BRISTOL, Tenn. — Report by Race Chaser Online Managing Editor Jacob Seelman — Toyota Racing photo —
Another day, another fast NASCAR Camping World Truck for Kyle Busch.
Busch, making his third NCWTS start of the season but in the No. 54 JEGS Toyota Tundra for the first time in 2015, rose to the occasion in the final round of Keystone Light Pole Qualifying at Bristol Motor Speedway — posting a lap of 15.267 seconds (125.683 mph) around the high side of the 0.533-mile concrete oval to secure his 17th career Keystone Light Pole Award, third at Bristol and first of the season.
Busch will be shooting to score his fifth Bristol Truck win and third straight win in the series during tonight’s UNOH 200 (8:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1).
“I think the biggest thing about this run that [Kyle Busch Motorsports] has been on is that everyone is working together, being a part of one big organization and making it happen instead of being three separate teams that are working out of different areas of the shop. Everyone’s doing a great job and it’s really showing.”
“For me, I love being here — it’s fun being in the Trucks at Bristol — and it’s always been one of my favorite places to come to. I hope this is the start of something great to come tonight. Last year I messed up, and then we had a flat, so hopefully none of that goes down in this one.”
Busch says that the high groove will likely be the ticket to victory lane for the driver that can master it best as the night wears on.
“The key is going to be, I think, ‘How high can you run?'” Busch explained. “A lot of guys — myself included — were running lower in practice, and my times just weren’t there. I moved up to the middle and it got better, so we’ll just see where it lays and what you have to do to win this thing later tonight.”
Alongside the veteran on the front row will be the driver who finished second to him in last weekend’s Truck race at Michigan, Brad Keselowski Racing’s Ryan Blaney. Blaney, who led the second round of knockout qualifying with an identical lap to Busch’s pole-winning time, fell off just a tick in the final round and posted a clip of 15.282 seconds (125.559 mph) to earn the second starting position.
“With three rounds, tires wear out a lot,” Blaney said of where he was lacking on his final run. “I saw Kyle running up at the very top, where there’s a lot of grip, and we should have had better communication as to what he ran when he was up there and maybe moved up ourselves. Really happy though, this is a big improvement from last year because then we were busting our butts trying to get into the top 12 and today we were fighting for a pole.”
“The Bristol night race is one of the coolest races we get to run, and I’m super excited about our chances tonight. Hopefully I can start off my tripleheader this weekend with a win.”
Both Busch and Blaney will be in search of three wins across NASCAR’s three national series this weekend at Bristol, as both are competing in the NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events in addition to tonight’s Truck race. Busch is the only driver to win all three series races in the same weekend, at Bristol in 2010.
Brandon Jones, who was in the top five in all three rounds of qualifying, clocked in third-fastest (15.293/125.469) ahead of Busch’s teammate Erik Jones (15.330/125.166) and Cole Custer (15.333/15.333), who rounded out the fast five in the pole round.
Two-time defending champion Matt Crafton was sixth in the final round, chased by John Hunter Nemechek and a strong-running Caleb Holman. Cameron Hayley, David Gilliland, Ben Kennedy and Johnny Sauter were the remaining drivers who made it through all three rounds.
Spencer Gallagher’s No. 23 GMS Racing Chevrolet was the first truck that did not make the cut for the final round — missing the transfer spot by one one-thousandth (0.001) of a second. As a result, Gallagher will roll off from the 13th position on the grid.
Other notables who failed to transfer to the final round included Daniel Suarez (16th) in a back-up truck; Daniel Hemric (17th); 17-year-old rookie Dalton Sargeant (18th), who ran fifth in the opening round of qualifying; championship contender Tyler Reddick (21st) and NASCAR XFINITY Series regular Ty Dillon (23rd).
Mason Mingus was the first driver who failed to transfer into round two and will start 25th, while up front, Erik Jones paced the opening round of knockout qualifying — with a fast lap of 15.197 seconds (126.262 mph). That lap put the KBM truck ahead of Brandon Jones, Custer, Blaney and an impressive fifth-place run by Sargeant.
Jordan Anderson, Caleb Roark, B.J. McLeod, Cody Lane and Brandon Brown were the five drivers who failed to qualify for the 32-car field. The heartbreak was moreso for Anderson, who was coming off his career-best NCWTS finish of 13th just four days ago in Michigan.
RESULTS: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series; Keystone Light Pole Qualifying; Bristol Motor Speedway; August 19, 2015
- Kyle Busch
- Ryan Blaney
- Brandon Jones
- Erik Jones
- Cole Custer
- Matt Crafton
- John Hunter Nemechek
- Caleb Holman
- Cameron Hayley
- David Gilliland
- Ben Kennedy
- Johnny Sauter
- Spencer Gallagher
- John Wes Townley
- Timothy Peters
- Daniel Suarez
- Daniel Hemric
- Dalton Sargeant
- Tyler Reddick
- Ray Black Jr.
- J.J. Haley
- Justin Jennings
- Ty Dillon
- Tyler Young
- Mason Mingus
- Travis Kvapil
- Tyler Tanner
- Ryan Ellis
- Jennifer Jo Cobb
- Korbin Forrister
- Norm Benning
- Wendell Chavous
DNQ: Jordan Anderson, Caleb Roark, B.J. McLeod, Cody Lane, Brandon Brown
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network. Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s. He is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for both the United Sprint Car Series and the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
Email Jacob at: speed77radio@gmail.com
Follow on Twitter: @Speed77Radio or @JacobSeelman77
