Tag: kyle busch

Kyle Busch recovers to capture second victory of Vegas weekend in Xfinity Series

LAS VEGAS – Kyle Busch recovers from an early race issue to win the Boyd Gaming 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

Since winning Friday night’s NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Strat 200, Busch will now go for the triple sweep at Vegas in Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“It was really tough to come back from one of those setbacks,” Busch said after an eventful day in his No. 18 Extreme Concepts / iK9 Toyota. “I wasn’t sure how we were going to be able to do it down a set of tires. We got a lucky break with a caution during the second stage. That kind of got us back on cycle, and we were able to put the first set (of tires) back on with fresh wheels so we didn’t have any more issues there.”

John Hunter Nemechek tried everything he could with the late race position he had, but came up just 0.192 seconds short of victory.

“We gave him a run for his money,” Nemechek said. “I’ve been beaten by Kyle (Busch) too many times, in late model races and now in the Xfinity Series. Hopefully, we can come out on top and build momentum off of this.”

Noah Gragson was the highest finishing rookie in his No. 9 Switch Chevrolet after an aggressive three-wide pass on the final lap to finish in third. Austin Dillon helped Kaulig Racing earn their best career finish of fourth in the No. 10 Stitched Chevrolet. Daytona 500 champion Michael Annett rounded out the top five.

Ryan Sieg, Ross Chastain, Chase Briscoe, Cole Custer and Justin Haley (one lap down) completed the top 10.

Custer Sets the Pace in Stage One

Qualifying was rained out, so the field was set by the order of owners’ points. Stephen Leicht and Christopher Bell started at the rear of the field for unapproved adjustments to their cars prior to the start of the race. Cole Custer started on the front row and led the opening eight laps. Austin Cindric, for a brief moment was out front on Lap 9, but Custer reclaimed the top spot for the rest of the first stage.

On Lap 3, Donald Theetge spun through Turn 3 and slowly drifted up the track, collecting Joey Gase. A few drivers did elect to come down pit road, but all the leaders stayed out.

Tyler Reddick leads Brandon Jones and John Hunter Nemechek on the front stretch at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Photo by Rachel Schuoler for Speedway Media.

After 15 laps into the race, Kyle Busch, who was working on his triple sweep at Vegas, came down pit road after feeling a vibration. He went a lap down early, and faced an uphill battle early in the race as a few others were already a lap down. This also put him at a disadvantage as he was down a fresh set of tires. Tyler Reddick radioed in saying that something might be breaking, and had trouble getting onto pit road as he was stuck in the outside lane. However, he stayed out on track to keep the lead lap position.

The rest of the stage finished under green with Custer collecting the stage points. At this point, four cars retired from the race and one had not yet joined the race. During pit stops, Custer lost three spots while Tyler Reddick gained the lead leaving pit road. Three penalties were handed out during this pit cycle. Jeff Green’s crew members were over the wall too soon, and both Timmy Hill and Josh Williams had uncontrolled tire issues.

Stage Two Dominated by Dirt Racers

As the field restarted the race, Tyler Reddick wasted no time and pulled away from the field to lead all the laps in the second stage. Christopher Bell had also worked his way up toward the front after starting at the rear of the field to finish in second at stage end, as the two dirt racers put on a great show racing together.

The one notable event that was a major turning point was on Lap 60 when the yellow was displayed after Austin Cindric and Zane Smith collided on the exit of Turn 2. Cindric went for a long slide, and barely made contact with the outside wall, if any. Both were able to continue the race, but this allowed Kyle Busch to put on the scuff set of tires from the first stage, putting him on the same tire strategy as the rest of the field. He was still a lap down, but it put him in much better position for either a lucky dog or a wave around.

Two drivers received penalties during pit stops. Ryan Sieg was caught speeding on pit road, and Vinnie Miller had a crew member over the wall too soon.

Kyle Busch Surges Back to the Front in the Final Stage

Most of the third stage was uneventful, aside from Busch charging through the field toward the front. He first claimed the lead from Tyler Reddick on Lap 112, and kept the top spot until 20 laps remaining.

Bell and Reddick worked together to reel in Busch, and Bell eventually was able to get by Busch. He led for a lap, but brushed the wall in Turns 3 and 4, giving the lead back to Busch. Bell and Reddick also collided a few times, allowing Busch to pull a gap. On Lap 190, Ja Junior Avila spun off Turn 4 into the infield grass to bring out the caution flag. All drivers had one set of fresh tires, and elected to come to pit road with only six drivers on the lead lap. Before the yellow flag, Busch, Jones and Reddick had over a 20 second lead on the fourth place driver. The top three positions stayed the same after pit stops, but Brandon Jones gained two spots to start in the fourth position.

On the restart, Bell and Reddick attempted to work together to get by Busch who didn’t have quite the perfectly handling car at this point in the race. Bell had briefly stepped out in front before, and Reddick was attempting to do the same.

Before the leaders could take the white flag, Cole Custer had a run on Brandon Jones out of Turn 2. Jones attempted to block, and the two made contact on the back stretch. Jones over-corrected and turned hard into the outside wall. His window net went down and he was able to walk away uninjured, and was evaluated and released from the infield care center shortly after.

Most of the leaders crashed during the first overtime attempt on the exit of Turn 4. Photo by Rachel Schuoler for Speedway Media.

