480 mph while Ty Dillon rounded out the top-five in his No. 3 Childress Chevrolet with a time of 52.890 and a speed of 181.055 mph.

    No driver posted a 10 consecutive lap average.

    Koch Fastest In First Talladega XFINITY Practice

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/N1709_PRACFINAL.pdf”]

     

  • Kyle Busch Four for Four Wins in Truck Series with Monster Mile Victory

    Kyle Busch Four for Four Wins in Truck Series with Monster Mile Victory

    Kyle Busch, in his No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award Toyota, scored yet another ‘W’ in the Camping World Truck Series Lucas Oil 200, making it four wins in four races this season.

    This was Busch’s fourth victory, fourth top-10 finish for the 2014 season, and his fourth victory at Dover International Speedway. Busch achieved his eighth perfect driver rating in the Truck Series as well.

    “We had a really good truck,” Busch said. “Eric (Phillips, crew chief) and these guys have done a really good job this year. Last year and maybe a little bit more the year before, we’ve been working on our stuff to make it a little bit faster. All that work’s paying off this year.”

    “I think these guys here and everyone back at the shop prepared some good trucks,” Busch continued. “It’s been fun to be up front and lead laps in the Series. A couple of our lead competition guys, the 88 had trouble today and the 29 just came on a little too late. Excited to see Toyota in Victory Lane and the NASCAR Foundation too.”

    Busch credits his four for four victory spree on “being focused and in good stuff, believing in it and believing in these guys.” The team that bears his name is first in the Owner Points and Busch is excited to continue to run for that honor.

    Busch advised that he was handing the wheel back to Erik Jones for the next few races until he steps back into the race truck at Kentucky.

    “I’m really excited now to see Erik Jones get in the car and run some races,” Busch said. “I told him that just because they change the name on the roof, doesn’t mean he shouldn’t end up in Victory Lane. The pressures is on these guys to keep going and keep the Owner’s Championship up in the points.”

    While Busch dominated the Monster Mile for most of the race, he was getting some heavy competition from Matt Crafton, that is until Crafton’s tire went down and he hit the wall on Lap 156. The driver of the No. 88 Rip It Energy Fuel/Menards Toyota finished 23rd and fell out of the points lead as a result.

    With Crafton out of the race, Ryan Blaney, behind the wheel of the No. 29 Cooper Standard Ford came on strong to finish in the runner up position. This was Blaney’s second top-10 finish in two races at Dover and is his third top-10 finish of the season.

    Blaney now sits in the seventh spot in the points standings.

    “We didn’t start in the best spot, in 14th, but got into the top five fairly quickly,” Blaney said. “We had to work our way to the front from there. They did a great job on pit road all day and had good stops. We gained some spots there a few times.”

    “With about 50 or 60 to go, we had a pit stop and had a loose left front wheel,” Blaney continued. “Luckily we caught it before we went back green. We were able to come back and change it and then we had a caution maybe 20 laps after that. I was able to line up sixth and finally got a break. But I don’t think it mattered as nobody was going to catch the 51. He was something else.”

    Truck Series veteran Johnny Sauter, driver of the No. 96 Nextant/Curb Records Toyota, finished third. This was Sauter’s third top-10 finish in six races at the Monster Mile.

    “For whatever reason, we were a long run truck,” Sauter said. “I didn’t run my fastest lap until Lap 18. Having said that, we knew that we needed to get some speed. We started the race too tight and made some adjustments.”

    “I’m just proud of my guys, especially the over the wall guys,” Sauter continued. “They made gains by leaps and bounds on pit stops today. We had a solid day. We weren’t the fastest truck by any means but we were comparable to the leaders on the long run. Solid points day for us and the truck is in one piece, which is easier said than done at a place like Dover.”

    Ben Kennedy, behind the wheel of the No. 31 Click It or Ticket Chevrolet, was the highest finishing Rookie of the race. And as such, he readily admitted that he had plenty of lessons learned from the Monster Mile track experience.

    “It was pretty good,” Kennedy said. “It was a day of ups and downs for us I guess. We were crazy free in a couple of runs and then got really tight. I’m proud of the whole team because coming from practice we weren’t that great. It was a good day for us and a good day for the Delaware Highway Safety team.”

    “Changing track conditions is something I really learned today,” Kennedy continued. “It was pretty drastic with the setup we had. We went from the first half of the run being pretty awesome to the second half of the run being wrecking loose.”

    “The shade coming up from the casino as the sun sets over there was a big thing for me. Every time I get behind the wheel I learn and gain confidence. Hopefully, we will be up there in the top five running consistently soon.”

    Brandon Jones, driver of the NO. 33 Exide Chevrolet, and Joey Coulter, in the No. 21 Allegiant Chevrolet rounded out the top five in the finishing order.

    Peters emerged as the points standings leader by one point over Matt Crafton. The unofficial results from the Lucas Oil 200 are as follows:

    POS Car # Driver Make

    1 51 Kyle Busch Toyota

    2 29 Ryan Blaney Ford

    3 98 Johnny Sauter Toyota

    4 33 Brandon Jones Chevrolet

    5 21 Joey Coulter Chevrolet

    6 8 John Hunter Nemechek Toyota

    7 31 Ben Kennedy Chevrolet

    8 19 Tyler Reddick Ford

    9 77 German Quiroga Jr Toyota

    10 17 Timothy Peters Toyota

    11 30 Ron Hornaday Jr Chevrolet

    12 5 John Wes Townley Toyota

    13 92 Scott Riggs Ford

    14 0 Cole Custer Chevrolet

    15 50 T.J. Bell Chevrolet

    16 54 Darrell Wallace Jr Toyota

    17 2 Tyler Young Chevrolet

    18 13 Jeb Burton Toyota

    19 63 Justin Jennings Chevrolet

    20 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb RAM

    21 20 Gray Gaulding Chevrolet

    22 32 Ben Rhodes Chevrolet

    23 88 Matt Crafton Toyota

    24 39 Ryan Sieg Chevrolet

    25 99 Bryan Silas Chevrolet

    26 35 Mason Mingus Toyota

    27 9 Brennan Newberry Chevrolet

    28 57 Norm Benning Chevrolet

    29 7 Jake Crum Chevrolet

    30 8 Jimmy Weller III Chevrolet

    31 56 Raymond Terczak Jr Chevrolet

    32 42 Charles Lewandoski Chevrolet

    33 40 Todd Peck Chevrolet

    34 0 Ryan Ellis Chevrolet

    35 36 Blake Koch RAM