Kyle Busch claims second straight NASCAR Sprint Cup win at Texas
Reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Kyle Busch won his second consecutive race in a frantic finish at Texas Motor Speedway
The Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver took advantage of Furniture Row's Martin Truex Jr decision to not to pit for tyres at the final caution and consequently powered by on the outside to take an unlikely win to add to his Xfinity victory the night before.
The race was delayed by rain for two hours and Truex looked the more likely to secure the win, leading leading 141 of the 334 laps and trading the lead with polesitter Carl Edwards for the majority of the race.
The two proved to be in a class of their own, but a botched pitstop by JGR dropped Edwards a lap down before he recovered to finish seventh via a free pass.
Truex still looked the man to beat in the final stages but the decision not to pit for fresh tyres when everybody else did proved critical as he slumped to sixth place.
Team Penske's Joey Logano finished in third to separate the Hendrick Motorsports pairing of Dale Earnhardt Jr and Jimmie Johnson, who fought back from an unfortunate pitstop midway through the race.
Both men pitted under green just before the fourth caution, but while Earnhardt would get the free pass, confusion surrounded Johnson after he failed to beat Truex to the line.
Both men argued they were the last driver on the lead lap before NASCAR officials decided to give Johnson the wave around prompting the six-time Cup champion to fight back through the field.
Rookie Chase Elliott staged a fantastic comeback to finish fifth after a transmission change before the race meant he started in 40th place.
Kevin Harvick looked strong during the race but a speeding penalty at the fourth caution meant he could not recover and finished 10th.
Matt Kenseth was also challenging for the win in the final stages but a loose tyre meant the 2003 Cup champion ended up 11th.
Austin Dillion caused the final caution in a huge 13-car pile-up when he had a moment coming out of Turn 2.
Johnson could not slow down enough and tagged the back of the Richard Childress driver as he struggled to collect the car.
Dillon slammed into the wall and speared back onto the track, collecting 13 others.
RESULTS - 334 LAPS:
Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 3h37m16.s |
2 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3.904s |
3 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 4.841s |
4 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6.661s |
5 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6.888s |
6 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 7.297s |
7 | Carl Edwards | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 8.927s |
8 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 11.860s |
9 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 12.521s |
10 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 13.843s |
11 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 14.442s |
12 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 17.877s |
13 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 18.593s |
14 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 22.361s |
15 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 22.433s |
16 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 27.240s |
17 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 1 Lap |
18 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 2 Laps |
19 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 2 Laps |
20 | Ty Dillon | Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 2 Laps |
21 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 2 Laps |
22 | A.J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 2 Laps |
23 | Casey Mears | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 2 Laps |
24 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 3 Laps |
25 | Landon Cassill | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 4 Laps |
26 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 4 Laps |
27 | Brian Scott | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 4 Laps |
28 | Chris Buescher | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 4 Laps |
29 | Ryan Blaney | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 4 Laps |
30 | Cole Whitt | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 Laps |
31 | Regan Smith | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | 5 Laps |
32 | Michael Annett | HScott Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 Laps |
33 | David Ragan | BK Racing | Toyota | 6 Laps |
34 | Matt DiBenedetto | BK Racing | Toyota | 7 Laps |
35 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Go FAS Racing | Ford | 11 Laps |
36 | Reed Sorenson | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 19 Laps |
37 | Brian Vickers | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | Accident |
38 | Clint Bowyer | HScott Motorsports | Chevrolet | Accident |
39 | Greg Biffle | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | Accident |
40 | Josh Wise | The Motorsports Group | Chevrolet | Accident |
LEADING CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Pos | Driver | Points |
---|---|---|
1 | Kyle Busch | 259 |
2 | Jimmie Johnson | 253 |
3 | Kevin Harvick | 252 |
4 | Carl Edwards | 241 |
5 | Joey Logano | 234 |
6 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 211 |
7 | Kurt Busch | 208 |
8 | Denny Hamlin | 201 |
9 | Brad Keselowski | 201 |
10 | Austin Dillon | 198 |
11 | Martin Truex Jr. | 187 |
12 | Matt Kenseth | 171 |
13 | Jamie McMurray | 171 |
14 | Chase Elliott | 168 |
15 | A.J. Allmendinger | 166 |
16 | Kasey Kahne | 161 |
17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 153 |
18 | Kyle Larson | 152 |
19 | Ryan Newman | 150 |
20 | Ryan Blaney | 144 |
21 | Paul Menard | 140 |
22 | Aric Almirola | 138 |
23 | Trevor Bayne | 136 |
24 | Danica Patrick | 117 |
25 | Brian Scott | 114 |
26 | Casey Mears | 112 |
27 | Greg Biffle | 111 |
28 | Landon Cassill | 106 |
29 | Regan Smith | 105 |
30 | David Ragan | 96 |
PROVISIONALLY INTO CHASE SO FAR
Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson (2 wins), Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick (1 win)
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