Kyle Busch overcame a loose wheel to win the Ultimate Tailgating 200 and become the Gander Outdoor Truck Series all-time winningest driver.
The win was Busch’s 52nd career series victory, which moved him past NASCAR Hall of Famer Ron Hornaday Jr. to take sole possession of first on the all-time wins list. The victory is also Busch’s fifth at Atlanta Motor Speedway and the 195th of his NASCAR career across the three series.
Busch held off Johnny Sauter on a restart with five laps to go to win. Sauter finished second and completing the top five were Grant Enfinger, Brett Moffitt, and Ben Rhodes.
Busch was forced to come to pit road on Lap 54 due to a loose wheel. It took 24 laps for the 33-year-old to recover the lead. Despite the adversity, Busch still managed to win the first two stages.
“It certainly means a lot. I want to thank our amazing partners that allow us to do what we do,” Busch said in Victory Lane. “I can’t say enough about my guys at Kyle Busch Motorsports – they do a phenomenal job.
“I slipped getting out of my truck – it’s a little wet out here in case y’all didn’t notice. It was a great race out there. I wish it would have ended. I would have liked to have seen Harrison (Burton) finish second. I’m not sure how far he fell. He ran a great race today.”
Busch dominated to win Stage 1 over his KBM teammate Harrison Burton.
Austin Hill, last week’s winner, started on the pole after qualifying was washed out and 2018 owner points set the lineup.
On Lap 16, Natalie Decker spun off Turn 4 to bring out the first caution.
Busch drove through the field and beat Ben Rhodes to take the Stage 2 win.
The caution came out on Lap 53 for debris when Joe Nemechek got into the grass, which resulted in dirt getting onto the racing surface.
With 25 laps left in the race, Busch held a one-second lead over Johnny Sauter with Matt Crafton running in third.
On Lap 112, the second time was a charm for Decker as she spun off turn four again to bring out the caution. Busch won the race off pit road, but Matt Crafton was forced to pit again with a loose wheel.
The race returned to green with 13 laps to go, but several trucks wrecked on the restart, which resulted in a red flag.
Spencer Boyd, Chad Finely, Parker Kligerman, Jesse Little, and Austin Wayne Self were among those involved.
But there was no stopping Busch, who made history in just his 146th series start.
