Ty Dillon Passes Kyle Busch Late For the Win at Kentucky

        After passing Kyle Busch with 25 laps to go, Ty Dillon cruised away from the field and took the win. Brad Keselowski attempted to chase him down late in the race, but Dillon was too fast to catch. It almost didn't happen for Dillon. Ryan Blaney was much faster than Kyle Busch when Busch was leading late in the race, but Blaney hit the wall when he tried to pass Busch on the outside in turn 4 with about 30 laps to go. This allowed Dillon to catch Busch and pass him for the win. One story line to follow is the amount of problems for contenders in the championship. Jeb Burton, Matt Crafton, Johnny Sauter, Joey Coulter, Brendan Gaughan, and Darrell Wallace Jr. all finished outside the top 8. A final story line to follow is the amount of strategy in the race. Many drivers took two tires on certain pit stops, four tires on others, and some didn't take tires on some stops. It was interesting to see whose strategy would work and if others would lose the race because of it.

        Ryan Blaney started on the pole. It was his first career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series pole. Before the race could even go green, one of the championship contenders would have trouble. On the pace laps, Johnny Sauter slowed in turn 3. The engine had shut off due to a kill switch problem. He got a push back to pit road and he stopped in his pit box. His truck immediately got started, but he would have to start at the back of the field. The race went green and Ryan Blaney was able to lead the first lap. The race continued on until the first caution of the race came out on lap 26. Brendan Gaughan's truck began to smoke after an oil line broke. He pulled down pit road and there was a small fire underneath the truck. It was put out quickly and the crew was eventually able to get him back on the track, but his chances for a win were lost. Ryan Sieg received the lucky dog. This is where strategy began to be a part of the race. Darrell Wallace Jr., Brad Keselowski, Ty Dillon, and Matt Crafton got two tires. Now, the drivers were on edge to see if they could win the race.

        The race went back green and it was a very short time before the second caution of the race on lap 31. Brennan Newberry lost a transmission on the restart and it began to drag the track causing a small fire underneath the truck. It was not a major fire, but his night was finished. C.J. Faison received the lucky dog. The race went back green and one of the race contenders would have trouble. Brad Keselowski began to fall back in the field due to a tire going down. He was about to pit when the third caution of the race on lap 40. Max Gresham got loose in turn 1 and slammed the outside wall. His truck was really damaged and he did not continue on in the race. Scott Riggs received the lucky dog. Keselowski got a break and was able to pit under the caution, but he lost a lot of track position since no other front runners pitted. It would be interesting to see if he could make his way back to the front with speed or if he would resort to strategy to move up through the field. 

        The race went back green and continued on until the fourth caution of the race on lap 80. John Wes Townley got loose in turn 4 and slid up the track. Somehow, he made a great save and avoided the wall. He continued on without damage. Ryan Sieg received the lucky dog. Brad Keselowski, who had taken four tires during the previous caution, decided to take two tires. He would have to come back to pit road during the caution due to overheating problems. The race went back green and another race contender would have trouble. Darrell Wallace Jr., who had led a good portion of the race, got loose underneath Ryan Blaney in turn 3. Wallace slid up the track and slammed the outside wall. He received a good bit of damage and his chances for a win were lost. This resulted in the fifth caution of the race on lap 86. C.J. Faison received the lucky dog. Now, Brad Keselowski and Ron Hornaday Jr. were going to try to run the rest of the race without pitting. Time would tell if this strategy would work.

        The race went back green and it was  a short time before all strategy was thrown out the window with the sixth and final caution of the race on lap 107. Bryan Silas got loose in turn 3 and made slight contact with the outside wall. He had a little bit of damage, but he continued on. Jeff Agnew received the lucky dog. Now, the race would be all about speed and car control since drivers would not have to pit again. The race went back green for the final time and Kyle Busch took the lead. On lap 119, Ryan Blaney finally made it to Busch's back bumper. Blaney went to the outside coming out of turn 4 and he got really high. The truck made contact with the outside wall and he lost a lot of momentum. He fell back and lost his chance for a win. Now, Busch looked like he could run away, but Ty Dillon had something to say about that. Dillon made it up to Busch and was able to pass him with 25 laps to go. Dillon cruised away from the field. Brad Keselowski made a late charge, but it did not seem to be enough. The race almost had one final caution. Joey Coulter got loose in turn 4 with two laps to go and slammed the wall. Coulter was able to make it down pit road and avoid a caution. This allowed Dillon to make it to the checkered flag and win his second career NCWTS race.

        It was an impressive show for Dillon. He used a bit of strategy from earlier in the race to win and he made it look easy doing so. Plus, he moved back into the chase for the championship with his win and struggles from other contenders. Once again, Brad Keselowski was unable to win his first career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race. It should be a short time before he is able to capture this victory, but it could be a little while before he jumps back into the truck. Jeb Burton continued his magical season with another top 10, but he only finished one spot ahead of Matt Crafton, the championship leader. It is always good to finish ahead of the point leader, but you can not gain points finishing one position ahead. It will be interesting to see if Burton can finish ahead of Crafton the rest of the races this season. The NCWTS takes a week off and then heads to the Iowa Speedway. Will Timothy Peters repeat, will Ryan Blaney win at the site of his first NCWTS win, or will another driver move up in the points? We will have to wait a couple weeks to find out.
(More Stats Down Below!)




Cautions:
1st Caution: Lap 26- Brendan Gaughan's truck began to smoke on track.

2nd Caution: Lap 31- Brennan Newberry lost a transmission and left pieces on the track.

3rd Caution: Lap 40- Max Gresham got loose in turn 1 and slammed the outside wall.

4th Caution: Lap 80- John Wes Townley got loose in turn 3 and made an incredible save to avoid the wall.

5th Caution: Lap 86- Darrell Wallace Jr. got loose underneath Ryan Blaney in turn 3. Wallace slid up the track and slammed the outside wall.

6th Caution: Lap 107- Bryan Silas got loose in turn 3 and made slight contact with the outside wall.

Lucky Dogs:
1st Caution: Ryan Sieg
2nd Caution: C.J. Faison
3rd Caution: Scott Riggs
4st Caution: Ryan Sieg
5st Caution: C.J. Faison
6st Caution: Jeff Agnew

Top 5 Finishers:
1st: Ty Dillon
2nd: Brad Keselowski
3rd: Kyle Busch
4th: James Buescher
5th: Ryan Blaney

Notables Not in Top 5:
9th: Jeb Burton
10th: Matt Crafton
12th: Johnny Sauter
16th: Joey Coulter
27th: Brendan Gaughan
28th: Darrell Wallace Jr.




Credits:
-My Own Notes
-Statistics:
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/camping-world-truck-series/leaderboard/leaderboard-live.html
http://racing-reference.info/race/2013_UNOH_225/C
-Image:
http://binaryapi.ap.org/e1611bc80f4b4fe796c711e90291b849/512x.jpg