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Kyle Busch started on the pole. It was his second NASCAR Camping World Truck Series pole of 2014 and his second consecutive pole on the year. The race went green and Busch immediately jumped out ahead of Ron Hornaday Jr. and the field. Busch was able to lead the first lap and he began to cruise. Lap started to click away and Busch was running fast out front while the field battled behind him. It looked like the race would start with a rather long green flag stretch, but the first caution waved on lap 20. Justin Jennings had a tire problem in turn 1. His truck immediately broke sideways and he slid up the track. He backed into the outside wall hard and began to slide down the embankment. Jennings came to a stop on the apron with heavy damage and he would need some repairs before returning. Jake Crum received the lucky dog. The caution brought the first pit stops of the race and a little bit of strategy. Jeb Burton decided to take fuel only while Timothy Peters took two tires and Kyle Busch, Ron Hornaday Jr., and the rest of the lead lap drivers took four tires. Kyle Busch made his way out as the leader and he was still the only driver to be out front during the event. It would be interesting to see, though, if Peters and Burton had their moves work out. Now, the drivers had made one stop and they were ready to really get the race under way.
The race went back green and Kyle Busch once again jumped out to the lead. Busch began to run away from the field, but he wouldn't move into a rhythm as the second caution waved on lap 29. Ryan Ellis and Jake Crum had some issues in turn 2. Ellis had a tire go down and the two began to spin towards the apron. Both drivers easily slowed down on track and didn't hit anything. They straightened their trucks out and continued on in the event. Jimmy Weller received the lucky dog. The drivers stayed on track and the field was lined up for the restart. The race went back green and Kyle Busch immediately jumped out to the lead. Busch moved into another rhythm and the laps clicked away as the field continued to race hard behind him. As lap fifty passed, Busch was still out in front and lapping cars lap after lap. He was still moving away from the rest of the field just as green flag pit stops and the halfway point of the race were approaching. Just before those pit stops began, the third caution of the race waved on lap 68. Tyler Young's truck began to smoke exiting turn 4 due to an engine problem. Young made it back around the track and he pulled down pit road with a blown engine and a finished race. Bryan Silas received the lucky dog. The caution brought some stops without strategy. All the lead lap drivers took four tires with Kyle Busch once again coming out as the leader. As the race was only a few laps away from halfway, the drivers would start to battle hard for the win and cautions would begin to fly.
The race went back green and Kyle Busch once again held onto the lead. Busch looked to run away again, but the fourth caution waved on lap 73, just a few laps after the restart. Ron Hornaday Jr. broke loose in turn 4. His truck began to spin as the entire field took evasive action behind him. Hornaday slid through the grass and made it back on the frontstretch with little to no damage. He would continue on without damage, but the field narrowly avoided a huge accident. Mason Mingus received the lucky dog. The drivers stayed on track during the caution as the end of the race quickly approached. The race went back green and Kyle Busch once again jumped out to the lead. Busch began to run away and the laps clicked away through the night. The race looked to be moving into a green flag run and the strategy was beginning to shape up as only about fifty laps remained. Just as the field was beginning to make calls for strategy, the fifth caution of the race waved on lap 86. Jake Crum deliberately turned down the track on the backstretch above Ryan Ellis. Crum turned Ellis and Ellis piled hard into the outside wall. He rode the wall backwards until the entrance of turn 3. Ellis's truck was too damaged to continue on and he was very unhappy with Crum. Jimmy Weller received the lucky dog. The caution brought what turned out to be some of the last stops of the race for some of the leaders. All the lead lap drivers came to pit road and took fuel only with Kyle Busch coming out as the leader. Joe Nemechek was the only driver to stay on track and he was the first driver to lead a lap in the race other than Busch. Now, the race was nearing the conclusion and the action would heat up.
