Kyle Busch wins another junior series race
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| Like taking candy from babies – only in NASCAR do drivers from the top series race in the ladder series to prop it up and steal money from the up and coming drivers and teams |
Another NASCAR XFINITY Series race, another set of milestones for Kyle Busch.
Leading 190 of 200 laps in Saturday's AutoLotto 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Busch held off Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Erik Jones in the closing laps to claim his 82nd career victory, extending his own series record.
In the process, Busch raised his total of XFINITY laps led to 17,064, once again extending his own record. Busch won for the fifth time in 11 races at the Magic Mile and the sixth time in 10 starts this season.
"I guess they're big numbers," said Busch, who ran the entire race on one set of left-side tires and arrived at the finish line 1.499 seconds ahead of Jones, who had taken four tires on his final pit stop under caution on Lap 178. "I really don't know what big numbers are, and records are made to be broken.
"There may be somebody like me that comes along down the road that does the same thing that I've been fortunate enough to do … Running in this series is something fun for me to do, cool for me to do, and it also helps me out and gets me a little more experience."
Brad Keselowski ran third but didn't have an answer for the top two JGR cars. Daniel Suarez came home fourth, followed by Austin Dillon .
"We had a decent day," Keselowski said. "A little better than where we have been, which was something to be proud of, but of course we want to get to Victory Lane with the (No. 22 Team Penske) Ford. We aren't quite there, but we'll keep pushing.
"That was a step in the right direction overall for sure."
[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]Busch may have been dominant up front, but there were compelling subplots behind him, the most noteworthy between Ty Dillon and Alex Bowman .
Bowman, who will sub for ailing Dale Earnhardt Jr. in Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, turned left into Dillon's No. 3 Chevrolet off Turn 2 on Lap 76, sending Dillon's car into the outside wall.
Dillon was convinced Bowman wrecked him on purpose. Bowman asserted his car was forced wide, and the contact was unintentional. Dillon returned to action 55 laps down after repairs in the garage and twice tried to impede Bowman's progress on the track.
"He tried to wreck me about four times after (the accident)," Bowman said after the race. "I don't blame him for being upset. He has every right to be upset…
"He drove me way up the race track (right before the contact). He obviously got tight underneath me. I had a ton of wheel in it, and it finally caught. I barely came off the wall. You come off the wall six inches and you tag somebody in the right rear. I hate that for the 3 car, but I definitely didn't do it intentionally. He can think what he wants."
Bowman was able to continue despite damage to the left front of his No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet and posted an eighth-place finish. Dillon, on the other hand, was scored 33rd and held third place in the XFINITY standings but fell to 48 points behind Suarez, who also expanded his series lead to 15 points over second-place Elliott Sadler , who ran 10th on Saturday.
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 NOS Energy Drink Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 1st
Were you worried about Erik Jones on the final restart?
"A little bit I was. He (Erik Jones) got a good restart, got to my inside and stayed there a little bit and then the next one he kind of stayed alongside me a little bit too. He raced me clean and gave me room and didn't door slam me or anything to try to get the win. Our cars were pretty equal I felt like and it was just a matter of track position. I thought four tires would pay off for him, but it didn't. That's just Loudon, that's just what this place is. Can't say enough about Chris Gayle (crew chief) and everyone on this NOS Energy Drink Camry and they did a great job for me. Chris made some great calls today and some really good calls – we had a stout car and we had a stout engine – JGR Engines and Toyota and TRD (Toyota Racing Development) – appreciate their support of course and XFINITY Series, this is fun to come out here and run here, race here, win here. Of course the fans as well too, we appreciate those here and those on TV. I missed my DVX folks last time so I appreciate this being a day race so I can have them on. It's fun to get out here, get some experience, learn some things and hopefully I can take that into tomorrow."
What does it mean to break the record of laps led in NXS, now surpassing 17,000?
"I guess they're big numbers. I really don't know what big numbers are and records are made to be broken. There may be somebody like me that comes along down the road that does the same thing that I've been fortunate enough to do – I'm with a good team here at Joe Gibbs Racing and I've got great partners with NOS Energy Drink and the people that have been behind me all these years. Running in this series is something fun for me to do, cool for me to do and it also helps me out and gets me a little more experience."
Did you know that two tires would hold off the four tires that Erik Jones took on the last pit stop?
"I wasn't sure, certainly with the calls that Chris Gayle (crew chief) made, he had confidence in those calls, which I'm proud of and we were able to do the best with what we had there. Obviously being able to come out here and win, this NOS Energy Drink Camry was awesome. The guys gave me a great piece. We ran up front and ran with our teammate there. We were so equal that it was hard to tell who had the better car. I don't think that either of us had the better car, but we had a really good opportunity to have track position over them. I thought the four tires would pay off, but I think I got through lapped traffic just a little bit better than he did and he (Erik Jones) lost ground and it was pretty much our game from there."
