Kyle Busch Sweeps Bristol Weekend with Tough-Fought Cup Win

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BRISTOL, TN – RIS – Kyle Busch won all three races at Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend, sweep the Camping World Truck Series race on Wednesday night, the Xfinity Series race last night and tonight, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup race.  Busch is the only one who has done this anywhere, and this is the second time he has done it.  The last time was 2010.  It was also his sixth win of the season for the Las Vegas native.

“That one was a lot harder,” Busch said as he exited the car at the start-finish line, “and my arms are like jelly right now.”

Busch won by holding off Erik Jones to win the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race. Busch passed Jones on Lap 445 when the rookie, who was running the high line, bobbled. Busch secured his 40th career Cup win. 

"Erik Jones put up a helluva fight, that was all I had," Busch said. "Car might not have been perfect, but I'm never perfect. I'm so proud of these guys. So proud of 'Rowdy Nation,' this one's for you!"

Busch's victory celebration on the frontstretch included holding up three fingers toward the fans - some of whom were booing the driver - and climbing atop his No. 18 Toyota with a broom.

"We did almost everything we needed to do. ... We'll just have to keep after it," said Jones, who was signed by Busch in 2013 to race for his Truck team.

Rounding out the top 10 were: Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, Trevor Bayne, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney. 

Contact with Harvick sent Chase Elliott spinning into the inside wall on the backstretch on Lap 396, leading to the seventh caution of the night. After contending in the top 10, Elliott lost a lap in the pits. Harvick restarted in fourth place.

STAGE TWO: Kenseth stayed on the track in first place during a caution period and put himself in position to win the second stage. Also in the top 10: Jimmie Johnson, Harvick, Newman, Jones, Larson, Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Paul Menard and Clint Bowyer.

 The race’s first major incident occurred on Lap 232 when Austin Dillon’s Chevrolet spun and was hit hard by Jeffrey Earnhardt near the outside wall. Both drivers took their cars behind the wall.

STAGE ONE: Kyle Busch roared to the front on the final lap to lead the race’s first stage. Larson led the previous lap but was caught behind lapped traffic as Busch pushed into the lead. Pole winner Jones edged Larson for second. Following Larson were Elliott, Kenseth, Hamlin, Blaney, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr. and Johnson.

Series points leader Martin Truex Jr. finished 21st, missing out on a chance to clinch the regular-season championship. Truex made an unscheduled stop on Lap 207 with a loose wheel on his Furniture Row Racing No. 78 Toyota, then was penalized for speeding during that pit-road visit.

After serving a pass-through penalty, Truex was scored two laps down in 29th.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., in what was likely his final Bristol start in the series, wound up 23rd in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 Chevrolet.

Unofficial Race Results for the 57Th Annual Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race - Saturday, August 19, 2017

Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Pts, Tms, Laps, Playoff Pts, Status
1) 18, Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M's Caramel Toyota, 500, 1, 8, 7, 156, 6, 53, Running
2) 1, Erik Jones #, No. 77 5-hour ENERGY Extra Strength Toyota, 500, 2, 5, 9, 260, , 50, Running
3) 7, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota, 500, 6, 7, , , , 43, Running
4) 5, Matt Kenseth, No. 20 DEWALT/Flexvolt Toyota, 500, 5, 1, 1, 11, 1, 49, Running
5) 25, Kurt Busch, No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford, 500, , , , , , 32, Running
6) 13, Ryan Newman, No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet, 500, , 4, 1, 1, , 38, Running
7) 20, Trevor Bayne, No. 6 Tim Duerr EcoBoost Ford, 500, , , , , , 30, Running
8) 29, Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Busch Outdoors Ford, 500, , 3, , , , 37, Running
9) 2, Kyle Larson, No. 42 Huggies Little Movers Chevrolet, 500, 3, 6, 3, 70, , 41, Running
10) 10, Ryan Blaney, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford, 500, 7, , , , , 31, Running
11) 21, Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet, 500, 10, 2, , , , 36, Running
12) 11, Jamie McMurray, No. 1 McDonalds/Cessna Chevrolet, 500, , , , , , 25, Running
13) 8, Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 500, 8, , , , , 27, Running
14) 14, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 Fastenal Ford, 500, , , , , , 23, Running
15) 12, Daniel Suarez #, No. 19 IRWIN/LENOX Toyota, 500, , , , , , 22, Running
16) 27, Paul Menard, No. 27 Knauf/Menards Chevrolet, 499, , 9, , , , 23, Running
17) 19, David Ragan, No. 38 Juice Battery Ford, 499, , , , , , 20, Running
18) 4, Chase Elliott, No. 24 NAPA Chevrolet, 499, 4, , 1, 2, , 26, Running
19) 9, Clint Bowyer, No. 14 Rush Truck Centers Ford, 499, , 10, , , , 19, Running
20) 26, Michael McDowell, No. 95 Wipes.com Chevrolet, 499, , , , , , 17, Running
21) 6, Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Bass Pro Shops/Ducks Unlimited Toyota, 499, 9, , , , , 18, Running
22) 23, AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Kroger ClickList Chevrolet, 498, , , , , , 15, Running
23) 31, Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 AXALTA/Ducks Unlimited Chevrolet, 497, , , , , , 14, Running
24) 3, Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Rated Red Chevrolet, 497, , , , , , 13, Running
25) 24, Danica Patrick, No. 10 One Cure Ford, 496, , , , , , 12, Running
26) 34, Matt DiBenedetto, No. 32 E.J. Wade Construction Ford, 496, , , , , , 11, Running
27) 15, Chris Buescher, No. 37 Bush's Grillin' Beans Chevrolet, 496, , , , , , 10, Running
28) 35, * Corey LaJoie #, No. 83 HMS Motorsport Toyota, 495, , , , , , 9, Running
29) 17, Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Autotrader Ford, 493, , , , , , 8, Running
30) 30, * JJ Yeley(i), No. 7 Chevrolet, 493, , , , , , 0, Running
31) 37, * Gray Gaulding #, No. 55 LaColombe Draft Latte Chevrolet, 488, , , , , , 6, Running
32) 36, * BJ McLeod(i), No. 51 NEX Transportation Chevrolet, 482, , , , , , 0, Running
33) 32, Cole Whitt, No. 72 Bad Boy Mowers Chevrolet, 480, , , , , , 4, Running
34) 40, Joey Gase(i), No. 23 Best Home Furnishings Toyota, 476, , , , , , 0, Running
35) 33, Landon Cassill, No. 34 Love's Travel Stops Ford, 412, , , , , , 2, Accident
36) 22, Ty Dillon #, No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet, 394, , , , , , 1, Accident
37) 28, Aric Almirola, No. 43 Smithfield Ford, 390, , , , , , 1, Accident
38) 39, Reed Sorenson, No. 15 LowT Centers Toyota, 352, , , , , , 1, Transmission
39) 16, Austin Dillon, No. 3 DOW Energy & Water Chevrolet, 230, , , , , , 1, Accident
40) 38, Jeffrey Earnhardt, No. 33 hulu Chevrolet, 225, , , , , , 1, Accident
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie, (*) non-charter team

Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 46 Mins, 37 Secs.
Average Speed: 95.969 MPH
Margin of Victory: 1.422 Seconds
Race Comments: Kyle Busch won the 57th Annual Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, his 40th victory in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Prior to the start of the race, the No. 5 car dropped to the rear of the field for an unapproved tire.
 Failed to Qualify: (1) 66 Timmy Hill(i).
 Caution Flags: 8 for 53 laps: Laps: 63-67 (#43 Incident Turn 2 [27]); 127-135 (Stage 1 Conclusion [95]); 202-207 (#17 Incident Backstretch [27]); 233-244 (#3, 5, 33 Incident Turn 4 [95]); 252-257 (Stage 2 Conclusion [47]); 355-359 (#6, 13 Incident Turn 2 [None]); 397-401 (#4, 13, 24, 43 Incident Turn 4 [22]); 417-421 (#32, 34 Incident Turn 1 [24]).
 Lead Changes: 21 among 6 drivers: E. Jones # 1-3; C. Elliott 4-5; E. Jones # 6-50; K. Larson 51-63; E. Jones # 64; K. Larson 65-114; Kyle Busch 115-117; K. Larson 118-124; Kyle Busch 125-129; E. Jones # 130-166; Kyle Busch 167-179; E. Jones # 180-197; Kyle Busch 198-202; E. Jones # 203; Kyle Busch 204-240; E. Jones # 241; M. Kenseth 242-252; R. Newman 253; E. Jones # 254-360; Kyle Busch 361-397; E. Jones # 398-444; Kyle Busch 445-500.
American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award: Kyle Busch, #18 
Coors Light Pole Award: Erik Jones, #77 128.082 mph
Ingersoll Rand Power Move: Kevin Harvick, #4 3 positions
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race: Toyota Racing Development (TRD), #18 
Mobil 1 Driver of the Race: Kyle Busch, #18 
Moog Go the Extra Mile: Kurt Busch, #41 crew chief Tony Gibson, 0.014 seconds
Sherwin-Williams Fastest Lap: Kyle Larson, #42 
Sunoco Rookie of the Race: Erik Jones, #77

Ron Fleshman with John Davison

RIS NASCAR Editor.  Has been with RIS since the middle 90's. Writes on each of the three main series of NASCAR.

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Volume 2017, Issue 8, Posted 11:40 PM, 08.19.2017