The race went back green and Joe Nemechek began to battle Kyle Busch for the lead hard. The two were side by side exiting turn 2 on the restart just as the sixth caution waved on lap 93. Scott Riggs went up the track on Tayler Malsam exiting turn 2. The contact sent Riggs up the track and into Darrell Wallace Jr. Wallace slammed the outside wall while Riggs rode his side. Malsam spun to the inside of the track and backed into the inside wall hard. Riggs and Wallace drove to pit road while Malsam stopped on track with heavy damage. All three drivers would not return to the event after the crashes. Jennifer Jo Cobb received the lucky dog. The field was quickly lined back up and the race restarted. Joe Nemechek couldn't stay with Kyle Busch on this restart and Busch pulled away with the lead. Others began the charge to the front, but it was still Busch dominating. The race moved into a short run before the seventh caution waved on lap 105. John Wes Townley went down the track on Ryan Blaney on the frontstretch. Blaney hit the grass and his front splitter was immediately destroyed. He shot up the track and Brian Ickler was there. The two made heavy contact and piled into the outside wall. Blaney began to drive away as Ickler's truck came to a stop with a fire. He was okay, but his truck definitely wasn't. Blaney went to the garage with race ending damage as two contenders fell out of the event. Jennifer Jo Cobb received the lucky dog. The caution brought some late race strategy. Kyle Busch, Matt Crafton, and others stayed on track while Ron Hornaday Jr. and others took two tires and Brad Keselowski and others took four tires. The battle would be on now as Kyle Busch was off strategy compared to some other drivers on track.
The race went back green and Busch once again jumped out to the lead. He began to drive away as the field jostled for positions behind him. The race approached twenty laps to go as Busch continued to run hard out front. The race only went a few more laps before the eighth caution waved on lap 114. Ron Hornaday Jr. made a move in front of Ben Kennedy entering turn 3. Hornaday wasn't clear and he went for a spin. He spun down the track and immediately went back up the track. Mason Mingus and Jake Crum were already there. Mingus piled hard into the back of Hornaday and Crum sailed into Mingus's back bumper. All three managed to drive away, but they went to the garage with heavy damage. Jennifer Jo Cobb received the lucky dog. The field remained on track and Kyle Busch was continuing to lead with only about seventeen laps to go. Busch would have to hold off a few drivers on fresher tires and it would be a frantic final few laps.
The race went green and Busch managed to clear Matt Crafton to remain the leader. Busch began to streak away from the pack as Brad Keselowski made his move to the front. The ten lap to go mark came on the board and Busch was still setting a torrid pace. His truck seemed unmatchable, but Matt Crafton was looking for the lead and, possibly, a caution. Five laps to go came and Busch was still the guy to beat. The field was racing hard, but Busch was still the fastest truck like he had been the entire night. Two laps to go and the odds of a caution were disappearing. Busch took the white flag and, just as he did, the ninth and final caution came on lap 134. While exiting turn 4, Jeb Burton and German Quiroga tried to pass the lapped car of Norm Benning. The three ran out of room and made contact. Benning and Quiroga slammed hard into the outside wall while Burton went sliding through the grass. Burton's truck began to lose pieces as the grass tore them off. He pulled onto the frontstretch with a fire, but he climbed out okay. Benning and Quiroga drove away with heavy damage as well. Busch had already taken the white flag as the leader and a green-white-checkered could not be run. Busch took the checkered flag and the yellow flag to take his third win of the season in the Truck Series. Busch has been on fire this season and it could very well continue on.
