Kyle Busch held off a pack of determined challengers in the closing laps to win a thrilling NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Busch, who qualified ninth for the Fr8 Racing 208, held off challenges from Stewart Friesen, Tyler Ankrum, Chandler Smith, Luke Fenhaus, Bayley Currey and Daniel Hemric in a frenetic final 25 laps where the lead changed multiple times among those seven drivers.
Busch, 39, managed to keep his No. 7 Spire Chevy out front when it mattered most, holding off a last-ditch push by Friesen on the final lap. It was a photo-finish as the two trucks crossed the finish line.
“Just thanks to everyone for being out here today, you (fans) are all troopers,” Busch said. “This was a great run for Spire with this Chevy. It’s a great day for us but the gaps were tight out here. I thought we had a fast truck each time I was out front and trying to do what I know how to do and race as best as I can and try to win. I’m glad I was able to do that today.”
It was Busch’s eighth Truck win at Atlanta Motor Speedway, his first win of the season and the 67th of his career. It was also his 232nd career NASCAR national series victory.
“I just tried to make sure I stayed as far apart as I could when I was up front there,” said Busch, who led 80 laps and finished fourth in the first stage and won the second stage.
“I kept trying to battle back to the front and control it as best I could,” Busch continued. “I got a big push from the 44 truck at the end and was able to get back out front and get the win. Glad we had a great race to the finish and these fans got a great show.”
Veteran racer Friesen was happy with the fun racing at the end and his second-place finish in his No. 52 Toyota.
“I just got too far off my help on the last lap and had a surge at the wrong time,” Friesen said. “Thanks to our Toyota teammates. I’m just proud of our race team. It has been a grind here the last few years. I wanted to keep pushing Chandler but it didn’t work out. We left here last year with a tore up piece and played catch up the rest of the season. It’s good to have a nice finish today.”
Chandler Smith charged to the front from mid-pack and seemed to be in the right place at the right time. He led two laps at the end but ultimately finished fifth in his No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford.
“It was a crazy day for us,” Smith said. “We just didn’t have the raw speed. It was a hustle to get to the front. I was able to hook up with a few guys. I can’t be more-proud of everyone at Front Row, they gave me a great truck and we have some good momentum rolling forward.”
Kaden Honeycutt, Ben Rhodes, defending series champ Ty Majeski, Jake Garcia and Grant Enfinger rounded out the top 10.
Other notable finishes included pole winner Connor Mosack, who ran up front in the first stage but fell back and ultimately finished 25th in his No. 81 Chevy. In addition to Busch, the only other full-time Cup driver in the race was Michael McDowell, who finished 12th in his No. 07 Spire Chevrolet. A couple of pre-race favorites, Corey Heim in the No. 11 truck and stage 1 winner Jack Wood in the No. 91 Chevy, both fell back and finished 23rd and 21st, respectively. Former Hollywood actor Frankie Muniz finished 26th after starting 21st in his No. 33 Ford.
Busch will now turn his focus to Sunday’s Ambetter Health 400 NASCAR Cup Series race. Busch has two career victories at AMS and finished third here last spring in the track’s closest finish ever. Busch says the two divisions are so different that there isn’t much to be learned from the truck to his No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Cup car, but he was focused more on gaining lap time at the historic 1.54-mile speedway.
“These are a little different than the Cup cars are,” Busch said. “I’m just here trying to get some laps. There’s some luck involved and there was some skill today. Speedway racing is speedway racing. There are some things guys could learn if they go back and watch and pay attention. The overall thing of it is to come out here and get some laps and get ready for tomorrow.”
Tickets for tomorrow’s Ambetter Health 400 NASCAR Cup Series race are available at www.AtlantaMotorSpeedway.com.
Fr8 Racing 208 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Results:
- Kyle Busch
- Stewart Friesen
- Tyler Ankrum
- Bayley Currey
- Chandler Smith
- Kaden Honeycutt
- Ben Rhodes
- Ty Majeski
- Jake Garcia
- Grant Enfinger
- Giovanni Ruggiero
- Michael McDowell
- Matt Mills
- Luke Fenhaus
- Tanner Gray
- Daniel Hemric
- Dawson Sutton
- Josh Reaume
- Spencer Boyd
- Layne Riggs
- Jack Wood
- Matt Crafton
- Corey Heim
- Toni Breidinger
- Connor Mosack
- Frankie Muniz
- Andres Perez de Lara
- Justin Carroll
- Rajah Caruth
- William Sawalich
- Nathan Byrd
- Keith McGee
