It was only a matter of time before Kyle Busch tied NASCAR Hall of Famer Ron Hornaday Jr. on the all-time wins list. It took a little longer than Busch wanted, but on Saturday, he scored his 51st career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory.
“It’s awesome. I can’t say enough about everybody at Kyle Busch Motorsports and everybody that’s gotten these win totals to where they’re at, you know?” Busch said of tying Hornaday’s record. “Racing with Billy Ballew and racing KBM stuff, back in the heyday with – I don’t think I won a race with Morgan-Dollar, but I ran with those guys, you know? It’s certainly – it’s a true testament to all the hard work and everybody, all the dedication and perseverance everybody has a Kyle Busch Motorsports to get me such a fast Cessna Beechcraft Tundra here.
“The guys at TRD (Toyota Racing Development) do an awesome job for us. Thanks to Toyota, Incredible Bank, Black Clover, DVX Eyewear, Rowdy Manufacturing. It’s a lot of hard work and a lot of great people and wouldn’t be here without them.”
Busch held off Cup Series and in-race teammate Erik Jones to pick up the victory. Erik Jones was filling in for an ill Noah Gragson who wasn’t medically cleared to compete in the event. Jones and Busch battled for the lead but with a “tight” truck, Busch was able to run away with the victory by 1.469 seconds.
KOELLE: GRAGSON NOT MEDICALLY CLEARED TO COMPETE
Dalton Sargeant scored a career-best third-place finish after leading four laps under the caution that ended stage two. Stewart Friesen, who started at the rear of the field after spinning in qualifying, and Justin Haley rounded out the top five.
Busch started the Gander Outdoors 150 from the pole, the 21st of his career and briefly lost the top spot to Kyle Busch Motorsports teammate Todd Gilliland, who went on to lead just seven laps on the day. The driver of the No. 4 Toyota led the final six circuits in stage one after Busch pitted before the stage end and scored a single playoff point.
Stage One Results: 4, 24, 25, 18, 98, 8, 21, 52, 2, and 02
Pit strategy proved critical as Busch was one of the only drivers to stop shortly before the end of stage one, which granted him the lead for the restart. But as the laps wound down in stage two, much of the field made its way down pit road early, setting up a battle between Friesen and Myatt Snider. Friesen prevailed and took the playoff point.
Stage Two Results: 52, 98, 13, 2, 02, 41, 20, 3, 45, and 22
With pit stops and stage racing out of the way, Busch took off on the final restart and led all 24 of the final laps, despite a hard charge from Jones, who only managed to pull ahead for a short moment, thanks to lapped traffic.
CWTS POCONO UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
The Truck Series takes a weekend off before heading to Michigan International Speedway Saturday, Aug. 11.
His favorite tracks on the circuit include Barber Motorsports Park, Iowa Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville, and Bristol Motor Speedway.
During the season, Christian also spends time as a photographer with multiple other outlets shooting Monster Energy AMA Supercross, Minor League & Major League Baseball, and NCAA Football.