HOMESTEAD, Fla. — As Johnny Sauter celebrated the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver’s championship on the frontstretch stage Friday night, Kyle and Samantha Busch were off to the side adding another jewel to their star-studded legacy in the series.
Thanks to a brilliant drive by dominant rookie William Byron, Kyle Busch Motorsports secured its fifth-career NCWTS Owner’s Championship Friday night in the Ford EcoBoost 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Byron started from the pole and led 31 of 134 laps, including the final 10 after passing late-race leader Tyler Reddick, en route to his series-leading and rookie-record seventh win of the season, the Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award and the team hardware.
The owner’s title is KBM’s fifth in seven seasons and fourth-consecutive, following championships in 2013 (No. 51), 2014 (No. 51) and 2015 (No. 4).
It was a bittersweet moment for the Busch family as well as Byron, with both sides knowing that the win would have resulted in a driver’s championship as well, had it not been for an untimely engine failure late in the Round of 8 Chase cutoff race at Phoenix Int’l Raceway a week ago that eliminated Byron from the driver playoffs.
“This year doesn’t mean as much as we wish it did, obviously, but holding this (owner’s trophy) is still a great feeling,” Busch said. “Congratulations to Johnny Sauter and all the guys at GMS (Racing). They put out fantastic trucks this year and it’s been fun racing against that bunch … as well as the rest of the final four.”
“Overall, though, it was a spectacular season by William and the whole No. 9 team. They were flawless … all up until Phoenix, I guess, when we had that little problem that knocked us out of contention. Everyone at Kyle Busch Motorsports does a great job, though, and works so hard in what we do … that to celebrate with those guys and girls in the shop, they deserve it and it’s an honor to accept this .”
Busch did have Byron’s teammate, Christopher Bell, in the fight for the driver’s championship before Bell’s No. 4 Toyota faded late in the race to an eighth-place finish.
“Having Christopher out there (in the mix) today was certainly a treasure today that we wanted to make the most of (as well). Obviously we were hoping he could get to this level right here, but we missed it a little bit.”
“We’ll come back swinging next year, though, and see if we can’t get Christopher back to this stage again … and maybe up on it next year.”
While Friday may not have been the double title that both Busch and Byron were hoping for, the season-ending win was still a moment that both driver and owner could be proud of, as well as a fitting sendoff to a pairing that produced the most magic in KBM history.
It also raises the question: what will Rowdy pull together for 2017 as KBM pursues a fifth consecutive title?
We’ll all just have to wait and see to find out.
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.
The 22-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as both the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series and the co-track announcer at Millbridge Speedway.
Email Jacob at: editor@racechaseronline.com
Follow on Twitter: @Speed77Radio or @JacobSeelman77
Email Race Chaser Online: news@racechaseronline.com
Follow RCO on Twitter: @RaceChaserNews
