Kyle Busch Dominates Truck Race at Las Vegas

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LAS VEGAS -  NV - RIS – Kyle Busch won all three stages and coasted to  the Strat 200 NASCAR truck race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway despite a valiant effort by Brett Moffit to run him down in the closing laps. 

Busch and second-place Moffitt reprised their starting positions, with Moffitt finishing 1.211 seconds behind the 2015 Cup Series champion. It was Busch’s series record 53rd victory in the trucks and his 196th across NASCAR’s three major touring series — Cup, Xfinity, Truck — moving him within four of Richard Petty’s 200, all in the Cup Series.

Asked to predict where and when 200 might come, Busch shook his head during the postrace news conference.

“Just whenever it happens, it happens,” he said after a dominating drive that saw him lead 110 of 134 laps en route to his second straight win in the trucks. “I’m not going to put a name on it and put any pressure on the situation or something like that.”

The impressive victory also kept alive Busch’s quest to record another NASCAR sweep and duplicate his 2010 and 2017 victories in the Truck, Xfinity and Cup Series tripleheaders at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Unofficial Race Results for the 2nd Annual Strat 200 - March 1, 2019 - Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Fin, Str, Driver, Truck, Laps, St1, St2, Pts, Status, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts
1) 
1, Kyle Busch(i), No. 51 Cessna Toyota, 134, 1, 1, 0, Running, 3, 110, 
2) 2, Brett Moffitt, No. 24 Allegiant Chevrolet, 134, 2, 10, 45, Running, , , 
3) 15, Matt Crafton, No. 88 DampRid/Menards Ford, 134, , 9, 36, Running, , , 
4) 7, Stewart Friesen, No. 52 Halmar International Chevrolet, 134, 7, 2, 46, Running, 2, 20, 
5) 3, Harrison Burton #, No. 18 Safelite AutoGlass Toyota, 134, 4, 6, 44, Running, , , 
6) 9, Sheldon Creed #, No. 2 A.M. Ortega/RTL Chevrolet, 134, , 7, 35, Running, , , 
7) 13, Todd Gilliland, No. 4 Mobil 1 Toyota, 134, 6, 4, 42, Running, , , 
8) 11, Johnny Sauter, No. 13 Tenda Heal Ford, 134, , , 29, Running, , , 
9) 10, Ryan Reed, No. 17 Dexcom Toyota, 134, 8, , 31, Running, , , 
10) 16, Ross Chastain(i), No. 45 TruNorth Chevrolet, 133, 5, 3, 0, Running, 1, 1, 
11) 4, Grant Enfinger, No. 98 Champion Power Equipment Ford, 133, , , 26, Running, 1, 2, 
12) 18, Timothy Peters, No. 44 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Chevrolet, 133, 9, , 27, Running, , , 
13) 12, Natalie Decker #, No. 54 N29 Technologies LLC Toyota, 133, , , 24, Running, , , 
14) 25, Korbin Forrister, No. 7 Strut Masters Toyota, 132, , , 23, Running, , , 
15) 24, Austin Wayne Self, No. 22 GO TEXAN/JB Henderson Construction , 132, , , 22, Running, , , 
16) 22, Angela Ruch, No. 8 JJ Resources Chevrolet, 132, , , 21, Running, , , 
17) 21, Tyler Dippel #, No. 02 Danda Concrete/Lobas Productions Chevrolet, 132, , , 20, Running, , , 
18) 14, Anthony Alfredo #, No. 15 Ceco Building Systems/Friends of Jaclyn Toyota, 132, , , 19, Running, , , 
19) 17, Jesse Little, No. 97 Parker FiberNet Ford, 132, , , 18, Running, , , 
20) 8, Brennan Poole, No. 30 KeepandBear.com Toyota, 131, , , 17, Running, , , 
21) 20, Jordan Anderson, No. 3 Lucas Oil/Knight Fire Protection Chevrolet, 130, , , 16, Running, , , 
22) 26, Gus Dean #, No. 12 Chevrolet, 130, , , 15, Running, , , 
23) 31, Josh Reaume, No. 33 Mr. Beast Chevrolet, 129, , , 14, Running, , , 
24) 5, Cory Roper, No. 04 Preferred Industrial Contractors Inc. Ford, 127, , , 13, Running, , , 
25) 19, Ben Rhodes, No. 99 Carolina Nut Ford, 125, 10, 5, 19, Running, 1, 1, 
26) 28, Jesse Iwuji, No. 34 Fueltrax Chevrolet, 124, , , 11, Running, , , 
27) 29, Jennifer Jo Cobb, No. 10 Waldo's Painting Chevrolet, 123, , , 10, Running, , , 
28) 32, Norm Benning, No. 6 Zomongo/H&H Transport Chevrolet, 121, , , 9, Running, , , 
29) 23, Spencer Boyd, No. 20 1A Auto Chevrolet, 108, , , 8, Engine, , , 
30) 6, Austin Hill, No. 16 A&D Welding Toyota, 82, 3, 8, 18, Engine, , , 
31) 27, Stefan Parsons, No. 1 Phoenix Construction Chevrolet, 67, , , 6, Carburetor, , , 
32) 30, Scott Stenzel, No. 63 Chevrolet, 34, , , 5, Electrical, , ,  
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie

Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 26 Mins, 29 Secs.
Total Race Length: 134 Laps – 201
Miles Average Speed: 139.449 MPH
Margin of Victory: 1.211 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 51, 24, 16, 18, 45, 4, 52, 17, 44, 99
Stage 2 Top 10: 51, 52, 45, 4, 99, 18, 2, 16, 88, 24

Race Comments: Kyle Busch won the Strat 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, his 53rd victory in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series. Prior to the start of the race, the following truck dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reason indicated: No. 98 (engine change).

Caution Flags: 3 for 15 laps; Laps: 7-10 (#2, 04, 45, 88 Incident on the frontstretch [None]); 32-37 (Stage 1 Conclusion [10]); 62-66 (Stage 2 Conclusion [33]).

Lead Changes: 7 among 6 drivers; K. Busch(i) 1-33; S. Friesen 34-37; B. Rhodes 38; S. Friesen 39-54; K. Busch(i) 55-113; R. Chastain(i) 114; G. Enfinger 115-116; K. Busch(i) 117-134.

 

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 2019, Issue 2, Posted 12:11 AM, 03.02.2019