Brian Scott Survives Wreck-Fest To Score Second Truck Win
[media-credit name=”Tom Pennington/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”300″]
[/media-credit]Brian Scott survived the wreck-fest in Phoenix and scored his second Camping World Truck Series victory after a battle with the young Kyle Larson on a green-white-checkered finish. Larson had the lead late before a caution set up the wild finish.
The race itself was great throughout. However; there was a point in the race where there was six consecutive cautions. six green laps were run during that time frame. Cautions breed cautions.
Jeff Choquette hit the wall hard off turn-2 to bring out the first yellow of the race, but then Todd Bodine received major front-end damage after a Jason White spun out.
Parker Kligerman followed suit on the very next green flag as he got loose and Matt Crafton was left helpless as he plowed into the accident. Kligerman was visibly upset with himself, but high-fived his crew and apologized for his mistake.
The chaos ensued as Nelson Piquet Jr. got loose on the very next restart in Turn 3 and wiped out both Ron Hornaday and Johnny Sauter. Piquet was a heavy favorite to pull out a victory here in the desert.
Eventually someone had to lost their temper after another caution. German Quiroga got loose entering turn-1 and plowed the No.2 Chevrolet Silverado of Brendan Gaughan from behind and both hit the wall very hard. Gaughan emerged from the truck and screamed things at Quiroga that probably nobody wants to hear. In Gaughan’s interview, he claimed that he spoke fluent Spanish and the kid simply “screwed up”, but no apology came from Gaughan. Quiroga was very apologetic and admitted to losing the handle of his No.51 truck.
James Buescher came into this race as the points leader and kept it despite losing a tire late in the race. Brian Scott survived the madness for his second Truck Series victory. His last victory came at Dover in 2009 in the AAA Insurance 200.
Tune in for coverage of the Nationwide race tomorrow on my Twitter @SirRyanTheOHara.
| Unofficial Race Results | |||||
| Lucas Oil 150, Phoenix Int’l Raceway | |||||
| http://www.speedwaymedia.com/truckseries/race.php?race=21 | |||||
| ========================================= | |||||
| Pos. | St. | No. | Driver | Make | Points |
| ========================================= | |||||
| 1 | 3 | 18 | Brian Scott | Toyota | 0 |
| 2 | 6 | 4 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet | 43 |
| 3 | 17 | 22 | Joey Coulter | Chevrolet | 41 |
| 4 | 8 | 17 | Timothy Peters | Toyota | 41 |
| 5 | 2 | 29 | Ryan Blaney | Ram | 39 |
| 6 | 14 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | Chevrolet | 38 |
| 7 | 4 | 33 | Cale Gale * | Chevrolet | 37 |
| 8 | 1 | 30 | Nelson Piquet Jr. | Chevrolet | 37 |
| 9 | 11 | 27 | Ryan Truex | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 10 | 22 | 6 | Justin Lofton | Chevrolet | 35 |
| 11 | 23 | 135 | Matt Merrell | Chevrolet | 33 |
| 12 | 13 | 119 | David Mayhew | Ram | 0 |
| 13 | 27 | 9 | John Wes Townley * | Toyota | 31 |
| 14 | 15 | 32 | Miguel Paludo | Chevrolet | 30 |
| 15 | 21 | 3 | Ty Dillon * | Chevrolet | 30 |
| 16 | 32 | 99 | Bryan Silas * | Ford | 28 |
| 17 | 9 | 31 | James Buescher | Chevrolet | 27 |
| 18 | 33 | 8 | Todd Peck | Toyota | 26 |
| 19 | 34 | 57 | Norm Benning | Chevrolet | 25 |
| 20 | 5 | 88 | Matt Crafton | Toyota | 24 |
| 21 | 26 | 23 | Jason White | Ford | 23 |
| 22 | 10 | 9 | Ron Hornaday | Chevrolet | 22 |
| 23 | 19 | 2 | Brendan Gaughan | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 24 | 18 | 151 | German Quiroga | Toyota | 20 |
| 25 | 16 | 13 | Johnny Sauter | Toyota | 19 |
| 26 | 30 | 174 | Brian Weber | Chevrolet | 18 |
| 27 | 7 | 7 | Parker Kligerman | Toyota | 17 |
| 28 | 12 | 11 | Todd Bodine | Toyota | 16 |
| 29 | 36 | 5 | John King * | Ford | 15 |
| 30 | 20 | 297 | Jeff Choquette | Chevrolet | 14 |
| 31 | 24 | 225 | Stephen Leicht | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 32 | 31 | 93 | Dennis Setzer | Chevrolet | 12 |
| 33 | 25 | 7 | Ross Chastain * | Chevrolet | 11 |
| 34 | 35 | 84 | Chris Fontaine | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 35 | 28 | 38 | Chris Jones | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 36 | 29 | 0 | Blake Koch | Ford | 0 |
Lap by Lap: Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Raceway won by Brian Scott
[media-credit name=”Christian Petersen/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”283″]
[/media-credit]In a late green white checkered, Brian Scott would take the lead from Kyle Larson and lead the final laps to win the Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Raceway for Kyle Busch Motorsports’ first win of 2012.
