After 250 miles in the “Lone Star State,” Kyle Busch won his fifth race at Texas Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series. Busch claimed the win after battling with Christian Eckes for much of the race. Busch led 72 of the 167 laps. The win adds to his two other victories out of the five races he has run in the 2020 season.
“Yeah, I mean what can you say about Christian. He is getting better each and every week,” Busch said of his driver.
“Technically, I haven’t won yet. So, put it over the sticks,” said Busch, as he joked over his disqualification from the Xfinity race earlier in the day.
Christian Eckes trailed Busch to nab his first runner-up finish of the season, after battling with his boss and leading 52 laps. Meanwhile, Matt Crafton, Stewart Friesen, and Brett Moffitt rounded up the remainder of the top-five.
Notably, Tyler Ankrum grabbed his third top-ten finish of the season, with his sixth place finish.
Prior to the checkered flag, the 167-lap race began with Sheldon Creed leading the field to green. Creed won his first race just a week prior, as rain shortened the 150 laps at Kentucky Speedway to 71. Although he led the first seven laps, Creed was forced to pit under green on lap 10 to manage a flat right rear tire.
The field continued under green until the conclusion of stage one. As the stage came to a close, it was Busch who claimed the stage win, after stealing the lead from Zane Smith.
Racing came to a halt on lap 59 for fluid on the track. Sauter, a five-time Texas winner, had a mechanical failure that ended his night. Another yellow flag appeared with 6 laps to go in the second stage; Jordan Anderson’s spin was the cause of the caution. The final lap of the stage saw an incident between Derek Kraus and Tate Fogleman. Simultaneously, Moffitt grabbed the stage two win under caution.
During the closing portion of the race, the final accident-related caution materialized for Todd Gilliland with fifteen laps remaining; Gilliland received heavy contact from Ben Rhodes prior to his spin.
The Truck Series will be back in action on July 24 and 25 for a double-dip at Kansas Speedway. Friday’s race is at 7 PM ET, while Saturday’s is at 1:30 PM ET. Coverage of both races can be found on FS1.
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