Race Notes:
- Kyle Busch won the ECOSAVE 200 at Dover Motor Speedway to score his 69th victory in 184 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races.
- This is his second victory and fourth top-10 finish in four starts for Spire Motorsports this season.
- Friday’s win marks Busch’s fifth victory and seventh top-10 finish in 10 races at Dover Motor Speedway.
Kyle Busch – Driver, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST
START: 1ST
FINISH: 1ST
OWNER POINTS: 1ST
It was a flashback Friday at Dover Motor Speedway with Kyle Busch leading a race-high 147 laps in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series ECOSAVE 200 to extend his series-leading win total to 69. Busch dominated in his first Truck Series event at “The Monster Mile” since 2014, extending his win streak in NASCAR’s third division to four and increasing his overall win total in trucks at Dover to five.
Busch collected his 35th career Truck Series pole earlier in the day and remained out front until a caution came out with six to go in the opening stage. After pitting for fresh Goodyear tires and full load of Sunoco fuel, he lined up for the ensuing restart on the top of the second row. He quickly made his way back out front during the one-lap shootout to collect the stage win.
The Las Vegas native picked up right where he left off in Stage 2, checking out to a one-second lead early to maintain the top spot throughout the stage. Busch reported that his HENDRICKCARS.COM Silverado lacked overall grip before visiting pit road at the break. After the over-the-wall crew administered a four-tire and fuel stop with a small chassis adjustment, the 41-year-old driver was the third competitor off pit road. He quickly made his way to the runner-up position after the Final Stage went green and closed in on the leader.
A caution with 70 laps remaining in the race brought Busch to pit road, despite having a tight fuel window to make it to the end of the race, while the leader elected to remain on track. Once the race returned to green, NASCAR’s winningest driver would make his way back in the top spot with just under 60 laps to go. Busch opened up over a two-second lead with 10 to go while continuing to save fuel, and crossed the finish line 3.039 seconds ahead of second place.
The win was Busch’s second of the season in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and helped the No. 7 team extend their lead by 38 points in the owner’s point standings.
Kyle’s Post-Race Comments
“It’s awesome to be a part of Spire Motorsports. Thanks to Jeff (Dickerson, co-owner), Dan (Towriss, co-owner) and Mr. H for the opportunity, as well as everyone at HENDRICKCARS.COM. It takes a lot of great people behind you and you know Brian Pattie (crew chief) and this bunch on this team were a part of the group from KBM, right, and so it’s nice to be able to come back over here and win some more races again with that group. I love coming to Dover, always one of my favorite places to race, and definitely some managing of the fuel there, managing of the tires there. It was an interesting strategic battle from the driver’s seat. Thanks to all the fans. I appreciate everybody for being here at Dover and the Monster Mile for All-Star Weekend.”
Carson Hocevar – Driver, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST
START: 18TH
FINISH: 31ST
OWNER POINTS: 10TH
Carson Hocevar, driver of Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 Delaware Life Chevrolet Silverado RST, endured a tire issue that limited him to a 31st-place finish in Friday afternoon’s ECOSAVE 200 at Dover Motor Speedway.
Hocevar started 18th, but worked the outside lane on the opening lap to reach 12th by the end of the first circuit. As Stage 1 continued, the Portage, Mich., native relayed he was battling a severely loose-handling Chevy, but held on to the 11th position when a Lap-41 caution flag was displayed. Crew chief Chad Walter called the six-time CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race winner to pit road for four tires and fuel, while also making air pressure and chassis adjustments. The No. 77 team picked up three spots on pit road, ultimately lining up 10th for a one-lap shootout to end the segment. Hocevar pulled off multiple daring maneuvers to capture a fifth-place finish in Stage 1.
The 23-year-old driver started Stage 2 in fourth, but finished the stage sixth, registering a total of 11 stage points on the day to aid in the No. 77 team’s fight for a CRAFTSMAN Truck Series owners’ title. During the ensuing stage break, the crew took the opportunity to fix damage on the left-front headlight stemming from an incident near the end of Stage 1. The process forced Hocevar to restart 23rd on Lap 99. After making progress from the drop of the green flag, a flat right-front tire forced Hocevar to pit road under green flag positions. The team continued to fight through tire and handling woes, but was ultimately credited with a 31st-place finish.
Carson’s Post-Race Comments
“Tough day for us. Spent Stage 1 super free, but made an adjustment that made it pretty good. When we had that flat tire, we had to pit under green and just couldn’t recover. Excited to get to Charlotte next week.”
Up Next…
The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series takes on Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway on Friday, May 22. The North Carolina Education Lottery 200 will be televised live on FS1 at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).
The 10th of 25 points-paying races on the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series calendar will be broadcast live on the NASCAR Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
To stay up-to-date on all the latest news and exclusive content, follow Spire Motorsports on Facebook, X and Instagram, and visit Spire-Motorsports.com.
About Spire Motorsports …
Spire Motorsports fields full-time entries in the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing.
The team, co-owned by longtime NASCAR industry executive Jeff Dickerson and TWG Motorsports CEO Dan Towriss earned its inaugural NASCAR Cup Series victory in its first full season of competition when Justin Haley took the checkered flag in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway July 7, 2019. Less than three years later, William Byron drove Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado its first NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win April 7, 2022, at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The team’s most recent victory came May 1, 2026, when Carson Hocevar won the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series’ SpeedyCash.com 250 at Texas Motor Speedway.
In 2026, Spire Motorsports campaigns the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s in the NASCAR Cup Series and the Nos. 7 and 77 Chevrolet Silverado RSTs in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. The Mooresville, N.C., organization also fields the No. 77 410 sprint car in Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing competition.
