Date: March 29, 2019
Event: Vankor 350 (Race 5 of 23)
Series: NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series
Location: Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth (1.5-mile oval)
Format: Three Segments; 35 laps/35 laps/77 laps
Start/Finish: 4th / 1st (running, completed 147 of 147 laps)
Winner: Kyle Busch of Kyle Busch Motorsports (Toyota)
Owner-driver Kyle Busch has four NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series starts and four wins in 2019. The 33-year-old continued his domination of the series at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday night in the Vankor 350, leading seven times for 97 laps in the No. 51 Cessna Beechcraft Toyota Tundra. Busch finished the first stage in the eighth position after opting for a pit strategy that saw him coming to pit road before the stage end and he won the second stage before coming away with the overall victory.
Stage One Recap:
- After two rounds of single-vehicle qualifying, Busch found himself with the fourth starting position.
- By lap 8, Busch had made his way to the front of the field, earning the lead after several early cautions.
- Busch reported that his No. 51 Cessna Tundra had a loose handling condition.
- Crew chief Rudy Fugle brought Busch to pit road under caution before the stage end for four tires and fuel and the Las Vegas-native finished the first stage in eighth position.
Stage Two Recap:
- Once the remaining drivers had pit during the stage caution, Busch resumed the lead to start the second stage.
- Busch would lead every lap of the second stage, including through a short red flag period for cleanup of an incident, and take the green-checkered flag for the stage win.
- Fugle called him to pit road following the end of the stage for four more Goodyear tires and Sunoco fuel.
Stage Three Recap:
- The driver of the No. 51 Cessna Tundra started the third stage in the second position.
- After getting shuffled back on the restart, Busch marched back to the front and despite a fierce battle with the No. 52 and No. 24, led the final twenty laps to earn the race win.
- This was Busch’s fourth Gander Trucks win at Texas Motor Speedway and his fourth win of the 2019 season in four starts. Busch has one remaining start scheduled in the Gander Outdoors Truck Series at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway in May. It was his 55th series win and 202nd NASCAR national series win.
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 51 Cessna Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports:
How does it feel to get another win tonight?
“It was a pretty good night for us. Obviously, the Cessna Beechcraft Tundra was fast. I wish it was faster. I thought we were pretty good. Not as good as we wanted to be once we stacked up next to the field. The 24 (Brett Moffitt) was really fast and the 52 (Stewart Friesen) was really fast. They made me work for it. They certainly got my money’s worth tonight. I want to say thanks to TRD (Toyota Racing Development), Rowdy Manufacturing and all of the fans – the Truck Series fans are the thoroughbreds of our sport. It’s coming out here on a Friday night, supporting the truck guys is what makes all this go round. So, appreciate them. And, of course, Gander Outdoors, Black Clover, DVX Sunglasses, Adidas and Incredible Bank. It takes a lot of us to get all of this to go, so it’s fun.”
Vankor 350 Recap:
- Kyle Busch won the race by 1.269 seconds followed by Stewart Friesen, Johnny Sauter, Grant Enfinger and Matt Crafton rounded out the top-five finishers.
- The race featured nine cautions for 47 laps, including one red flag and 16 lead changes among six drivers.
How Busch’s KBM Teammates Fared:
Todd Gilliland, driver of the No. 4 Toyota Tundra, finished 14th
Harrison Burton, driver of the No. 18 Toyota Tundra, finished 31st
Gander Trucks Driver Championship Standings:
The No. 51 team leaves the fifth race of the season ranked first in the Truck Series Owner’s Championship Standings, 54 markers ahead of second-place.
Next Race:
Brandon Jones will be behind the wheel of the No. 51 Tundra when the Truck Series returns to action Friday, May 3 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. Live coverage of the JEGS 200 begins at 5:00 p.m. EST on FS1.