The first overtime attempt had many unknowns, including who would push who and if there would be a four-wide pass going into the first turn. Many of the other drivers had better handling cars, as more started to charge for the win. Going into Turn 3, Reddick lost control of his car as he was to the inside of Busch. As he slid up the track, he collided into Bell and the two went spinning on the exit of Turn 4. Both Austin Cindric and Zane Smith crashed into the sides of both cars heavily, ending the day for all four drivers. The yellow flag was displayed before Busch could take the white flag.

Kyle Busch chose the outside lane on all the final restarts, including the one for the last overtime attempt. John Hunter Nemechek stayed to Busch’s inside until Turn 4 when Busch could clear his car. Noah Gragson made a 3-wide pass in Turns 1 and 2 to recover from an early ill-handling race car, but Busch had too much of a lead for anyone to get a run on him. This was Busch’s second career NASCAR Xfinity win at Vegas, and made him one win away from completing the triple sweep.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series competes next at ISM Raceway in Phoenix, Arizona on March 9.

Race Results for the 23rd Annual Boyd Gaming 300 – Saturday, March 2, 2019, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Fin	Str	No	Driver	Team	Laps	Stage1Pos	Stage2Pos	Pts	Status
1	8	18	Kyle Busch(i)	Extreme Concepts/iK9 Toyota	213	0	3	0	Running
2	10	23	John Hunter Nemechek	Allegiant Chevrolet	213	5	5	47	Running
3	4	9	Noah Gragson #	Switch Chevrolet	213	10	0	35	Running
4	31	10	Austin Dillon(i)	Stitched Chevrolet	213	0	0	0	Running
5	16	1	Michael Annett	Pilot/Flying J Chevrolet	213	6	8	40	Running
6	18	39	Ryan Sieg	Lombard Bros Gaming Chevrolet	213	0	9	33	Running
7	15	4	Ross Chastain	RM Parks/EZ Angus Ranch Chevrolet	213	0	0	30	Running
8	28	98	Chase Briscoe #	Nutri Chomps Ford	213	0	10	30	Running
9	1	0	Cole Custer	Haas Automation Ford	213	1	4	45	Running
10	13	11	Justin Haley #	LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet	212	9	0	29	Running
11	20	7	Ray Black II	ISOKERNFrplcs&Chmnys/ScubaLife Chev	211	0	0	26	Running
12	35	8	Gray Gaulding	Flywheel Chevrolet	211	0	0	25	Running
13	3	20	Christopher Bell	Rheem/Smurfit Kappa Toyota	210	4	2	40	Running
14	12	2	Tyler Reddick	Hurdl Chevrolet	208	3	1	41	Accident
15	17	51	Jeremy Clements	RepairableVehicles.com Chevrolet	208	0	0	22	Running
16	19	36	Josh Williams	All Sports Coffee/JoeFroyo Chevrolet	208	0	0	21	Running
17	11	86	Brandon Brown #	Brandonbilt Motorsports Chevrolet	208	0	0	20	Running
18	22	0	Garrett Smithley	teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet	208	0	0	19	Running
19	27	52	David Starr	Chevrolet	208	0	0	18	Running
20	29	15	BJ McLeod	teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet	208	0	0	17	Running
21	2	42	Chad Finchum	Amana/Smithbilt Homes Toyota	207	0	0	16	Running
22	5	22	Austin Cindric	MoneyLion Ford	206	8	0	18	Accident
23	34	66	Timmy Hill	Francovich Manhattan Toyota	206	0	0	14	Running
24	6	8	Zane Smith	The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas Chevrolet	205	0	0	13	Accident
25	24	99	Ja Junior Avila	Art General Contractors/JW Transport Toyota	205	0	0	12	Running
26	14	78	Vinnie Miller	Koolbox Chevrolet	202	0	0	11	Running
27	30	1	Stephen Leicht	teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet	200	0	0	10	Running
28	9	19	Brandon Jones	Menards/Jeld-Wen Toyota	198	2	7	22	Accident
29	25	5	Matt Mills	JF Electric Chevrolet	196	0	0	8	Running
30	37	74	Mike Harmon	Time for a Hero Chevrolet	194	0	0	7	Running
31	7	7	Justin Allgaier	BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet	119	7	6	15	Engine
32	26	38	Jeff Green	RSS Racing Chevrolet	99	0	0	5	Suspension
33	38	89	Morgan Shepherd	VisoneRV.com Chevrolet	61	0	0	4	Handling
34	21	17	Bayley Currey(i)	Chevrolet	24	0	0	0	Electrical
35	36	13	Stan Mullis	Fluidyne/CrashClaimsR.US Toyota	14	0	0	2	Vibration
36	32	93	Josh Bilicki	RSS Racing Chevrolet	13	0	0	1	Electrical
37	23	90	Donald Theetge	Mercedes-Benz St-Nicolas/Circuit Acura Chev	1	0	0	1	Accident
38	33	35	Joey Gase	Nevada Donor Network Toyota	1	0	0	1	Accident

March 2, 2019

Kyle Busch dominates and wins the Strat 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

LAS VEGAS – Kyle Busch obliterates the field for the Strat 200 win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series.

This was Kyle Busch’s 196th career win across all three top series, so naturally the conversation quickly turned to when and where he would earn his 200th win.

“It doesn’t matter where it’s at. I don’t need that extra pressure,” Busch shared when asked if he had a preference as to which track he wanted that win.

Busch led 110 of 134 laps, and really only fell behind on some various pit strategies after the first stage. This win is also the first of three that he needs to complete the triple sweep.

