Zariz Transport driver leads twice for 11 laps and wins Stage 1
Date: May 6, 2023
Event: Heart of America 200 (Race 8 of 23)
Series: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Location: Kansas Speedway (1.5-mile tri-oval)
Format: Three Stages; 30/30/74
Start/Finish: 2nd/7th (Running, completed 134 of 134 laps)
Winner: Grant Enfinger of GMS Racing (Chevrolet)
Kyle Busch qualified second for Saturday night’s Heart of America 200 at Kansas Speedway and was able to win the opening stage despite battling an ill-handling Zariz Transport Silverado. In the closing laps of Stage Two, Busch fell to the back side of the top 10 amplifying the ill-handling conditions in traffic and would make contact with the wall, subsequently causing a flat tire.
Busch would have to restart the Final Stage from the rear of the field after pitting early between stages to avoid further damage from the flat tire. The damage to the right-front fender intensified the tight-handling condition for the 51 team and in the end they would limp home to a seventh-place finish.
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 51 Zariz Transport Chevrolet for KBM:
Talk about your race.
“I was pretty optimistic about our chances after practice and qualifying. We didn’t have the fire-off speed that the 19 truck did but felt like we were going to have good long-run speed for the race. Fired off for the race and our Zariz Silverado was really stiff and wouldn’t turn the way we needed it to. Got back in traffic at the end of Stage Two, I was just trying to limp it to the end of the stage to take another shot at adjustments but unfortunately got bottled up in a pack of trucks. Truck got really tight and I was trying to lift to keep it out of the wall but didn’t have anywhere to go, got the air taken off of us, the truck snapped loose and I slapped the wall pretty good. From there on out we were just on defense making sure the fender was fixed so that we didn’t cut a tire and kill a truck.”
Heart of America 200 Race Recap:
- Grant Enfinger won Saturday night’s Heart of America 200. It was his first victory of 2023 and the eighth victory of his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career. Corey Heim finished second, while Zane Smith, Stewart Friesen and Ross Chastain rounded out the top five.
- There were seven cautions for 40 laps and 15 lead changes among nine drivers, including Busch who led twice times for 11 laps.
Craftsman Truck Series Owner Standings:
The No. 51 team leaves the eighth race of the season third in the Craftsman Truck Series owner point standings, 30 tallies behind the No. 38 and No. 98 teams.
