Kyle Busch said Friday afternoon he wasn’t sure if his No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry would qualify well, but he said it would race well. Not only did Busch scored the pole for the Food City 250, but he dominated and scored his ninth win of the year and swept both NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in 2013.
It was also the second triumph of the week for the Las Vegas, Nevada native, as he also scored the win in Wednesday night’s UNOH 200 driving the No. 51 ToyotaCare Toyota Tundra for his Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) organization.
Busch in his 17th race of the year for Joe Gibbs Racing led from the drop of the green flag, until he pitted under a caution on lap 105 when Nelson Piquet Jr. spun in turn four. On the restart, Busch wasted no time working his way back to the front and made a daring move against youngster Kyle Larson on lap 129 and never relinquished.
“Today – just had a great car and a great job by these guys putting together such a great Monster Energy Camry. It was a lot of fun tonight,” said the nine-time NNS winner this season. “It’s cool when you can start up front, lead laps like that, but yet you have some battles with holding off the 22 (Brad Keselowski) and having to pass the 32 (Larson) – just a fun day. Can’t say enough about JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) engines, Nationwide Insurance, the fans – whether you’re cheering or booing, doesn’t matter. We’re here to win races, take trophies home and that’s what we’re going to try to do tomorrow night too.”
It was his sixth victory and 15th top-10 finish in 19 races at Bristol Motor Speedway. Additionally, it marked his 120th NASCAR national series win – second most all-time behind NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty with 200. 27 wins in Cup, 60 (series most) in Nationwide and 33 in Trucks. Furthermore, he also set a new track record for the most NASCAR national series wins at the track with 15 (5 NSCS, 6 NNS – series most, 4 NCWTS – series most).
And, he also posted his fourth perfect driver rating (150.0) of the season in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
Brad Keselowski finished second in his No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang for Penske Racing, while Austin Dillon in the No. 3 AdvoCare Chevrolet Camaro for Richard Childress Racing finished third. Turner Scott Motorsports teammates Justin Allgaier and Larson finished fourth and fifth respectively.
“We obviously had a pretty good car,” said Keselowski, the defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion. “I think we started 14th or 15th and got up in the front few on the first run and then had amazing pit stops today. This was a really, really good indicator and a strong reminder of why I drive this car and I’m part of this series to work with those guys and try to be better there and showcased today that effort. So I was really, really proud of them for that. We just came up a little bit short obviously on the track and just didn’t quite have enough speed to get by Kyle. He definitely had pretty good speed. I got close to him, but not close enough.”
It was the first race for Allgaier as a family unit, as wife Ashley and new baby Harper Grace made their first appearance. Larson, the top-finishing rookie scored his second consecutive top-five finish after finishing runner-up to Busch in March.
Trevor Bayne, who learned this week that he’ll pick up new sponsorship from AdvoCare next season finished sixth, while Ty Dillon, Kasey Kahne, outside pole sitter Brian Scott and Elliott Sadler comprised the top-10. It was a season-high qualifying effort for Scott and also his 10th top-10 of the year.
Michael Annett just missed a top-10 finish in his best finish since Indianapolis Motor Speedway with 11th.
Sam Hornish Jr. struggled with motor issues in his No. 12 Snap-On Ford Mustang and finished 12th, but retained the NASCAR Nationwide Series points lead over Austin Dillon by six.
Travis Pastrana had a nice night in his No. 60 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Mustang finishing 13th and recorded his ninth top-15 finish of the year. Cole Whitt had another fine run, leading the TriStar Motorsports brigade finishing 14th in his No. 10 Gold Bond Toyota Camry, ahead of Brendan Gaughan, who finished 15th in the No. 21 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet Camaro for Richard Childress Racing.
Other notables inside the top-20 included: Jeff Green, subbing for the ill Eric McClure (16th); Joe Nemechek (18th), Kenny Wallace, who turned 50 Friday (19th) and former ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards standout Chad Hackenbracht (20th) with a career-best run.
Nelson Piquet Jr. in his first race with new crew chief Pat Tryson, was unable to overcome a mid-race spin and finished 24th.
Ryan Reed, making a rare appearance in the No. 16 Drive To Stop Diabetes Ford Mustang struggled, but finished 26th after starting 27th.
Mike Wallace, in a back-up machine after a parts failure in the lone practice session Friday morning finished 27th. He qualified his teammate’s (Landon Cassill) Camaro 35th.
Robert Richardson Jr., the Texas native was another driver who struggled in a back-up machine. Under the direction of new crew chief Tony Eury Sr., the part-time Nationwide pilot finished a disappointing 30th after logging the 38th quickest lap in time trials.
Promising rookie Alex Bowman in the No. 99 ToyotaCare Toyota Camry for RAB Racing pitted early for ignition issues. After losing many laps, the multiple-time ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards winner return to the track and finished 33rd.
Parker Kligerman was gunning for his fourth consecutive ninth-place finish at the 0.533-mile oval, but fell victim to apparent fluid on the track and crashed out finishing 35th.
It was a rough night for some of the championship contenders. Regan Smith, driver of the No. 7 TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports fell victim to a loose wheel and handling, while Brian Vickers, driver of the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing was involved in an accident with Parker Kligerman with about 85 laps remaining. Smith finished 21st. Vickers 34th.
Only four start-and-park teams on the grounds this weekend at BMS. Matt DiBenedetto, JJ Yeley, Chase Miller and Josh Wise.
RACE NOTES:
Average Speed: 91.985 MPH
Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 26 Mins, 55 Secs.
Margin of Victory: 0.831 Seconds
Lead Changes: 2 among 2 drivers
Cautions: 4 for 32 laps
Unofficial Top-Ten in the Point Standings: 1. Sam Hornish Jr. – 801 (Leader) 2. Austin Dillon – 795 (-6 Points Behind the Leader) 3. Elliott Sadler – 790 (-11) 4. Regan Smith – 777 (-24) 5. Justin Allgaier – 762 (-39) 6. Brian Vickers – 761 (-40) 7. Brian Scott – 741 (-60) 8. Kyle Larson # – 735 (-66) 9. Trevor Bayne – 734 (-67) 10. Parker Kligerman – 696 (-105).
Next Up: The 22nd annual Great Clips Grit Chips 300 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday, August 31st, with an approximate starting time of 7:50 pm (ET) and television coverage provided by ESPN2 beginning with their 7:00 pm (ET) NASCAR Countdown pre-race program.
Follow Chis Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