“We fought it in practice a little bit. We worked on it an awful lot to make it better. Rudy [Fugle, crew chief] and these guys did an amazing job on this Cessna Tundra. It was really, really fast. Just kept working on it all night long – every pit stop. It’s cool to win here in your hometown, being in Las Vegas, starting off a triple weekend. Hopefully, we can keep it going.”

Brett Moffitt finished second and was clearly the only other truck capable of running with Busch, but just wasn’t able to get a way around him.

“It’s frustrating because we were the only ones able to run with him,” Moffitt said dejectedly on pit road after the race. “I think if we were able to run up front and not use up all our stuff coming from the back, we would have had a better shot and I could have played around with a few different runs and try to learn how to pass him. No one else could run with us speed-wise.”

Hattori Racing Enterprises announced in December that they were letting go of Moffitt due to a lack of funding. The 2018 Truck Series champion didn’t miss a beat. He quickly joined with GMS racing, and starts the 2019 season strong with consecutive top five finishes.

“My confidence is at an all-time high. I guess it’s kinda fun being upset with a second place finish to Kyle Busch. Jerry Baxter [crew chief] and everyone at GMS, they work so damn hard and Maury Gallagher and the Gallagher family, they want to be the best out there, week in and week out. We qualified sixth at Daytona and they were upset with that, so that just speaks to how good they want to be. As a driver, that’s all you can ask for.”

Matt Crafton rallied from early rear end damage during the first and only yellow flag incident to run third. Stewart Friesen led 20 laps during the second stage, and finished fourth. Harrison Burton was the last truck in the top five. Sheldon Creed, Todd Gilliland, Johnny Sauter, Ryan Reed and Ross Chastain completed the top 10.

Busch Leads Opening 30 Laps

Kyle Busch chose the inside line for the initial start. As the field was finishing Lap six, Sheldon Creed chased the truck up the hill on the exit of Turn 4 to keep off another truck. He turned hard left and spun into the grass to bring out the first caution. Matt Crafton also had some rear-end damage along with Cory Roper getting some front end damage.

“I just caught that group and I was three-wide in the middle,” Creed shared with some optimism. “I tried to give the No. 4 [Todd Gilliland] space because he popped out on the bottom, just slid up into the No. 17 [Ryan Reed] and he wasn’t gonna give me room because he was just holding his ground. It just pulled the side air off the truck and making me real loose. One of those learning deals where you’d just back out of it; if I were in that situation again, I’d just let the two of them have it and then get them back. I caught that group in two laps.”

Brett Moffitt had a brief battle for second with Harrison Burton, but once he cleared his truck, the defending series champion powered his way within a few tenths of a second behind the leader. Busch’s late-run setup allowed him to gap Moffitt, and won the first stage by leading the first 30 laps.

Most pit stops went smoothly, but Moffitt’s team called for four tires. As the right side tires were finished, the hose for the lug nut gun was pinched under the right rear tire, adding a tremendous amount of time to their pit stop. Moffitt visited pit road a second time under caution for a vibration. Four penalties were handed out. Tyler Dippel’s crew had an uncontrolled tire, Austin Wayne Self had a crew member over the wall too soon before he turned into his pit stall, Angela Ruch was too fast on pit road in one section and the pit crew of Jennifer Jo Cobb was penalized for improper fueling.

Kyle Busch Sweeps Both Stages

Stewart Friesen and Sheldon Creed restarted the race from the front row to start off the second stage. Grant Enfinger, who started from the rear, battled his way into the top five.

The entire stage was under the green flag. Friesen led most of the laps until Busch was able to get by and win the second stage.

Three penalties were handed out during pit stops. Dippel, Self and Ruch all received their second penalty of the night. The only truck retired from the race was Scott Stenzel

Final Stage and Race Belonged to Kyle Busch

Racing started wild at the restart with many instances of four-wide racing. Drivers like Ross Chastain and Grant Enfinger took advantage of passing three trucks in one move.

Tire smoke surrounds Kyle Busch as he celebrates in front of the fans on the front stretch at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Photo by Rachel Schuoler.

Around 30 laps to go, some drivers got pit road penalties during green flag pit stops, including Brennan Poole and Tyler Dippel, who was penalized during each of his three stops of the race. Ross Chastain stalled his truck during his final pit stop, losing valuable time. Jesse Iwuji was caught speeding on pit road, and Ben Rhodes had too many crew members over the wall.

Out front, it was a similar battle to the first stage. Once Moffitt was able to clear some trucks and put himself into the second position, he started to hunt down Busch. And again, as he got within a few tenths of a second behind Busch, the No. 51 Toyota Tundra found another gear and pulled out to a comfortable lead to win the Strat 200 by 1.211 seconds.

All trucks officially cleared NASCAR’s post race inspection, and no trucks went to the R&D center. Three trucks were taken to the wind tunnel (Nos. 18, 13, and 2).

