Date: May 12, 2017
Event: Toyota Tundra 250 (Race 4 of 23)
Series: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Location: Kansas Speedway (1.5-mile tri-oval)
Format: Three Stages; 40 laps/40 laps/87 laps
Start/Finish: 10th/1st (running, completed 167 of 167 laps)
Winner: Kyle Busch of Kyle Busch Motorsports (Toyota)
Kyle Busch and the No. 51 Toyota Racing team found themselves in Victory Lane after Friday’s Toyota Tundra 250 at Kansas Speedway. Busch led the field for 91 laps and won both stages of the race en route to his 47th win in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS).
First Stage Recap:
- When the green flag dropped, Busch started the race from the 10th position but quickly made his way up to fifth in the opening lap
- The No. 51 Cessna Toyota Tundra continued to soar to the front, eventually battling for the lead with teammate Christopher Bell
- On Lap 23 Busch made the pass for first and after surviving a string of cautions he finished the first stage leading the field
Second Stage Recap:
- Busch started the second stage seventh behind trucks that decided not to make a trip down pit road at the end of the first stage
- That didn’t stop the 32-year-old from making his way through the field of trucks where he once again battled with teammate Christopher Bell for the lead for most of the stage
- Busch eventually passed Bell on Lap 70 and won the second stage of the race
Third Stage Recap:
- The Las Vegas-native stayed in the lead for much of the third stage
- When the last caution of the night came out, Busch battled the No. 27 truck of Ben Rhodes for the first position, eventually giving up the lead
- The No. 51 Toyota Racing team didn’t back down and after the No. 27 suffered an engine issue, Busch took back the lead with seven laps left
- As the laps wined down, Busch crossed the finish line first and captured the win in his first NCWTS win of the 2017 season
KYLE BUSCH, driver of the No. 51 Cessna Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports:
“Thanks, you know this was a great win for us, but really it’s a terrible loss for Ben Rhodes. He had this race won. I was trying everything I could to catch him and run him back down. I could gain a little bit on him and then I’d lose a little bit on him and just kind of went back and forth a little bit. That’s a Rowdy Manufacturing chassis and a KBM body on the 27 (Ben Rhodes) truck so we knew it was going to be tough to beat and it was fast and he was one of the guys we had to race with all night long. He did a phenomenal job. It’s a tough one to lose that way, I know, because I’ve lost them that way as well. But for him to be racing against us and to be doing an awesome job, man, he raced me clean. He did a great job. He got by me. No issues there with lapped traffic and stuff like that. He did a really good race, so it was fun. It’s cool to see young guys like that have great opportunities and to be fast and to make the most of it. It was a battle there, but this Cessna Tundra prevailed and we got to victory lane ourselves. Great job by (crew chief) Bono Manion, everyone on this No. 51 team. This Cessna truck was fast and can’t say enough about NOS Energy Drink, Rowdy Manufacturing, Incredible Bank, all of our partners at KBM.”
Toyota Tundra 250 Recap:
- Owner-driver Kyle Busch earned his first 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory after leading a race-high 91 laps. Truck-Series regular Johny Sauter finished in the runner-up position, while John Hunter Nemechek, Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe rounded out the top-five finishers.
- The race featured 11 cautions for a total of 46 laps. There were 15 lead changes among four drivers.
How Busch’s KBM Teammates Fared:
- Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 18 Toyota, finished 28th
- Christopher Bell, driver of the No. 4 Toyota, finished fourth
NCWTS Owner Championship Standings:
The No. 51 Toyota Racing team is now third in the Truck Series Owner Championship Standings.
Next Race:
Kyle Busch will pilot the No. 51 Cessna Toyota Tundra when the Truck Series races at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. on May 19. Live coverage of the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 begins with the NCWTS Setup Show at 8:00 p.m. ET.
