MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Kyle Busch outdueled John Hunter Nemechek on a series of late race restarts Saturday to win the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway.
The victory was a momentous one for Busch as it was his first at the half-mile across Virginia track across all three NASCAR national divisions. He had won several grandfather clock trophies as an owner, but the defending Sprint Cup champion had been denied several opportunities to win one of his own until now.
“This is something we've been looking for a long, long time, but we just didn't have the pieces come together like we should have,” Busch said in victory lane. “I didn't know the pieces were going to come together today either the way the cautions played out and the tire strategy played out, when to pit and when not to pit, or how to do all of that.
“Wes (Ward, crew chief) and I just leaned on each other and we both had no idea, and we just dumbed into this and I think it all worked out.”
Busch dominated to the tune of 123 laps led and took the top spot for the final time on Lap 163 from Cameron Hayley. He led the final 87 laps despite two cautions (and two red flags) and had to hold off Nemechek, who pinched him close entering Turn 1 off the restart.
Nemechek was on slightly older tires than Busch and was pleased to finish second, even if he had one more pair of sticker tires laying in his pit stall.
“We were hoping for a caution because we thought everyone would pit, but we had to stay out for track position,” Nemechek said. "I just can't thank my guys at NEMCO Motorsports enough. They gave me a great truck for this weekend. We just have to keep the confidence and momentum rolling. It pays off when you have finishes like this.”
The finish allowed Nemechek to take the championship lead from Parker Kligerman who finished eighth despite his involvement in a Lap 164 crash involving Ben Kennedy. Nemechek won at Atlanta and is already eligible for the Chase for the Championship and has a three point advantage over the winless Kligerman.
Rookie William Byron finished third, followed by Kyle Larson, Timothy Peters. Spencer Gallagher, Matt Crafton, Kligerman, Justin Haley and Rico Abreu.
PHOTOS: Behind the wheel with Kyle Busch
Alpha Energy Solutions 250
Saturday's results from the .526-mile Martinsville Speedway (starting position in parentheses):
1. (2) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 255 laps, 137.1 rating, 0 points.
2. (8) John Hunter Nemechek, Chevrolet, 255, 113.1, 31.
3. (7) William Byron, Toyota, 255, 102.3, 30.
4. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 255, 129.1, 0.
5. (16) Timothy Peters, Toyota, 255, 83.5, 28.
6. (11) Spencer Gallagher, Chevrolet, 255, 90.8, 27.
7. (10) Matt Crafton, Toyota, 255, 99.3, 26.
8. (25) Parker Kligerman, Ford, 255, 81.2, 25.
9. (4) Cameron Hayley, Toyota, 255, 110.8, 25.
10. (20) Rico Abreu, Toyota, 255, 59.1, 23.
11. (15) Ben Kennedy, Toyota, 255, 80.3, 22.
12. (18) Ryan Truex, Toyota, 255, 72.6, 21.
13. (13) Tyler Young, Chevrolet, 255, 62.4, 20.
14. (23) Brandon Brown, Chevrolet, 255, 57.2, 19.
15. (24) Austin Wayne Self, Toyota, 255, 47.1, 18.
16. (1) Ben Rhodes, Toyota, 255, 100.9, 18.
17. (28) Shane Lee, Toyota, 255, 45, 16.
18. (6) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 255, 83.6, 0.
19. (14) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 255, 60.2, 14.
20. (9) Tyler Reddick, Ford, 255, 66, 13.
21. (21) John Wes Townley, Chevrolet, 255, 52.7, 12.
22. (17) Daniel Hemric, Ford, 253, 60.6, 11.
23. (32) Bryce Napier, Chevrolet, 249, 33.3, 10.
24. (29) Timmy Hill, Chevrolet, 248, 35, 9.
25. (30) Paige Decker, Ram, 246, 34, 8.
26. (22) J.J. Haley, Toyota, accident, 244, 48.8, 7.
27. (31) Claire Decker, Chevrolet, 243, 28.3, 6.
28. (27) Spencer Boyd, Ram, accident, 237, 41.6, 5.
29. (12) Cole Custer, Chevrolet, accident, 235, 63.1, 4.
30. (26) Mike Bliss, Chevrolet, electrical, 115, 32.5, 3.
31. (19) Kaz Grala, Chevrolet, accident, 91, 44.5, 2.
32. (3) Johnny Sauter, Chevrolet, accident, 43, 56.3, 1.
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Race Statistics
Average Speed of Race Winner: 61.811 mph.
Time of Race: 2 hours, 10 minutes, 12 seconds.
Margin of Victory: 0.425 seconds.
Caution Flags: 11 for 68 laps.
Lead Changes: 8 among 4 drivers.
Lap Leaders: K.Busch 1-2; B.Rhodes 3-44; K.Busch 45-61; K.Larson 62-93; K.Busch 94-104; K.Larson 105-151; C.Hayley 152-162; K.Busch 163-255.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led, Laps Led): K.Busch, 4 times for 123 laps; K.Larson, 2 times for 79 laps; B.Rhodes, 1 time for 42 laps; C.Hayley, 1 time for 11 laps.
Top 10 in Points: 1. J.Nemechek, 83; 2. P.Kligerman, 80; 3. T.Peters, 77; 4. T.Young, 67; 5. C.Hayley, 66; 6. R.Truex, 66; 7. D.Hemric, 65; 8. B.Brown, 62; 9. S.Gallagher, 62; 10. B.Rhodes, 61.