Gander Outdoors Truck Series Race Number 3
Race Results for the 2nd Annual Strat 200 – Friday, March 1, 2019
Las Vegas Motor Speedway – Las Vegas, NV – 1.5 – Mile Paved Total
Race Length – 134 Laps – 201. Miles

Fin	Str	No	Driver	Team	Laps	Stage1Pos	Stage2Pos	Pts	Status
1	1	51	Kyle Busch(i)	Cessna Toyota	134	1	1	0	Running
2	2	24	Brett Moffitt	Allegiant Chevrolet	134	2	10	45	Running
3	15	88	Matt Crafton	DampRid/Menards Ford	134	0	9	36	Running
4	7	52	Stewart Friesen	Halmar International Chevrolet	134	7	2	46	Running
5	3	18	Harrison Burton #	Safelite AutoGlass Toyota	134	4	6	44	Running
6	9	2	Sheldon Creed #	A.M. Ortega/RTL Chevrolet	134	0	7	35	Running
7	13	4	Todd Gilliland	Mobil 1 Toyota	134	6	4	42	Running
8	11	13	Johnny Sauter	Tenda Heal Ford	134	0	0	29	Running
9	10	17	Ryan Reed	Dexcom Toyota	134	8	0	31	Running
10	16	45	Ross Chastain(i)	TruNorth Chevrolet	133	5	3	0	Running
11	4	98	Grant Enfinger	Champion Power Equipment Ford	133	0	0	26	Running
12	18	44	Timothy Peters	Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Chevrolet	133	9	0	27	Running
13	12	54	Natalie Decker #	N29 Technologies LLC Toyota	133	0	0	24	Running
14	25	7	Korbin Forrister	Strut Masters Toyota	132	0	0	23	Running
15	24	22	Austin Wayne Self	GO TEXAN/JB Henderson Construction Chevrolet	132	0	0	22	Running
16	22	8	Angela Ruch	JJ Resources Chevrolet	132	0	0	21	Running
17	21	2	Tyler Dippel #	Danda Concrete/Lobas Productions Chevrolet	132	0	0	20	Running
18	14	15	Anthony Alfredo #	Ceco Building Systems/Friends of Jaclyn Toyota	132	0	0	19	Running
19	17	97	Jesse Little	Parker FiberNet Ford	132	0	0	18	Running
20	8	30	Brennan Poole	KeepandBear.com Toyota	131	0	0	17	Running
21	20	3	Jordan Anderson	Lucas Oil/Knight Fire Protection Chevrolet	130	0	0	16	Running
22	26	12	Gus Dean #	Chevrolet	130	0	0	15	Running
23	31	33	Josh Reaume	Mr. Beast Chevrolet	129	0	0	14	Running
24	5	4	Cory Roper	Preferred Industrial Contractors Inc. Ford	127	0	0	13	Running
25	19	99	Ben Rhodes	Carolina Nut Ford	125	10	5	19	Running
26	28	34	Jesse Iwuji	Fueltrax Chevrolet	124	0	0	11	Running
27	29	10	Jennifer Jo Cobb	Waldo’s Painting Chevrolet	123	0	0	10	Running
28	32	6	Norm Benning	Zomongo/H&H Transport Chevrolet	121	0	0	9	Running
29	23	20	Spencer Boyd	1A Auto Chevrolet	108	0	0	8	Engine
30	6	16	Austin Hill	A&D Welding Toyota	82	3	8	18	Engine
31	27	1	Stefan Parsons	Phoenix Construction Chevrolet	67	0	0	6	Carburetor
32	30	63	Scott Stenzel	Chevrolet	34	0	0	5	Electrical

March 2, 2019

Kyle Busch grabs 22nd career Truck Series pole for Strat 200 at Vegas

LAS VEGAS – Kyle Busch drives his Toyota Tundra to the top spot for the start of tonight’s Strat 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series.

Busch set the pace with a time of 30.184 seconds at 178.903 mph.

His 22nd career pole comes a day after announcing his contract extension with Joe Gibbs Racing and Mars Inc..

“My relationship with Joe (Gibbs), JD (Gibbs) and the family has grown a lot of the years and each year I think it gets better and better,’’ Busch said.

He is the only driver to win a triple sweep in a single weekend, and is in solid position to accomplish the same feat again this weekend at Vegas.

Brett Moffitt was second-fastest at 178.359 mph, followed by Harrison Burton (178.224 mph), Grant Enfinger (178.036 mph) and Cory Roper (177.895 mph).

The rest of the final group for qualifying were Austin Hill (177.731), Stewart Friesen (177.521), Brennan Poole (177.509), Sheldon Creed (177.433), Ryan Reed (177.293), Johnny Sauter (177.235) and Natalie Decker (176.794).

Tonight’s race is scheduled for 134 laps/201 miles with the green flag waving shortly after 9 p.m. ET. It will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1, the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

March 1, 2019
NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series Las Vegas – spring preview
The NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series makes the trip west this week to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for it’s first outing of two races this season.

It’ll be somewhat of a learning weekend, as the second Las Vegas race will be in the Playoffs and racing at night as well.

Last fall saw a thrilling finish take place late in the closing laps on a restart as Grant Enfinger took the checkers, and advanced on to the next round.

So who will take the checkers this time around?

Here’s a look at who could end up in victory lane this weekend in Sin City.

