With the Truck Series competing at Texas Motor Speedway this past weekend, many teams hoped to bring home a good finish as they try to lock themselves into the Playoffs. However, bad news came when the checkered flag flew at the end of the 350 miles and the all-time wins leader in the Truck Series, Kyle Busch, grabbed the win for the third time this season. With Busch winning, the victory meant another race where a series regular would not be locked in and will have to continue to earn points in order to be a lock for the Playoffs.
There is some good news for the regular Truck Series teams, as Saturday’s race was Busch’s last race of the Truck Series season, with him now turning to his Cup Series efforts and looking for a third championship in that series. With Busch exiting the series for the rest of the year, this should allow for some other drivers to get some wins on the board and pick up those much needed points.
While Busch being the talk of the night after winning the race, we take a look at what storylines might have been missed following the Vankor 350.
- Justin Haley Makes Rare Appearance – It’s been well over two years since Haley made a Truck Series start. The last time he made a start was at Homestead in 2018, the last full season Haley had in the series. Since then, the Indiana native has been focusing on the Xfinity Series with Kaulig Racing. On Saturday, Haley was reunited with former team boss Maury Gallagher and brought home the No. 24 in a respectable seventh-place finish. Before finishing in that position, Haley also earned a ninth-place position in Stage 1. It is unknown if Haley will make any more Truck Series starts this season.
- Austin Wayne Self Brings Home Best Finish of The Season – The 2020 season hasn’t been too kind to Wayne Self and the No. 22 AM Racing team. Last season, Wayne Self had one top-five and thee top 10 finishes. This season he has no finishes inside the top 10 but he did bring the truck home to a 14th place finish. The Texan hopes the finish will help bring more confidence to the team.
- Akinori Ogata Returns – For the first time in over two years, Japanese driver Akinori Ogata came back to the Truck Series to compete with Reaume Brothers Racing in the No. 33 machine. The last Truck Series race for Ogata came at Atlanta, where he started 23rd but finished 30th due to a crash. Meanwhile, Saturday at Texas, he started 25th and ended up 25th, 12 laps down. It was a disappointing return for Ogata and company.
- Clay Greenfield and Timmy Hill Earn Best Finishes of the Season – While Ogata didn’t have the outcome he had hoped for, team owners Clay Greenfield and Timmy Hill saw their best finishes of the year. Hill made his fourth Truck Series start and finished 18th with his own Hill Motorsports crew, and Clay Greenfield saw his best run after winding up in the 20th position.