How were you able to hold off Erik on the last restart?
"I think just having the outside lane. Erik (Jones) could have bonsaied in there and body-slammed me and moved me out of the way and taken the win, but he ran me clean like a great teammate and those favors will be returned down the road I'm sure. We had a great race with each other and he passed me early on in the race for the lead. I got mixed up getting into the corner behind a couple guys and some traffic and he got by me. All good for today for JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing)."
Is the win even more special considering you weren't scheduled to run this race?
"Certainly it is unexpected and we feel for Matt Tifft and those guys, especially with his illness and the things that he's going through, he's going through some rehab right now so can't wait to see him come back."
Will Matt Tifft take a race that you were scheduled for later this season when he is able to return?
"I don't know, obviously it's a disappointing situation for (Matt) Tifft to know that he's got really good equipment sitting here waiting for him to get back in the car and he wasn't able to race this weekend. Of course, texting back and forth with him a little bit making sure that he's doing well and making sure that rehab is going well. It seems like things are if not on pace then maybe a little bit ahead of pace for him to get back in a race car so looking forward to that. What happens with races that I'm running or he was hoping to run or if somebody else might run, I'm not sure – that's a management question."
How are the Toyotas able to be so dominant this season?
"I'm just glad I'm in a Toyota. We do have really good cars and I feel like there's been a lot of hard work done at the shop and that's the reason why we're all so fast, but it's through the great help of TRD (Toyota Racing Development) and everybody in Costa Mesa as well as Salisbury that help us out in making our chassis and cars better. It's just how do I go out there and beat my teammates? You just try your best and do what you can and hopefully communication and getting your car setup correctly for the race is what's best for you. There may be some things that Denny Hamlin focuses on in practice that help him on the short run or things that I might focus on to help me on the long run. It's just a matter of being able to go out there and race and that's why we race those races to see who is the best after the course of all those different variables."
How much of a mentor role do you take with the young teammates at JGR?
"Anytime they every want to call me and talk to me, I'm always open and willing to talk to them. Last night Erik Jones texted me a little bit about trying to help him out for today and asking me some questions that I was able to help him out with I feel like anyways and he was right there with me all day. He was on my bumper learning hopefully and taking all that in and seeing what he could do to better himself for this track and getting himself ready for next year. The XFINITY cars don't come back here the second time around, but having the experience that he had today I feel like was a big learning experience for him and again, I try to help all those guys as much as I can and as much as they want the help. Hopefully, obviously I feel like it's going well and they're able to be successful."
CHRIS GAYLE, Crew Chief, No. 18 NOS Energy Drink Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Were you ever nervous about the restarts and the call for two tires?
"A little bit, when we took two tires the first time, obviously everyone else was going to take four and we were going to be the only ones sitting on two. When you're the leader, you're kind of a sitting duck – you have the call your strategy and they base it off of you. I wish I had almost changed that call last minute and took four, but once I saw that we were able to hold them off on two I was like, 'This is pretty simple, track position is probably going to matter.' I was a little nervous and I think Kyle (Busch) was, he may not say it, but on that last restart he went into one and two and it didn't quite turn well enough for him. I knew we were on two and the 20 (Erik Jones) was right behind us on four. I was nervous for a couple corners, but once I knew he would get through two or three corners and the pressures would get up and we would start inching away from the 20 then we would be fine."
ERIK JONES, No. 20 GameStop/NASCAR Heat Evolution Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 2nd
What did you have for Kyle Busch in the closing laps and how was the race car?
"We had a good sequence there, but there's not much that I could have really done. I had the opportunity to run him (Kyle Busch) up the hill on that last restart, but he races me clean all the time and there's no reason for me to get into him. It's unfortunate, we wanted to win pretty bad, but I think we had the car to do it, things just didn't pan out our way and being in clean air definitely helped out. This GameStop Camry was good and a long way from yesterday. Thanks to everybody who helped out on that, we did a lot of work on it. We're almost there, just need a little bit more."
How does it feel to be locked into the NXS Chase?
"It feels good to be locked in, but just had a decent run today. We were fast all day and a little bit better at some points there in the middle part of the race, but overall I think we just weren't good enough. Thought maybe we would have had something for them there at the end with four tires, but it took probably 20 or 25 laps to really get burnt in and four tires to really come into play. Unfortunately we didn't have that long of run and then we got caught up behind that lapped car and I just wasn't able to keep pressure on him. It's unfortunate, but a good day overall for the GameStop Camry, learned a lot and we came a long ways from yesterday to get ourselves a solid run today."
[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]How difficult is it to figure out this race track when you only race here once a year in the NXS?