Currently, there was 34 trucks on the preliminary entry list, but due to an incident last week at Atlanta after the race, Chad Finley’s hauler driver went to the wrong tunnel and accidentally damaged the Las Vegas truck. As a result, the team withdrew from the Vegas race. Ray Ciccarelli has also withdrawn from the event.
1. Johnny Sauter – It’s hard to imagine counting Sauter out at any given race, especially when he has the second most starts among active drivers, with 11. However, his only win at Vegas came in 2009, his first start at he track, driving for ThorSport Racing. Since then, Sauter has not visited victory lane, but has finished second the past two times. Overall, he has four second place finishes, along with six top fives and eight top-10 finishes. Sauter has led 121 laps with an average finish of 7.0. He also finished second last weekend at Atlanta and looks to go back to victory lane.
2. Grant Enfinger – Enfinger won the last time the Truck Series visited Las Vegas. In the fall race, he led 40 laps and finished seventh in Stage 1 and won Stage 2. Enfinger has only one finish outside the top-10 that came in his first start there in 2012. In total, he has two top fives and four top-10 finishes, along with 45 laps led, and an average finish of 7.2. His driver rating was 91.5 percent in the 2018 fall race. Enfinger has 73 green flag passes and 66 quality passes equaling 90.4 percent. Look for Enfinger to contend for the win Friday night at Vegas.
3. Kyle Busch – Kyle is back in the No. 51 this week for his second of five Truck Series starts. He is coming off a historic win at Atlanta and he’ll be looking to continue his winning ways Friday night. He only has two starts, but his first start was all the way back in 2001 driving for Jack Roush, where he finished ninth. It wasn’t until the spring race of last year, where Busch was finally back in a truck at Vegas. To no one’s surprise, he went to victory lane after leading 55 laps and starting on the pole. He finished third in both stages. It’ll be hard to count out the winningest driver in the Truck Series.
4. Ben Rhodes – Rhodes has four starts at Vegas and won in 2017. In the 2017 race, he led 20 laps and finished sixth in Stage 1 and won Stage 2. Overall, Rhodes has two top fives and three top-10 finishes with an average finish of 6.0, and 24 laps led. His driver rating is 90.2 percent and he has made 65 quality passes. When Rhodes won in 2017, he had 27 quality passes and a driver rating of 124.4.
5. Ross Chastain – Chastain only has three starts at Vegas in the Truck Series. To many, he may not look like a threat to win, but he is certainly someone to keep an eye on as he is a sleeper. Last fall, he won the Xfinity race and finished seventh in the Truck Series race. Chastain has been on a strong roll as of late. He finished third at Daytona and sixth last week at Atlanta. At Vegas, Chastain has just 11 laps led. He may not win, but look for him to be inside the top-10 when the night is over.
Other Notables

Angela Ruch is back in the No. 8 truck for Nemco Motorsports. Her previous start came in Daytona a few weeks ago, where she finished eighth.

Stefan Parsons returns to the series this weekend for Tracy Lowe in the No. 1 machine. This will be Parson’s first truck race since Phoenix last fall where he finished 20th.

Ryan Reed is back driving the No. 17 DGR-CROSLEY truck. It’ll be his first start since 2012, where he also competed at Las Vegas for Wauters Motorsports. Reed finished 17th that day.

Jesse Iwuji will drive Josh Reaume’s No. 34 entry and Scott Stenzel is set to pilot D.J. Copp’s No. 63 machine.

Two practices are scheduled for Thursday afternoon. The first will begin at 5:05 p.m. ET wth the final practice at 7:05 p.m. ET but there will be no live TV coverage. Friday afternoon, it’s qualifying at 5:10 p.m. ET, live on FOX Sports 1. The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Strat 200 is slated for 9 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 and MRN Radio.
February 28, 2019
Four takeaways from the NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series at Atlanta
1. Kyle Busch Finally Breaks Ron Hornaday’s Record – After waiting since victory lane of Pocono last summer, Kyle Busch finally broke the illustrious record of Hornaday’s all-time wins. It took Busch 145 starts to get to win number 52. He’s had a lot of victories and memorable moments, such as winning the Truck Series owners championship two times. Busch catches a lot of flack but he could be one of the greatest drivers to race in today’s generation. Busch is only 33-years-old and he will more than likely have at least 10 to 15 more years in the sport to capture more victories and possibly break more records as well.
2. Unhappy Fans – Five to 10 years ago, we had Cup Series drivers racing in almost every Xfinity and Truck Series race. However, some fans were outraged by them winning all the time. With that, the fans pushed and pushed in an attempt to ban veteran drivers from racing in lower tier series. Eventually NASCAR put a limit on Cup Series drivers competing in other series. This weekend at Atlanta, there were no Cup Series drivers in the Xfinity race and only one in the Truck race. Low and behold, once Kyle Busch took the checkered flag, many fans were complaining about this issue. However, when I looked in the stands, there was hardly anyone there for either race that day. Sure the weather forecast looked gloomy but that crowd was pathetic. When FOX showed a flashback to Kevin Harvick winning the Xfinity race at Atlanta in 2009, those grandstands were packed. I know times are different and that was 10 years ago. But, I watched a 2001 NASCAR Busch Series race the other night that was held in Colorado at Pikes Peak and the crowd was packed. This particular Busch Series race has only one Cup Series driver in it and that was Harvick, who at the time, was racing in both series. Yet, there was no outrage then. If the fans want to see only Xfinity and Truck Series drivers compete in their respective series, then I need to see more support than what I saw on Saturday.
3. NASCAR Restarting The Race – I think we all won on this one. Kudos to NASCAR for waiting out the rains and heavy fog instead of calling the race nine laps early. We got to see an entertaining finish and Busch had to work hard for that win. Now if NASCAR can continue this consistency throughout the year, then this would be great.
4. NASCAR.com Streaming Service – In today’s day and age, you see a lot of streaming services offered like Netflix, MLB Network, NFL Network, Fox Sports Go, NBC Sports App and NBC Sports Gold (a premium package for race fans that is offered). This past Friday, we saw a new era when it comes to streaming in NASCAR. Most practice sessions were steamed on the website before Fox Sports took over at 2 p.m. on live TV. This will take place every Friday when Fox Sports has coverage through June. It’s unknown if NBC will follow suit when they over coverage of the races. Like many of you, I was skeptical about how this would turn out. I have watched some Formula E practices on Facebook and YouTube, and it wasn’t that great. So I was leery. So at 10:30 a.m. I logged on to my phone to stream practice. When I logged on, I had to submit my email to access the stream. Not only that, but I had to agree to subscribe to NASCAR’s newsletter, which is a smart marketing move by NASCAR. However, my excitement was drained when I heard no sounds from the racecars but eventually, sound was added on and all was right in the world. I had to get the quality right a couple of times for the video, as it kept going back to 240p instead of 720p. The radio announcers brought a unique twist and covered almost everyone. Not just the top drivers, which was refreshing. Seeing the whole practice without commercial breaks was also a plus. Now if this could change but it seems that NASCAR is testing the waters to possibly have a streaming service offered somewhere down the road once the TV contract expires in 2024. Already, Fans Choice TV will be broadcasting every regional NASCAR race. Dirtvision has an option to pay for a weekend pass to watch their coverage of the World of Outlaws. NHRA also has their own network where you can watch races live, instead of tape delay on FOX Sports 1. CARS-Short Track Tour also has premium service options as well for their live coverage at the track. It’ll be interesting to see if NASCAR follows suit on this in the coming years. As the old saying goes, “the times, they are a changing.”
February 27, 2019
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Atlanta

