- Kyle Busch finished first in Saturday night’s rain-delayed NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) race at Chicagoland Speedway.
- Busch started last among the 32 drivers on the starting grid (for missing Thursday’s NCWTS practice sessions) and led the field three times for a race-high 66 laps (of 150).
- This season, Busch has six NCWTS wins. Along with the Chicagoland victory, he picked up first-place trophies at Daytona, Kansas, Charlotte, Dover and Kentucky.
- Busch has 34 NCWTS wins driving a Tundra, and 41 overall wins in the series.
- Tundra drivers have recorded 124 race wins since the start of the 2004 season.
- Tundra driver Matt Crafton crossed the finish line second. He led the field three times for 14 laps.
- Tundra drivers Jeb Burton (fifth), Darrell Wallace Jr. (sixth) and Joe Nemechek (ninth) also finished in the top-10.
- Tundra driver Johnny Sauter led the field to the green flag and led 24 laps, before finishing 14th.
- Crafton moved into the lead in the championship point standings and by five points over teammate Sauter. Wallace (fourth), German Quiroga (fifth), Timothy Peters (eighth) and Burton (10th) are also in the top-10 in the standings.
KYLE BUSCH, No. 51 Dollar General Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports
Finishing Position: 1st
Was it fun to come from the back of the field — and pass a lot of trucks — to get the win?
“It was for us in this 51 Dollar General Tundra. This doesn’t make our loss earlier (in the NNS race) any sweeter, No, we could have had two (wins) and could have been going for three tomorrow. Come up short and we’ll just have to fight and maybe get two of the three. Imagine that, I think I’ve done that probably plenty of times, two of the three. Can’t say enough about all these guys at KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports) — the pit crew was great tonight. Erik Jones, appreciate him being here and piloting this thing for me while I was gone (Thursday) and I didn’t screw it up, so that’s a start.”
How were you able to pass 59 lead lap trucks for the win?
“I knew we were going to have a fast Tundra tonight, the guys have done a really nice job this year. This was a true testament of what this team is all about, where we’ve come and what we’re all about this year with the support that we’ve got and everybody that works so hard at TRD (Toyota Racing Development). It’s a good one for us to be in, but it’s going to be Erik Jones’ chance here the next few races and I’ll get back at the end and see if we can’t win an owner’s championship.”
How does it feel to win your sixth race of the season?
“It was a great race for us and this Tundra was awesome. All the guys at KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports) did a great job for me. The pit crew was great tonight, too. This Dollar General Tundra, what can I say, it was just fast. I can’t wait to see what happens the rest of the year.”
What’s it like to pass so many trucks after starting from the rear of the field?
“Well early on, I was patient with it, just trying to get everyone acclimated to not being on the track at all yesterday from practice day. Me, for sure, I was getting acclimated, too. I knew we had a good truck. I was just trying to pace myself there early. I knew what I had and when I had that pit road penalty and got stuck behind then I could try to charge back through harder. The truck was good and got back to the front there. I was chasing the 20 (Austin Dillon) truck there for the lead and was getting tight behind him with the aero and hurt him. I hate that but fortunately I got through the lap truck and we were able to win this thing — pretty cool day.”
MATT CRAFTON, No. 88 Splash-FVP/Menards Toyota Tundra, ThorSport Racing
Finishing Position: 2nd
How does it feel to be back in the lead in the point standings?
“Not too worried about that. We got a long ways to go in the points. Like I said, I’m tired of finishing second to him (Kyle Busch). We fired off right there and I was on the splitter really bad. We made some adjustments. Then I could fire off really good on the first two runs, then I would get loose and tight — maybe a little bit too much on that short run there. And, it slowly came to me. But, that 51 truck (Kyle Busch) was very fast. I can’t thank these guys enough. This Menards Toyota Tundra was pretty darn good. Just needed a little bit more.”
What more did you need in your Tundra?
“We were free on all the other runs and we just kept tightening it up, and we might have just went over just a little, little bit. Then we were a little bit too snug on that last run. I don’t know if it was on the splitter or what it was. Not a bad day for this Menards Toyota Tundra.”
JEB BURTON, No. 13 Estes/Carolina Nut Company Toyota Tundra, ThorSport Racing:
Finishing Position: 5th
How was your race?
“The window came loose and we were pretty free. I don’t know if that is all of it, but these guys never gave up. All the way to the rear and came all the way back. It was a good effort and hopefully this is some momentum to end out the year right.”
What happened to the window?
“It just came loose. I don’t think that was helping our truck any. It was definitely a handful for most of the race. We got it better right there at the end. I felt like we were going to be a lot better than that — we just got to keep getting better every week.”
Does this finish provide some momentum?
“Yeah. Definitely. I think the last four or five races we’ve ran a lot better. Our finishes haven’t showed up. Tonight it feels good to finally have some breaks and things go our way and get that first top-five (of the season). Hopefully, there’s seven races left — we’re going to get a win before it’s over with.”
DARRELL WALLACE JR., No. 54 ToyotaCare Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports
Finishing Position: 6th
JOE NEMECHEK, No. 8 Jewel Osco Toyota Tundra, NEMCO Motorsports
Finishing Position: 9th
JOHNNY SAUTER, No. 98 Nextant Aerospace/Curb Records Toyota Tundra, ThorSport Racing
Finishing Position: 14th
JOHN WES TOWNLEY, No. 5 Zaxby’s Toyota Tundra, Athenian Motorsports
Finishing Position: 15th
MASON MINGUS, No. 35 Call 811 Toyota Tundra, Win-Tron Racing
Finishing Position: 16th
GERMÁN QUIROGA, No. 77 Net10 Wireless Toyota Tundra, Red Horse Racing
Finishing Position: 19th
TIMOTHY PETERS, No. 17 Duke of Oil/Valvoline Toyota Tundra, Red Horse Racing
Finishing Position: 17th
