CONCORD, N.C. — For the second week and second race in a row, it was Kyle Busch’s world in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Fresh off a win in Kansas, Busch dominated Friday night’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200, sweeping all three stages en route to a trip to victory lane in his No. 51 Cessna Toyota Tundra.
In the process, Busch claimed his 48th Truck Series, moving him to within three of series record-holder Ron Hornaday, Jr. in his 100th race as a Tundra driver.
“It means a lot,” Busch said of the win. “These guys, they pour their hearts and souls into our trucks and what we do with our Toyota Tundras. It’s awesome to get Cessna back to back wins here and back to victory lane again. … Everyone on this 51 team, they’ve done a great job. I can’t say enough about Rudy (Fugle, crew chief) and everybody on the 4 (Christopher Bell) as well as Marcus (Richmond, crew chief) on the 18 (Noah Gragson). We’re all really working as a cohesive group and guys are doing a great job.”
“For us to be out front most of the laps tonight, it was fun. It was challenging there in that middle section of the race. That was kind of chaotic. I didn’t know what was going on half the time. We made it through there and got to the front and was able to win this thing. Just real proud of the whole team effort.”
Johnny Sauter had a fast truck in the final stage but was not quick enough to run down Busch in the closing laps. He had to settle for second, but still notched a career-best Charlotte finish.
“This race track has always been an Achilles heel for me, so we keep knocking on the door over there every week,” Sauter admitted. “We’re going to some really great race tracks that I really, really enjoy, coming up though: short-track racing, Iowa, Gateway, some of those places … so I’m excited for that, but just proud of our effort tonight. We’re knocking on the door, but just have to get a little better.”
Finishing off the top three was Busch’s teammate Christopher Bell, who battled back from blowing a left rear tire on the third lap of the race to finish third. Bell was one of nine Toyotas that finished in the top 10.
“I think we had a flat left rear when we fired off,” Bell explained. “It was really, really loose the first couple laps and then finally (the tire) went down off of (turn) four there. All these guys on this SiriusXM Tundra did a great job of getting me back out there. I had a second-place truck and ran third with it. That’s what’s frustrating. I’m glad my boss won, though; that’s cool. We’ll be back and stronger than ever at Dover.”
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