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski fought off the effects of a stomach bug to win the race at Atlanta.

“The race was called the ‘Folds Of Honor Quik Trip 500,” Keselowski said. “Trust me, with this stomach issue, I made a lot a ‘Quik Trips.’”

2. Kyle Busch: Busch finished sixth at Atlanta after starting at the back of the field.

“Give Brad Keselowski credit for toughing out the win despite his tummy troubles,” Busch said. “It must be contagious, because now I want the chance to prove that I can win with an illness. In other words, Brad Keselowski makes me sick.”

3. Kevin Harvick: Harvick led 45 laps in Atlanta and finished fourth.

“The surface at Atlanta Motor Speedway is quite abrasive,” Harvick said. “It really does a number on your tires. A fan suggested I discuss these particular issues on a web site devoted to extreme tire wear issues called ‘Grindr.’ Well, it turns out this site is not devoted to tires at all.”

4. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex caught race-leader Brad Keselowski with two laps to go at Atlanta but couldn’t make the pass as Keselowski took the checkered flag.

“Ricky Stenhouse Jr. really held me up,” Truex said. “And I’m beyond frustrated. He was a lap down. Of course, it’s not the first time Ricky has held someone back. Danica Patrick dumped him and upgraded to Aaron Rodgers!”

5. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished 11th at Atlanta one week after winning the Daytona 500.

“Despite finishing outside the top 10,” Hamlin said, “I’m still atop the Monster Energy Cup points standings. So basically, ‘My Win At Daytona Has Kept Relevant,’ which may very well be the title of Trevor Bayne’s autobiography.”

6. Kyle Larson: Larson led a race-high 142 laps, but a late pit lane speeding penalty spoiled his chances for the win. He finished 12th and is fourth in the Monster Energy Cup points standings.

“I got caught going too fast entering pit lane,” Larson said. “So, I was ‘too fast entering.’ I hear Brad Keselowski’s trouble was ‘too fast exiting.’”

7. Joey Logano: Logano struggled to a 23rd at Atlanta as Penske Racing teammate Brad Keselowski captured the win, his 60th for Penske.

“I’m really proud of Brad,” Logano said. “That was a gutsy effort. I bet Brad was exhausted afterwards. In fact, I’m sure his first words were, ‘I’m pooped.’”

8. Erik Jones: Jones took seventh at Atlanta and has two top-10 finishes to start the season. He is seventh in the Monster Energy Cup points standings.

“As a teammate to Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, and now Martin Truex Jr.,” Jones said, “I’m low man on the totem pole here at Joe Gibbs Racing. But Joe Gibbs does a great job pretending I’m an equal. So Joe wins the Oscar for ‘best supporting actor.’”

9. Kurt Busch: Busch finished third in the Folds Of Honor Quik Trip 500 at Atlanta.

“I think everyone is happy with NASCAR’s new rules package,” Busch said. “And if you’d like to quote me saying ‘Impressive package,’ please do so in context.”

10. Aric Almirola: Almirola started on the pole and finished eighth at Atlanta.

“I got busted for speeding on pit road,” Almirola said. “I had to question NASCAR officials’ judgment on this, so I did. And they answered, ‘Those are the breaks.’ Or they may have answered, ‘Those are the brakes.’ I guess both are good answers.”

February 25, 2019
Kyle Busch becomes all-time winningest Truck series driver with Atlanta victory

Kyle Busch overcame a loose wheel to win the Ultimate Tailgating 200 and become the Gander Outdoor Truck Series all-time winningest driver.

The win was Busch’s 52nd career series victory, which moved him past NASCAR Hall of Famer Ron Hornaday Jr. to take sole possession of first on the all-time wins list. The victory is also Busch’s fifth at Atlanta Motor Speedway and the 195th of his NASCAR career across the three series.

Busch held off Johnny Sauter on a restart with five laps to go to win. Sauter finished second and completing the top five were Grant Enfinger, Brett Moffitt, and Ben Rhodes.

Busch was forced to come to pit road on Lap 54 due to a loose wheel. It took 24 laps for the 33-year-old to recover the lead. Despite the adversity, Busch still managed to win the first two stages.

