NASCAR Truck Series

Kyle Busch wins WISE Power 200 in overtime

2 Mins read
Credit: Sean Gardner/Getty Images

Kyle Busch and winning in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series go hand in hand, but it was not just cruising for the winningest driver in series history as he had to wrangle the lead away from Austin Hill and fellow Cup Series driver Ross Chastain on the final restart to win the WISE Power 200 at Kansas Speedway.

In a Kyle Busch Motorsports front row sweep, Busch started second alongside employee and points leader John Hunter Nemechek. Two trucks were sent to the rear after a driver change: Bayley Currey replaced Brett Moffitt in Niece Motorsports‘ #45 after the latter switched to Xfinity Series points while C.J. McLaughlin was in Reaume Brothers Racing‘s #34 which had no driver on the entry list.

Nemechek and Sheldon Creed dominated much of the opening stage before Busch took the lead on lap 26 and held it to the conclusion. Nemechek, Creed, Ben Rhodes, Matt Crafton, Hill, Stewart Friesen, Todd Gilliland, Derek Kraus, and Chastain rounded out the top ten.

It was the same story in the second stage as Creed briefly led before Busch was back on top. Nemechek and Creed once again tailed ahead of Hill, Zane Smith, Friesen, Kraus, Rhodes, Gilliland, and Hailie Deegan.

The first race-related caution occurred on lap 71 when Carson Hocevar spun after contact with Christian Eckes. Creed assumed the lead for much of the restart before the Toyotas of Busch, Rhodes, Eckes, and Johnny Sauter spent time in front. Creed’s day would be hampered when he hit the wall and fell multiple laps down.

Jennifer Jo Cobb and Friesen would also produce yellow flags. The latter, who wrecked with Kraus, was responsible for what would be the final caution as overtime was initiated. Despite restarting fourth, Busch stalked Chastain and Hill for much of the first lap before making a three-wide pass for the lead.

Busch drove off to score his sixty-first career Truck victory and second of the year; in four Truck starts in 2021, he has finished either second or first. He has won three of his last four Truck starts at Kansas, with the lone exception being a second in 2018. Chastain settled for second to mark a Cup 1–2 finish, while Hill finished third to leapfrog Creed (who finished thirty-second) for third in points.

“All the restarts were hectic for us,” Busch said after the race. “Any time we started on the front row, we would always go backwards. It just would not fire on the restarts for whatever reason. We definitely had a really good, strong long-run truck.”

The win is the sixth in a row for KBM. With Rhodes’s victories in the first two races of the year, Toyotas have won every Truck event in 2021.

Race results

FinishStartNumberDriverTeamManufacturerLapsStatus
1251Kyle Busch*Kyle Busch MotorsportsToyota140Running
23444Ross Chastain*Niece MotorsportsChevrolet140Running
3716Austin HillHattori Racing EnterprisesToyota140Running
41798Christian EckesThorSport RacingToyota140Running
514John Hunter NemechekKyle Busch MotorsportsToyota140Running
6638Todd GillilandFront Row MotorsportsFord140Running
7921Zane SmithGMS RacingChevrolet140Running
81524Raphaël LessardGMS RacingChevrolet140Running
9413Johnny SauterThorSport RacingToyota140Running
10399Ben RhodesThorSport RacingToyota140Running
11518Chandler SmithKyle Busch MotorsportsToyota140Running
122645Bayley Currey*Niece MotorsportsChevrolet140Running
13201Hailie DeeganDavid Gilliland RacingFord140Running
141052Stewart FriesenHalmar Friesen RacingToyota140Running
151326Tyler AnkrumGMS RacingChevrolet140Running
161622Austin Wayne SelfAM RacingChevrolet139Running
17299Grant EnfingerCR7 MotorsportsChevrolet139Running
181815Tanner GrayDavid Gilliland RacingFord139Running
193004Chase Briscoe*Roper RacingFord139Running
203140Ryan TruexNiece MotorsportsChevrolet139Running
212225Timothy PetersRackley WARChevrolet139Running
222556Timmy Hill*Hill MotorsportsChevrolet139Running
231142Carson HocevarNiece MotorsportsChevrolet139Running
241288Matt CraftonThorSport RacingToyota139Running
252323Chase PurdyGMS RacingChevrolet138Running
262130Danny BohnOn Point MotorsportsToyota138Running
273232Bret HolmesBret Holmes RacingChevrolet138Running
281419Derek KrausMcAnally-Hilgemann RacingToyota138Running
291911Spencer DavisSpencer Davis MotorsportsToyota137Running
30363Jordan Anderson*Jordan Anderson RacingChevrolet137Running
312841Dawson CramCram Racing EnterprisesChevrolet137Running
3282Sheldon CreedGMS RacingChevrolet136Running
332402Kris WrightYoung’s MotorsportsChevrolet135Running
344034C.J. McLaughlinReaume Brothers RacingToyota133Running
352720Spencer BoydYoung’s MotorsportsChevrolet133Running
363512Tate FoglemanYoung’s MotorsportsChevrolet130Running
373910Jennifer Jo CobbJennifer Jo Cobb RacingChevrolet106Electrical
383833Jesse IwujiReaume Brothers RacingChevrolet73Too Slow
39376Norm BenningNorm Benning RacingChevrolet42Too Slow
403349Ryan ReedCMI MotorsportsChevrolet27Steering
Italics – Competing for Rookie of the Year
* – Ineligible for Truck points
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Justin is not an off-road racer, but he writes about it for The Checkered Flag.
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