Kyle Busch wins Kentucky Xfinity race

For Busch it's like taking candy from a baby in the Xfinity series

Getty Images for NASCAR

It was a race Kyle Busch won with a dramatic run around the outside lane at Kentucky Speedway.

It was a race Erik Jones lost when he hit the wrong switch on his dashboard, killed the engine and slowed under caution late in the race.

But, interestingly, it was a race where Jones showed Busch, the pole winner, the key to victory, demonstrating to his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate that the outside line was viable when racing side-by-side with an opponent.

Clearing Austin Dillon off Turn 4 in the first lap in overtime in Friday night’s Alsco 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race, after caution slowed the race for the fifth time, Busch pulled away to beat the Richard Childress Racing scion to the finish line by 0.455 seconds.

Daniel Suarez finished third after chasing Busch to the final yellow flag, then losing the runner-up spot to Dillon on the last restart. Jones came home a disappointing fourth after outdueling Busch for the lead on Lap 175, only to give it up when his car wouldn’t refire under caution and failed to keep up with the pace car, costing Jones two positions.

Busch led 185 of the 201 laps in winning for the fifth time in nine starts this season, the second time at Kentucky and the 81st time in his career, extending his own series record.

But it was the run around the outside lane, after Dillon pulled even on the backstretch on lap 200, that proved decisive.

And that’s exactly how Jones had passed Busch for the lead on Lap 175.

“I didn’t think he’d be able to hold it through (Turns) 3 and 4 like that," said Dillon, who thought he had the preferred position on the inside. “But he did a great job of holding me down. I wish we could have got it done for (sponsor) Rheem, but it was a really close race."

Busch was roughly a half-second ahead of Suarez and appeared to have the race in hand when caution flew on Lap 195 with smoke billowing from Mike Harmon ’s car.

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]“We always get the Kyle Busch cautions," Busch said. “Apparently this time it was true. There was some problems with another car smoking. You always have to make your money’s worth, I guess. Always have to give the show to the fans and their money’s worth.

“Certainly means a lot to us to win here and bring our Camry home to Victory Lane again at Kentucky Speedway."

Jones said he hit the wrong button when he was rolling under caution and fell behind the pace car, allowing Busch to pass him. NASCAR rules require a driver to maintain pace car speed in order to keep his or her running position.

“I think we had the fastest car here once we got out front," Jones lamented. “It’s just hard to get back up to the front when you get back in traffic."

But before he fell back, Jones had already given Busch the road map to victory.

“When Erik drove into Turn 3 with me, I started to roll out just a little bit, because I knew I needed to in order to run the bottom," Busch said. “And he drove right on past me, and I was like, ‘Well, all righty then.’

“I was waiting for him to slip and to not be able to control his car in the black, in the rubber. And it stuck for him and he made it work. I definitely learned that there was a little bit of speed up there, at least for one lap, for one corner."

And that one corner made all the difference on Friday night.

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 NOS Energy Drink Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 1st

How does it feel to win the XFINITY Series race at Kentucky?

“This is a great effort by this team and everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing. Everything was really, really good about this race car since we unloaded. NOS Energy Drink Camry had really good speed and Chris Gail (crew chief) and the guys did an awesome job each and every week, this 18 Camry is always the best, always the one to beat. I think that’s just a true testament to everyone at Toyota and TRD (Toyota Racing Development) and this XFINITY Series program. I want to thank the fans as well with everyone out here and everyone at home watching on TV. It was a new repave and it probably wasn’t one of the best races from the visual, but a couple of odd things were definitely happening at the end when (Erik) Jones got me on the restart then he kind of got back when his motor didn’t refire there. That last restart there, I heard three-wide for a second and I don’t know what to do here but I tried to give a little bit of room and then I heard clear and I turned down. It was enough excitement from my vantage point."

Were you surprised to see Austin Dillon coming for you at the end?

“He kind of struggled a little bit on the restart before that I believe, maybe two restarts before that. Obviously you learn as a driver and you figure it out so he got it going there. He just made a bold and aggressive move there getting down low like that. He was forcing his way and I haven’t really seen it, but I imagine that’s what it looked like."

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]How does it feel to get back to victory lane at Kentucky in the XFINITY Series?

“The JGR cars just haven’t been that great here for a long time. I think Joey Logano was the last win here for a JGR car was in 2010. This certainly means a lot to us as an organization and for NOS Energy Drink and everyone that has been a part of this program. Our cars were so fast here this weekend, it felt really, really good. We were worried about tires and we had some issues today during the race but we were able to make it through the whole event and not have a big problem. That’s just a true testament to Kentucky Speedway and what they did here tonight for this weekend in preparation to have a good race track."

Was that finish hard work?

“We always get the Kyle Busch cautions. Apparently this time it was true. There was some problems with another car smoking. You always have to make your monies worth, I guess. Always have to give the show to the fans and their monies worth. Certainly means a lot to us to win here and bring our Camry home to victory lane again at Kentucky Speedway. Certainly wish last night went a little bit better for myself, I’m proud of William Byron but we’ll see how it goes – maybe we can make it a Toyota sweep this weekend."

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