“It certainly means a lot. I want to thank our amazing partners that allow us to do what we do,” Busch said in Victory Lane. “I can’t say enough about my guys at Kyle Busch Motorsports – they do a phenomenal job.

“I slipped getting out of my truck – it’s a little wet out here in case y’all didn’t notice. It was a great race out there. I wish it would have ended. I would have liked to have seen Harrison (Burton) finish second. I’m not sure how far he fell. He ran a great race today.”

Busch dominated to win Stage 1 over his KBM teammate Harrison Burton.

Austin Hill, last week’s winner, started on the pole after qualifying was washed out and 2018 owner points set the lineup.

On Lap 16, Natalie Decker spun off Turn 4 to bring out the first caution.

Busch drove through the field and beat Ben Rhodes to take the Stage 2 win.

The caution came out on Lap 53 for debris when Joe Nemechek got into the grass, which resulted in dirt getting onto the racing surface.

With 25 laps left in the race, Busch held a one-second lead over Johnny Sauter with Matt Crafton running in third.

On Lap 112, the second time was a charm for Decker as she spun off turn four again to bring out the caution. Busch won the race off pit road, but Matt Crafton was forced to pit again with a loose wheel.

The race returned to green with 13 laps to go, but several trucks wrecked on the restart, which resulted in a red flag.

Spencer Boyd, Chad Finely, Parker Kligerman, Jesse Little, and Austin Wayne Self were among those involved.

But there was no stopping Busch, who made history in just his 146th series start.

February 24, 2019
Kyle Busch gets record-breaking win by holding off Johnny Sauter

After a lengthy red flag for rain/mist, Kyle Busch was able to hold off 2016 Truck Series champion Johnny Sauter for his 52nd career win in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series, breaking Ron Hornaday’s former record of 51 series wins.

“I think I had a vibration there at the end of Stage 2 or loose wheel,” Busch told MRN Radio. “I just wanted to make sure everything was right. Last year we had a wheel fall off, so we don’t want to see that happen again. We were able to power through the field there, our truck was just super fast. It’s cool to be able to put this Cessna Tundra back in victory lane again and get number 52 here this weekend and Billy Ballew here with us. It took me something driving with Billy Ballew’s name on it to win here at Atlanta.”

With early morning fog and mist, qualifying was canceled and the starting lineup was based on the rule book, meaning Austin Hill and Harrison Burton Sat on the front row.

Stages were broken up in 40/40/50 laps to make up the 130-lap advertised distance.

After a crazy start, it didn’t take long for Busch to take the lead on Lap 6. On Lap 15, the first yellow was brought out from Natalie Decker who spun off of Turn 4. That was the only incident in Stage 1 and after a Lap 19 restart, Kyle Busch easily dominated and won Stage 1.

During the pit stop, one penalty was issued for Brett Moffitt, as he had an uncontrolled tire.

Stage 2 began on Lap 46 and it was four wide off the restart. Busch took the lead after the restart during a battle with Johnny Sauter and Grant Enfinger. However, during the middle of Stage 2, Busch reported “a loose wheel.” A timely caution came out for Busch, as Joe Nemechek lost his front splitter on Lap 52. Busch was able to fix his loose wheel.

The restart came out on Lap 57 and Ben Rhodes took the lead. Busch restarted in the 24th position and worked his way up to the top five on Lap 65. Busch caught Rhodes and with a stronger truck, passed Rhodes to win Stage 2.

With 43 to go, Stage 3 began and Sauter took the lead. Just 15 laps later, Busch retook the lead from Sauter. Just as it looked lik Busch had set sail to win, a caution came out with 19 to go for Decker, who spun again off Turn 4.

After the pit stops, Matt Crafton had to come back down pit road to fix a loose wheel, while Sheldon Creed and Jordan Anderson were penalized.

This set up a 13-lap dash to the finish, but a wreck broke out on the restart as Jesse Little got loose and a melee happened behind him. Parker Kligerman, Chad Finley, and Austin Wayne Self were all involved.

Then the clouds broke loose. After a light mist most of the day, the mist got heavier and heavier, heavy enough to bring the trucks down pit road and red flag the race. After multiple track drying attempts by NASCAR, the race resumed with nine laps to go.

A five-lap restart was shown, but Kyle Busch was able to hold off Johnny Sauter for record-breaking win No. 52, breaking Ron Hornaday’s record of 51 series wins.

“We obviously bounced around with good people and been able to have good people, have fast trucks over the years driving for Billy (Ballew), driving for me,” Busch told MRN Radio. Just fun and working with a great group of guys like we got here this weekend.”

There were six cautions for 30 laps with 10 lead changes. Busch led 92 of 130 laps.

The NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series heads to Las Vegas Motor Speedway next Friday night for race number three of the season.

February 23, 2019
Clint Bowyer paces final Cup practice, Kyle Busch wrecks

Clint Bowyer has been one of the fastest cars all week, and he showed that again during Saturday’s final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Bowyer, who led the way in Friday’s practice and was quickest in two of three rounds of qualifying in the No. 14, was looking sporty on Saturday with an average lap speed of 179.104 mph.

Kyle Busch was second but was forced to go to the rear of the field after smacking the outside wall and spinning in Turn 2 (178.873 mph). Austin Dillon was third (178.712mph), Michael McDowell was fourth, and Corey LaJoie rounded out the top-five.

“Just got loose. We were trying to run a run, and the car was pretty good with fire off there,” Busch said. “We ran some really good times and then just kept getting a little bit looser, a little bit looser. I tried to go back to the bottom and run the bottom to see how slow I had to be to go around the bottom and just snapped.”

Completing the Top 10 were Kurt Busch, Joey Logano, Daniel Hemric, Ryan Newman, and Martin Truex Jr.

Busch was forced to go to a backup car, which means he will have to start Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 from the rear of the field.

Erik Jones went to the garage late in the session after his No. 20 Toyota started to spew smoke. It was reported that he was suffering power steering issues.

Brad Keselowski, who was sidelined by flu-like symptoms for most of the session, was 28th quickest.

Of the drivers who ran at least 10 consecutive laps, it was the Kyle and Kyle show. Kyle Busch was quickest (177.302 mph), followed by Kyle Larson.

February 23, 2019
NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series Preview – Atlanta
The NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series continues their schedule momentum this weekend by hearing north of Daytona and just right off of I-85 south to Atlanta Motor Speedway for a Saturday afternoon doubleheader with the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

There are many storylines to watch this weekend at Atlanta, where the trucks will be making their 18th appearance at the 1.5-mile speedway since they began hosting Truck Series races in 2004.

Currently, there are 34 trucks on the preliminary entry list for 32 spots for Saturday’s race.

Here’s a look at who to watch for this weekend during Saturday’s race.
1. Kyle Busch – Busch will be making his first Truck Series start since his win at Pocono last year, tying Ron Hornaday’s all-time wins record. He’ll be looking to break that record this year and Busch will more than likely do it. He has won pretty much everywhere on the schedule. Last season, Busch averaged a 2.6 start with a 5.4 average finish in the series total. He also had two wins in 2018, but Busch finished second at Kansas and Charlotte, where he could have broken Hornaday’s record. He has four wins out of 10 starts at Atlanta, his first win coming in 2005 and winning three in a row until 2008. Busch’s last victory came in 2009, 10 years ago. He has completed 99.7 percent of the laps with 387 laps led, earning seven top fives and eight top 10 finishes, with an average start of 3.0 and an average finish of 6.6. Recently, however, Busch has not found his winning ways as he had in the past. Last year, a tire fell off the truck after a late-race pit stop, relegating him to a 21st place finish after starting on the pole. In 2017, he finished 26th. He’ll look to get back to his winning ways in Saturday.
2. Ben Rhodes – After wrecking out of the lead last week at Daytona, Rhodes looks to get back in victory lane this weekend since his win at Kentucky last year. He has a good shot, as Rhodes has two top fives and three top 10 finishes. Rhodes has three starts at Atlanta since 2016, all finishing in the top 10. He has a driver rating of 99.9 and 30 quality passes with 42 green flag passes in 2018.
3. Brett Moffitt – Moffitt will look to recapture that Atlanta magic as he did a year ago, which propelled him to winning the championship. He is the defending race winner after leading just two laps. Moffitt finished fourth and third in both stages last year.
4. Todd Gilliland – Gilliland will be making his first truck start this weekend at Atlanta, but will have an experienced crew chief on top of the box, Marcus Richmond. Richmond has one win back in 2012 with Ty Dillon. The truck Gilliland will be using races at Pocono, Chicago, and Texas. Busch also used this chassis last year at Kansas, where he finished second. Gilliland will have practice time, an experienced crew chief and an veteran owner to rely on throughout the weekend. It’s hard to imagine counting Gilliland out of winning.
5. Matt Crafton – Crafton is looking to snap that long winless streak this weekend and Atlanta could be the place to do it. He has the most starts out of all active drivers with 17, won in 2015, has one DNF, six top fives and 10 top 10 finishes, along with an average start of 13.0 and an average finish of 11.6. In the past five races, Crafton has finished fifth, second, 30th, first, and ninth. Crafton also has 180 laps led. Look for Crafton to be back in victory lane this weekend on Saturday.
Who To Keep An Eye On:
1. Parker Kligerman – Kligerman is making his first Truck Series start of 2019 this year at Atlanta with Henderson Motorsports. The team has surprised the field a few times, especially winning at Talladega a couple of years ago. At Atlanta, he has five starts, one top five and two top 10 finishes with a best finish of fourth in 2012. The No. 75 team finished 11th and 31st the past two times.
2. Johnny Sauter – Sauter will be looking for his first Atlanta win this weekend and it’s hard to believe he does not have a win at the track yet. He has two top fives and four top 10s with a best finish of third twice.
Anthony Alfredo will be making his truck debut for DGR-CROSLEY and Jesse Little returns with his family owned team.

There have been 17 races at Atlanta Motor Speedway since their first event in 2004 with 13 different winners. Ron Hornaday is the only series regular to win multiple times with two victories while Kyle Busch has won four times at Atlanta.

The lowest a race winner has come from was 18th set by Ron Hornaday in 2005 and John Hunter Nemechek in 2016.

A winner has came from the pole in 2006 by Todd Bodine, Mike Skinner in 2007, Kyle Busch in 2009, Ty Dillon in 2012 and Christopher Bell in 2017.

There has been five different winners in the past five races.

The Truck Series get on track Friday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. ET on nascar.com/live and final practice at 4:05 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1.

Qualifying will take place Saturday morning at 10:40 a.m. ET live on Fox Sports 1.

The Ultimate Tailgating 200 is scheduled for Saturday afternoon following the Xfinity Series race live on Fox Sports 1 and MRN Radio at 4:30 p.m. ET. Stages are broken down into 40/80/130, all weather permitting.
February 22, 2019