CP MOTORSPORTS - ROWDY NOTCHES LONG-AWAITED VICTORY AT MARTINSVILLE

 

Click here to follow us on Twitter @circletrackplus   Click here to like us on Facebook 
 

(Photo by Sean Gardner/NASCAR via Getty Images)
(Photo by Matt Hazlett/Getty Images)

There is an old saying about perserverance, 'if at first you don't succeed, try again 31 times'...or something like that.

This is what Kyle Busch did in Saturday afternoon's Alpha Energy Solutions 250. Busch, who has been to victory lane nearly everywhere in nearly all of NASCAR's divisions, made his 31st career start at Martinsville Speedway in search for one of the regarded Grandfather Clock trophies.

Busch finally accomplished his goal by leading 123 laps and holding off a host of fellow competitors on numerous late race restarts. Busch pulled no punches about what it means to be able to bring home a grandfather clock after all these years.

"It's really cool," Busch said. "I've gotten a couple (grandfather clocks) as an owner but I scored my first one for myself so this is a pretty cool day. I just can't thank everyone at Kyle Busch Motorsports enough. I can't thank (crew chief) Wes Ward for taking time out of his life to come be a part of this program on the fourth team. It's (the fourth team) just kind of a bunch of guys we threw together to kind of have some fun and run some races and do some R&D stuff and work on some things. Obviously it seems to be turning out so far so good. Great day, and looking forward to the race car I have tomorrow."

The win in the Camping World Truck Series is the 45th career win for Busch, placing him just six wins shy of all-time Truck series leader Ron Hornaday, Jr's, mark of 51 victory.

(Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images)

Busch believes him running in NASCAR's lower series is some of the best research and development he can do as an owner and a teammate.

"I try to give everything I do 100 percent," Busch explained. "Whether that's driving race cars or owning a race team. Being passionate about the things that I do, all I've ever known is the sport of NASCAR so I give it all I've got. I've got great people behind me that have the same beliefs as well, too. You know I wouldn't run a race to just come out here and make laps. To me, to run in some Xfinity races and Truck races, I mean this is essentially just to make sure and verify and confirm that our stuff is good enough and capable enough for the drivers that are racing in it in order to win. That's essentially why I run four or five Truck races a year. I go to these other venues to make sure our stuff is good -- so far, so good."

Busch admits that his career wins goal is also a motivating factor in his efforts. "There's also maybe a goal in the long term of amount of series wins I'd like to have," Busch said. "Then maybe one day I'll call it quits but we'll see if that happens."

Right behind Busch finished second-generation NASCAR driver John Hunter Nemechek, who piloted his family-owned No. 8 Chevrolet to victory lane in the last Truck Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The finish is Nemechek's second consecutive second-place finish at the paperclip shaped 0.526 mile track but propels him to an early lead in the Truck series points standings.

(Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images)

"It was kind of an up and down day," Nemechek said. "We started eighth and had to work our way to the front and just be patient. Right there at the end we got caught with a little bit of strategy, we had a lot older tires than all those guys behind us trying to hold them off. Luckily we salvaged a second place finish. It sucks because I wanted the clock this year but we still have the fall race to do that."

Kyle Busch Motorsports' rookie driver William Byron pushed his No. 9 Liberty University Toyota to a third place finish. It marks the first top-ten finish in the Truck series career of the 2015 K&N Pro Series East champion.

Sprint Cup series regular Kyle Larson started on the outside on the race's final restart but struggled to maintain position finished the race in fourth place. Virginia-native Timothy Peters finished in fifth place followed by Spencer Gallagher, two-time Truck series champion Matt Crafton, Parker Kligerman, Cameron Hayley and Rico Abreu rounding out the top ten.

