Busch Flashes To Victory At Daytona

Kyle Busch (#51) edged Timothy Peters (#17) by .017 second at the checkered to win the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Daytona International Speedway Friday night.  Johnny Sauter (#98) was third, just ahead of fourth-place Ryan Truex (#32).  [Russ Lake Photo]

Daytona Beach, Fla. –    Kyle Busch flashed to victory at the Daytona International Speedway on Friday evening, winning the NextEra Resources 250 by a scant 17/1,000^th of a second.  Coming to the finish line, Busch, who was running second to Timothy Peters, pulled outside and side-drafted to the win.

The margin of victory was the closest in series history at Daytona and the eighth closest finish all-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

For Busch, he won his 36^th career NCWTS race and captured his first truck victory at Daytona.  And Busch became the first driver in history to win in ARCA, the Nationwide Series and the Sprint Cup Series at Daytona.

Busch drove his own Toyota Care Toyota, to give the manufacturer its eight consecutive win at Daytona.

Said the smiling winner, “I don’t know whether the fastest truck won, but this one did. I was trying to get a truck win here, and I finally won one.”

Describing the pass for the victory, Busch said, “I didn’t know if I had enough to get it done because Timothy (Peters) was really fast and was making the outside line go.  Coming out of (turn) four, I thought I am by myself and if my truck is faster than his truck, I can suck up on him, pull out and see if I can get alongside of him and pull him back enough to side draft him.  I kind of did it like an old-fashioned sling-shot move.”

Peters accepted defeat, saying that second place represented a solid effort.  “It was so close and a great effort by our team,” he said.  “You never want to be a bridesmaid when you know you’ve been to victory lane here before.  Second place at Daytona isn’t too bad.”

He, too, drove a Toyota.

Johnny Sauter brought his Toyota to third place.

Ryan Truex and Ron Hornaday Jr. were fourth and fifth.

Sixth through 10^th were Ryan Blaney, Jeb Burton, Joe Nemechek, Jimmy Weller and German Quiroga.

Rain washed out qualifications, and the starting line-up was based on practice speeds.

Ben Kennedy, great grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France, started from the pole and led the first 51 laps with teammate Hornaday tucked on his bumper throughout the early runs.

For Kennedy, his strong run ended in the pits when he stalled his Chevrolet for the second time, dropping him to 11^th in the standings.  At the end, he faded to 15^th.

Until a caution flag at the half-way mark, the inside lane had not worked but Peters changed all of that, barging to the front when racing resumed.

Peters and Busch traded the lead for the next 20 laps.  At that point, Ross Chastain and Parker Kligerman bumped in traffic, setting off a multi-truck crash that had Mason Mingus viciously slamming the outside wall.  In all, 13 trucks were involved.

 

Related Posts

• 
  Sebring 2024
• 
  Giuseppe Victorious
• 
  Car or Driver