Owner-driver Kyle Busch led a race-high 47 laps in Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) race at Michigan International Speedway before ultimately scoring a third-place finish in his last race behind the wheel of the No. 51 Toyota Tundra for the 2017 season.
Date: August 12, 2017
Event: Lti Printing 200 (Race 13 of 23)
Series: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Location: Michigan International Speedway (two-mile oval)
Format: Three Stages; 30 laps/30 laps/40 laps
Start/Finish: 10th/3rd (Running, completed 100 of 100 laps)
Winner: Darrell Wallace Jr. of MDM Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage One Recap:
- Busch took the green to start the race from the 10th position. By Lap 2, he had already cracked into the top five, looking to make it to the front of the field. After the first caution flag flew, Bush restarted the race third and on Lap 15 he made the pass for the lead. Throughout the stage the owner-driver had no complaints about his No. 51 Textron Off-Road Toyota Tundra. When the caution waved to end the stage, Busch was still leading the field.
Stage Two Recap:
- After a four-tire stop on pit road, Busch started Stage Two once again leading the field to green. He continued to be happy with the way his Tundra was handling and led every lap of Stage Two.
Stage Three Recap:
- Busch started Stage Three by making a trip down pit road for four fresh tires before restarting behind trucks that only took gas, in the eighth position. As Busch restarted, he got caught up in an incident that cut his left-front tire down. After a trip to pit road to change the tire and assess the damage, he restarted in the 14th position with less than 30 laps to go. Busch used the rest of the stage to race his way back to the front of the pack. The last lap proved to be exciting as Busch raced hard for the win, but ultimately finished third, behind teammate Christopher Bell.
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 51 Textron Off Road Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports:
What happened early in the race when you had your tire cut down?
“I have no idea what happened – there was an idiot up there that doesn’t know how to drive and that’s probably what caused it. It was unfortunate for our truck, we had a really, really fast Textron Off Road Tundra and was hopefully being able to keep our track position there and race those guys, but it was hard to make any moves and try to pass and go for the win by yourself, you always had to have help, you always had to have somebody behind you or momentum behind you to push the guy out front. Any time you got to the guy that was out front, he could just side draft you so hard that it really messed up your momentum. It kind of scrambled things there at the end, but I was trying to help the 4 (Christopher Bell) as much as I could to get him up there and he made a bold move into one and couldn’t quite get him cleared and almost got sucked around and then off of two we got cleaned up again and get up there one more time and just got the door shut on him in three. Overall, just a good day, but frustrating in the same breath.”
What happened to force you back in the field?
“Fast trucks just keep getting wrecked and we keep getting stuck back in traffic and had a hard time coming up through. Just needed more laps I guess, these races aren’t very long.”
LTI Printing 200 Recap:
- Darrell Wallace Jr. won his first race of the season followed by KBM’s Christopher Bell, Kyle Busch, Ryan Truex and Austin Cindric rounded out the top-five finishers
- The race featured five cautions for a total of 24 laps. There were seven lead changes among seven drivers.
How Busch’s KBM Teammates Fared:
- Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 18 Toyota, finished seventh
- Christopher Bell, driver of the No. 4 Toyota, finished second
NCWTS Owner Championship Standings:
The No. 51 Toyota Racing team is now fifth in the Truck Series Owner Championship Standings.
Next Race:
Harrison Burton will pilot the No. 51 Toyota Tundra when the Truck Series returns on Wednesday, August 16, at Bristol Motor Speedway. Live coverage of the UNOH 200 begins with the NCWTS Setup Show at 8 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1.