The Truck series goes on another long hiatus before returning again May 6th at Kansas Speedway.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race Number 3
Unofficial Race Results for the 18Th Annual Alpha Energy Solutions 250 
- Saturday, April 2, 2016
Martinsville Speedway - Martinsville, VA - .526 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 255 Laps - 134.13 Miles
Leader
Fin    Str    Trk    Driver    Team    Laps    Pts    Bns    Driver Rating    Status    Tms    Laps
1    2    18    Kyle Busch(i)    Toyota Toyota    255    0        137.1    Running    4    123
2    8    8    John H Nemechek     Chevrolet    255    31        113.1    Running        
3    7    9    William Byron #    Liberty University Toyota    255    30        102.3    Running        
4    5    24    Kyle Larson(i)    McDonald's Chevrolet    255    0        129.1    Running    2    79
5    16    17    Timothy Peters    Red Horse Racing Toyota    255    28        83.5    Running        
6    11    23    Spencer Gallagher    Alamo Chevrolet    255    27        90.8    Running        
7    10    88    Matt Crafton    Ideal Door/Menards Toyota    255    26        99.3    Running        
8    25    92    Parker Kligerman    BTS Tire/Solid Rock Carriers/Advance Auto Parts Ford    255    25        81.2    Running        
9    4    13    Cameron Hayley    Cabinets by Hayley Toyota    255    25    1    110.8    Running    1    11
10    20    98    Rico Abreu #    Safelite Auto Glass/CURB Records Toyota    255    23        59.1    Running        
11    15    11    Ben Kennedy    JACOB Companies Toyota    255    22        80.3    Running        
12    18    81    Ryan Truex    Toyota Osaka Parts Distribution Toyota    255    21        72.6    Running        
13    13    02    Tyler Young    Randco/Young's Building Systems Chevrolet    255    20        62.4    Running        
14    23    86    Brandon Brown    Coastal Carolina University Chevrolet    255    19        57.2    Running        
15    24    44    Austin Wayne Self    Diamond Gusset Jeans Toyota    255    18        47.1    Running        
16    1    41    Ben Rhodes #    Alpha Energy Solutions Toyota    255    18    1    100.9    Running    1    42
17    28    07    Shane Lee    LeeBoy Toyota    255    16        45.0    Running        
18    6    51    Daniel Suarez(i)    ARRIS Toyota    255    0        83.6    Running        
19    14    4    Christopher Bell #    JBL Toyota    255    14        60.2    Running        
20    9    29    Tyler Reddick    Cooper Standard Ford    255    13        66.0    Running        
21    21    05    John Wes Townley    Zaxby's Chevrolet    255    12        52.7    Running        
22    17    19    Daniel Hemric    California Clean Power Ford    253    11        60.6    Running        
23    32    1    Bryce Napier    Lilly Trucking Chevrolet    249    10        33.3    Running        
24    29    49    Timmy Hill    Testoril Chevrolet    248    9        35.0    Running        
25    30    74    Paige Decker    Best Western RAM    246    8        34.0    Running        
26    22    32    Justin Haley    Braun Auto Toyota    244    7        48.8    Accident        
27    31    10    Claire Decker    AMSOIL Chevrolet    243    6        28.3    Running        
28    27    63    Spencer Boyd    Go-Parts.com RAM    237    5        41.6    Accident        
29    12    00    Cole Custer #    Haas Automation Chevrolet    235    4        63.1    Accident        
30    26    71    Mike Bliss    Race Trac Convenience Stores Chevrolet    115    3        32.5    Electrical        
31    19    33    Kaz Grala    Allegiant Travel Chevrolet    91    2        44.5    Accident        
32    3    21    Johnny Sauter    Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff Chevrolet    43    1        56.3    Accident        
 Race Comments:    Kyle Busch won the Alpha Energy Solutions 250 at Martinsville Speedway, his 45th NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory. Prior to the start of the race, the following trucks dropped to the rear of the field for the reason indicated: No. 86 (missing drivers meeting); No. 44 (driver change, backup truck).
 Failed to Qualify:    (6) 22 Austin Wayne Self, 66 Jordan Anderson, 50 Travis Kvapil, 6 Norm Benning, 78 Chris Fontaine, 14 Natalie Decker.
 Time of Race:    02 Hrs, 10 Mins, 12 Secs.    Average Speed:    61.811 MPH    Margin of Victory:    0.425 Seconds
 Caution Flags:    11 for 68 laps: Laps: 43-50 (#21 accident turn 3 [63]); 93-101 (#33 accident turn 4 [71]); 135-140 (#23, 81 accident turn 3 [32]); 165-170 (#11, 92 accident turn 4 [44]); 173-178 (#23, 63, 29, 98 accident turn 2 [44]); 187-191 (#74 accident turn 4 [07]); 201-204 (#23, 44 accident turn 4 [07]); 221-224 (#4, 11 accident turn 2 [81]); 231-234 (#10 spin turn 3 [63]); 237-244 (#00, 05, 4 accident backstretch [Red Flag: Lap 237, 8:32] [81]); 246-253 (02, 17, 29, 32, 41, 51 accident turn 3 [Red Flag: Lap 247, 4:40] [19]).
 Lead Changes:    8 among 4 drivers: B. Rhodes # 0; K. Busch(i) 1-2; B. Rhodes # 3-44; K. Busch(i) 45-61; K. Larson(i) 62-93; K. Busch(i) 94-104; K. Larson(i) 105-151; C. Hayley 152-162; K. Busch(i) 163-255.
Top 10 Driver 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.
Keystone Light 21 Means 21 Pole Award    : Ben Rhodes, #41 96.322 mph    Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race    : Joe Gibbs Racing Engines - Mark Cronquist, #18 
Mobil 1 Driver of the Race    : Kyle Busch, #18     Sunoco Rookie of the Race    : William Byron, #9 
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race:    May. 6, 2016 - Kansas Speedway
NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications @ P.O. Box 2875, Daytona Beach, FL 32120-2875

 

Categories: