Nothing like a classic, antiquated spin-and-win for Kyle Busch.
Spinning his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with five laps to go in Stage 1 in Saturday’s Zippo 200, he rebounded to take the lead with 26 laps to go. Surviving a restart with three laps to go, Busch, who also suffered a pit road penalty to start Stage 2, turned into Victory Lane for the 90th time in his XFINITY Series career and first time at Watkins Glen International.
“We’ve been so close, so many times,” Busch said of getting an XFINITY win at The Glen. “Overall, finally got to check this box on the list. It was really, really fast. I knew I just had to not screw it up.”
Though Joey Logano only led a lap, the No. 12 Team Penske Ford started from pole and held a top-three spot consistently throughout the 82-lap race. Despite the speed, a battle with teammate Brad Keselowski in the last two laps hurt his chances at victory, especially after missing the final restart.
“He just got through the gears better than us,” Logano said of Busch’s flyer restart. “I needed another restart. So close… we’ve had three in a row. Second hurts a little bit but I learned some things for tomorrow.”
Keselowski took Stage 1 and finished third, saying his Ford was no match to the Toyota of Busch.
“The Toyotas are just way faster than everybody,” Keselowski said. “We just have to try and keep up.”
with Justin Allgaier the top series regular in fifth. Paul Menard was a common face in the race lead, pacing the field for 22 laps in his No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Kevin Harvick overcame multiple pit road penalties to slot into sixth while Ty Dillon, Erik Jones, Brendan Gaughan and William Byron, who finished his first XFINITY road race in 10th.
“Getting the first one out of the way, I feel it sets us up for the summer stretch with these road courses,” Byron said. “Hopefully, we can keep improving on it and start from where it ended today.”
Overcooked it!@KyleBusch loses control and the lead. A mistake drops the 1️⃣8️⃣ from first to third. #NASCARonNBCSN pic.twitter.com/rWFwheUXqK
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) August 5, 2017
"Good job, dad!" #KidsDriveNASCAR #XFINITYSeries pic.twitter.com/OWXH4nsrhU
— Xfinity Racing (@XfinityRacing) August 5, 2017
Growing up in Easton, Pa., Zach Catanzareti has grown his auto racing interest from fandom to professional. Joining Frontstretch in 2015, Zach enjoys nothing more than being at the track, having covered his first half-season of 18 races in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2017. With experience behind the wheel, behind the camera and in the media center, he thrives on being an all-around reporter.