Kyle Busch was able to hold on to win in the Helluva Goods 200 at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Delaware.
He dominated the race leading 191 of 205 total laps. Only two other drivers lead laps; Denny Hamlin led 11 laps and finished in 12th place, and Brad Keselowski who led 3 laps and finished in 7th place.
He was able to win the Nationwide race after running out of gas in the Trucks Series Race in the closing laps of the race. He’ll be racing in tomorrow’s race at Dover as well.
The race was red flagged in the closing laps because of a multiple car wreck that left a lot of debris and fluid all over the track. The red flag lasted for almost 12 minutes. Clint Bowyer was involved in the wreck, and thought that he was spun out on purpose by Denny Hamlin. Bowyer, with no chance at getting a good position and barely being able to finish the race, decided during the yellow flag to go after Hamlin. Bowyer forced his car into Hamlin’s and caused some damage over the left front tire, which didn’t have an effect to Hamlin’s car too much, but he could’ve finished in a higher position had Bowyer not done this.
Bowyer was immediately told to park his vehicle as he was done for the day. He also was told to go to the NASCAR hauler, where NASCAR officials and Bowyer discussed what happened and Bowyer could face possible point deduction as well as a fine.
The top five finishers were: Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman, Jamie McMurray, Reed Sorenson and Jason Leffler.
In other NASCAR news, Brian Vickers was released from the hospital after being treated for blood clots in his leg and around his lungs. He is returning to his home in Charlotte, North Carolina to undergo more tests. The long-term status of the number 83 Red Bull car is undetermined right now and Vickers racing next week is uncertain.
Vickers apparently has DVT, which is deep vein thrombosis. DVT treatmeant is a three-to-six month recovery period and includes a lot of blood thinners.
Sunday’s Sprint Cup race’s pole goes to Martin Truex Jr as he ran a lap of 157.315 mph. His only career Cup win came at Dover International Speedway just three years ago. His last pole came last September in Phoenix. This was his fifth career pole.
Kasey Kahne qualified 2nd, with Mark Martin, Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson rounding out the top five. Overall points leader Kevin Harvick qualified 30th for Sunday’s race. Sunday’s race will be the Autism Speaks 400.
On Friday night, Aric Almirola won the Trucks Series race. Kyle Busch led most of the race, 172 laps overall, but finished in 16th place after running out of fuel and having to pit.
Almirola took Busch’s spot this year in the number 51 truck after Busch left that team after last season and starting his own team.
“I really would have loved to race him for the win. That would have been a lot of fun,” Almirola said. “Kyle Busch is a phenomenal race car driver. I’m here to say we’ve got a great race team and we’re here to win races no matter who’s driving that truck.”
Almirola is now in first place in the points standings after his first career win in the Trucks Series and is 27 points up on Todd Bodine, who is in second place.
James Buescher, Justin Lofton, Ricky Carmichael and Todd Bodine rounded out the top five.
Almirola does have one other NASCAR victory, though. He took first place in 2007 at the Milwaukee Mile, a race I attended, racing for Joe Gibbs Racing in Denny Hamlin’s race car. NASCAR credited him with the win, prize money and points as he was a substitute driver.
Coverage for tomorrow’s Autism Speaks 400 at Dover International Speedway starts at 11:00 am Central on FOX.
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