"It's tough, you think about this track is super unique, I don't think there's another one on the schedule like it – a mile flat track like this so it's tough for us to get our stuff good. And it's tough for me as a driver to come here and race these guys that have been here like Kyle (Busch) and Brad (Keselowski), they've been here 15 or 20 times and have just so much more experience that I felt like I was playing catch-up all weekend plus yesterday trying to get caught up to where those guys are on this track. So many little things here that make speed that you have to figure out quick. Felt like we did a good job of that. I didn't really know what I needed out of my car yesterday, but we did a good job of managing and doing the best we could to get where we needed to be and felt like we did a good job of that."
Did you figure out how to spend your Dash4Cash bonus yet?
"I found out how to spend it, I bought a car, but I can't talk about it. I'm looking forward to Indy for sure. We're going for the bonus over there trying for another one, but Indy is such a cool place for us and Indy is such a unique track to begin with, but the Dash4Cash is an added bonus for sure. Looking forward to getting back to the heat race format and we've had a lot of success in that format so we can hopefully go and get a win there next weekend would be pretty special."
How will the 15 lap heat race impact the Indianapolis race?
"Indy is definitely unique compared to the other ones – we had 50 laps at Bristol and we had 50 laps at Dover as well. 15 laps at Indy is a long time still, longer than you think, but it's still a short heat race, but we'll be able to learn something for sure. That's a long enough run at Indy to really feel out your car some and make some adjustments. We'll go into it with the same mentality that we did the last three and work on our stuff and get it better and get it the best we can. I think every one of the Dash4Cash races we've learned quite a bit about our car in the heat race and we've been able to make a fair amount of adjustments before the main to get it where it needs to be."
Results
| POS. | NO. | DRIVER | MAKE | STAR | LAPS | LED | STATUS |
| 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 1 | 200 | 190 | Running |
| 2 | 20 | Erik Jones | Toyota | 2 | 200 | 3 | Running |
| 3 | 22 | Brad Keselowski | Ford | 3 | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 4 | 19 | Daniel Suarez | Toyota | 4 | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 5 | 2 | Austin Dillon | Chevy | 7 | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 6 | 48 | Brennan Poole | Chevy | 9 | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 7 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | Chevy | 8 | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 8 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Chevy | 5 | 200 | 7 | Running |
| 9 | 62 | Brendan Gaughan | Chevy | 17 | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 10 | 1 | Elliott Sadler | Chevy | 6 | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 11 | 33 | Brandon Jones | Chevy | 13 | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 12 | 6 | Darrell Wallace Jr | Ford | 15 | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 13 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Chevy | 18 | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 14 | 16 | Ryan Reed | Ford | 22 | 199 | 0 | Running |
| 15 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | Chevy | 16 | 199 | 0 | Running |
| 16 | 44 | J.J. Yeley | Toyota | 26 | 199 | 0 | Running |
| 17 | 28 | Dakoda Armstrong | Toyota | 19 | 199 | 0 | Running |
| 18 | 42 | Justin Marks | Chevy | 14 | 199 | 0 | Running |
| 19 | 01 | Ryan Preece | Chevy | 12 | 198 | 0 | Running |
| 20 | 78 | B J McLeod | Ford | 27 | 197 | 0 | Running |
| 21 | 07 | Ray Black Jr | Chevy | 30 | 197 | 0 | Running |
| 22 | 13 | Timmy Hill | Dodge | 34 | 197 | 0 | Running |
| 23 | 0 | Garrett Smithley | Chevy | 29 | 196 | 0 | Running |
| 24 | 90 | Mario Gosselin | Chevy | 33 | 196 | 0 | Running |
| 25 | 52 | Joey Gase | Chevy | 36 | 195 | 0 | Running |
| 26 | 15 | Scott Heckert | Ford | 35 | 195 | 0 | Running |
| 27 | 77 | T.J. Bell | Chevy | 31 | 194 | 0 | Running |
| 28 | 97 | Matt Waltz | Chevy | 39 | 191 | 0 | Running |
| 29 | 25 | Chris Cockrum | Chevy | 40 | 191 | 0 | Running |
| 30 | 74 | Mike Harmon | Dodge | 38 | 188 | 0 | Running |
| 31 | 4 | Ross Chastain | Chevy | 21 | 170 | 0 | Accident |
| 32 | 11 | Blake Koch | Chevy | 11 | 159 | 0 | Transmission |
| 33 | 3 | Ty Dillon | Chevy | 10 | 144 | 0 | Running |
| 34 | 14 | Jeff Green | Toyota | 24 | 109 | 0 | Brakes |
| 35 | 70 | Derrike Cope | Chevy | 32 | 99 | 0 | Suspension |
| 36 | 93 | David Starr | Chevy | 25 | 82 | 0 | Overheating |
| 37 | 24 | Corey Lajoie | 20 | 64 | 0 | Accident | |
| 38 | 40 | Carl Long | Toyota | 28 | 38 | 0 | Brakes |
| 39 | 89 | Morgan Shepherd | Chevy | 37 | 25 | 0 | Handling |
| 40 | 10 | Matt DiBenedetto | Toyota | 23 | 3 | 0 | Vibration |