Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M’S Toyota Camry
Race Recap for the YellaWood 500
Date: Oct. 2, 2022
Event: YellaWood 500 (Round 31 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway (2.66-mile oval)
Format: 188 laps, broken into three stages (60 laps/60 laps/68 laps)
Start/Finish: 26th/20th (Running, completed 188 of 188 laps)
Point Standing: 15th with 2,089 points
Race Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Ryan Blaney of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Notes:
● Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’S Toyota Camry, finished 20th in Sunday’s YellaWood 500 from Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.
● After starting the race in 26th place Busch quietly worked his way toward the front of the field and was among the top-10 by the time the first caution waved on lap eight. He reported that the M&M’S Toyota Camry was handling well and assumed the lead on lap 27 after making a pit stop for fuel only. While he ultimately surrendered the lead during the next several laps, he maintained a spot among the top-10 to the end of the stage, finishing the segment in seventh place.
● The two-time Cup Series champion continued to race hard as stage two unfolded, racing among the top-10. It was only after a round of green-flag pit stops that the No. 18 M&M’S team dropped out of the top-10. Busch quietly logged laps to close out the second stage in 24th place.
●The M&M’S driver lined up 23rd to start the final stage and quickly went to work to position the No. 18 M&M’S Toyota Camry back among the top-10. Busch climbed as high as fifth in the running order and was solidly in the top-10 as the laps wound down.
● Caution waved for a car that stalled on pit road with only a handful of laps left in the race. Busch lined up 10th for the restart and got shuffled back as cars started diving for position. He went on to lose a total of 10 spots and finished the day in 20th place.
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’S Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing:
“The M&M’S Camry handled well all day. We ran in the top-10 and led some laps – just got out of position with that last caution. We had nowhere to go and had to settle for 20th. It’s disappointing because we had a better car than 20th.”
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Bank of America Roval 500 on Sunday, Oct. 9, at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Road Course. The race begins at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