Through twenty four races in all three of NASCAR's highest series this year, Kyle Busch has six wins in those twenty four races. For the statistics fans at home, that is twenty five percent of the NASCAR races this year. Busch has been extremely dominant with three Truck wins, consistent with two Nationwide wins, and a little off in the Cup Series with a single win at Auto Club. Of course, Busch's most important series is the Cup Series, where he has seemingly struggled the most all season. Still, winning in NASCAR is important to gaining confidence and Busch has done that and some this season. He looks to continue to run well all year and he will most likely do that as the season progresses on to many different race facilities. Matt Crafton continued his very consistent run to start the 2014 season with a second consecutive second place finish. Brad Keselowski jumped into his own truck and made a very valiant run to take a third place finish, but he is still chasing a first Truck win. John Wes Townley finished a career best fourth, but the story of the night for him was the accident he practically caused with Ryan Blaney and Brian Ickler. Timothy Peters came close to winning at Daytona and has stayed close to Crafton in the points battle as he took a fifth place finish at Charlotte. The rest of the field was a mixed bag of finishers. Jennifer Jo Cobb, Jimmy Weller, Bryan Silas, Norm Benning, and others took some great finishes for some underdog teams. Brian Ickler, Darrell Wallace Jr., Ryan Blaney, Ron Hornaday Jr., and others brought home terrible finishes as they looked to gain points in the standings. Charlotte was definitely a battle and the Trucks will take a week off before heading to a very tough track known as Dover. Dover is a track where battles will definitely occur and tempers will most likely flare throughout the evening. Will Kyle Busch come back to take three straight wins and repeat at Dover, will Matt Crafton take a win after two straight second place finishes, or will another driver stand tall in victory lane after a two hundred mile battle? We will have to wait two weeks to find out these answers and a whole lot more.
(More Stats Down Below!)
Cautions:
1st Caution: Lap 20- Justin Jennings had a tire problem in turn 1 and spun before hitting the outside wall.
2nd Caution: Lap 29- Ryan Ellis and Jake Crum went for spins in turn 2.
3rd Caution: Lap 68- Tyler Young's truck began to smoke exiting turn 4 due to a blown engine.
4th Caution: Lap 73- Ron Hornaday Jr. broke loose exiting turn 4 and went for a spin down the frontstretch.
5th Caution: Lap 86- Jake Crum turned down on Ryan Ellis on the backstretch and Ellis's truck slammed the outside wall hard.
6th Caution: Lap 93- Scott Riggs went up the track on Tayler Malsam exiting turn 2 and Riggs slammed into the outside wall and Darrell Wallace Jr. Malsam slid down the track and piled into the inside wall.
7th Caution: Lap 105- John Wes Townley drove down on Ryan Blaney in the frontstretch and Blaney clipped the grass. He shot up the track and slammed into Brian Ickler. The two piled into the outside wall hard.
8th Caution: Lap 114- Ron Hornaday Jr. tried to clear Ben Kennedy entering turn 3 and he wasn't clear. Hornaday spun and went up the track where Mason Mingus and Jake Crum piled into the wreck.
9th Caution: Lap 134- Jeb Burton and German Quiroga tried to pass Norm Benning in turn 4, but they ran out of room. Benning and Quiroga slammed the outside wall and Burton went for a spin through the frontstretch grass.
Lucky Dogs:
1st Caution: Jake Crum
2nd Caution: Jimmy Weller
3rd Caution: Bryan Silas
4th Caution: Mason Mingus
5th Caution: Jimmy Weller
6th Caution: Jennifer Jo Cobb
7th Caution: Jennifer Jo Cobb
8th Caution: Jennifer Jo Cobb
9th Caution: None
Top 5 Finishers:
1st: Kyle Busch
2nd: Matt Crafton
3rd: Brad Keselowski
4th: John Wes Townley
5th: Timothy Peters
Notables Not in Top 5:
6th: Johnny Sauter
7th: Austin Dillon
9th: German Quiroga
11th: Joe Nemechek
15th: Jeb Burton
19th: Ron Hornaday Jr.
22nd: Ryan Blaney
23rd: Brian Ickler
26th: Darrell Wallace Jr.
Credits:
-My Own Notes
-Statistics:
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/camping-world-truck-series/leaderboard/leaderboard-live.html
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/camping-world-truck-series/lapbylap/view-all-laps.html?intid=lapbylap_lapbylapleaderboard_08292013
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/camping-world-truck-series/standings.live.html
-Image:
http://ww2.hdnux.com/photos/30/05/63/6315253/3/628x471.jpg
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