Lap 1 Nelson Piquet Jr. grabs the lead early while Scott clears Ryan Blaney for second
Lap 2 Piquet Jr. leads Scott, Blaney, Crafton, Gale, Buescher, Peters, Truex, Larson and Mayhew.
Lap 6 Mayhew passes Larson for ninth
Lap 7 Paludo passes Larson for 10th
Lap 9 Scott passes Piquet Jr. for the lead
Lap 23 Scott leads Blaney, Crafton, Piquet Jr., Gale, Buescher, Peters, Mathew, Truex and Sauter
Caution Jeff Choquette gets into the wall after a flat right front tire……pit stops. Buescher pulls close to the wall; Scott takes two tires, though reports possible motor issue. Scott leads Peters, Dillon, Kligermann off pit road.
Restart lap 42. Scott leads as Dillon grabs second ahead of Peters and Kligermann
Caution lap 44 John King gets into the wall
Restart lap 48. Dillon and Scott side-by-side for the lead. Scott clears Dillon off of turn four.
Caution lap 49 wreck on the front stretch after Jason White has some issues, collecting Bodine
Restart lap 54. Dillon and Scott side-by-side for the lead. Dillon grabs the lead…..Caution. Kligermann got into the wall. Kligermann gets loose underneath Blaney, collecting Crafton.
Restart lap 56……Caution as Piquet Jr. turns Sauter into the wall while battling for position, collecting Hornaday
Restart lap 73…..Dillon pulls ahead of Scott off of turn two
Caution lap 74 Gale goes around after getting loose underneath Blaney. Piquet Jr. gets the lucky dog…..leaders Ryan Truex stays out, inheriting the lead. Top seven trucks stayed out.
Restart 72 laps to go as Truex holds the lead.
71 laps to go Peters gets into Truex down the front straight, Truex saves it.
70 laps to go Truex leads Peters, Mayhew, Larson, Dillion, Scott, Gaughan, Blaney and Buescher
68 to go Truex leads Lofton, Peters, Larson, Mayhew, Gaughan, Dillon, Scott, Blaney and Buescher; Scott passes Dillon for seventh
64 to go Scott and Dillon pass Gaughan for sixth and seventh after Gaughan got into the wall slightly
60 to go Mayhew and Blaney pass Gaughan for eighth and ninth while Coulter passes Buescher for 10th after Gaughan gets sideways and Buescher slows to avoid
59 to go Truex leads Lofton, Peters, Larson, Scott, Dillon, Blaney, Guaghan, Coulter and Buescher. Sieg 11th with Mayhew 12th after Mayhew got loose.
54 to go Lofton and Peters pass Truex for first and second
52 to go Scott passes Truex for third
49 to go Lofton leads Peters, Scott, Truex, Larson, Dillon, Blaney, Coulter, Gaughan and Buescher.
48 to go Caution Truex runs out of room trying to get around the lap truck of Mike Harmon and spins him. Blaney made slight contact with Harmon. Lofton pits as the leader for four tires.
42 to go Peters battles with Larson and Scott for the lead three-wide down the back – Larson grabs the lead through turns three and four. Quiroga gets into Gaughan, collecting Dillon. Gaughan expressed his displeasure with Quiroga. Red flag.
Restart 36 laps to go as Larson holds the lead while Scott passes Peters.
35 to go Larson leads Scott, Peters, Coulter, Seig, Buescher, Blaney, Piquet Jr., Truex, Mayhew
32 to go Truex passes Piquet Jr for eighth; Gale passes Mayhew for 10th; Busecher passes Seig for fifth
31 to go Gale passes Piquet Jr. and Truex both to move up to eighth
30 to go Larson leads Scott, Peters, Coulter, Buescher, Seig, Blaney, Gale, Piquet Jr. and Truex
27 to go Scott and Larson get side-by-side off of turn two; Larson drives it deep into turn three, holding Scott off as Scott slid up due to Larson’s move
17 to go Dillon, who came into the night second in points, falls a lap down to race leader Kyle Larson
16 to go Larson leads Scott, Peters, Coulter, Buescher, Seig, Blaney, Gale, Piquet Jr., Truex
8 to go Seig passes Buescher for fifth; Blaney passes Buescher for sixth
6 to go Lofton gets into Truex, passing him for 10th
3 to go Caution – Buescher gets into the wall after a flat right front tire
Restart 2 to go Brian Scott passes Kyle Larson for the lead through turns one and two
Brian Scott wins the race! Larson. Coulter. Peters. Blaney. Seig.
Kyle Busch Snags Second Career Phoenix Pole
[media-credit name=”Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”223″]
[/media-credit]Kyle Busch captured the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AdvoCare 500 at Phoenix International Raceway with a lap of 138.766 mph. Busch is trying to gain some momentum carrying on to the 2013 season after missing the Chase for the third time in his career.
“We’ll take it and it will be a good starting spot for us. Obviously, getting first pit selection and all that’s good for us. The M&M’s Camry was awesome all day today. Can’t wait for tomorrow. Hopefully, we can get this thing dolled up for race trim and have a good race car come Sunday.” Busch said.
Martin Truex Jr. qualified second and is in the Chase, but is too far back in the lineup to make a charge for the championship as the duo of Jimmie Johnson and Brad Keselowski continue their dominance.
The weather played a huge factor in the qualifying today. A cold front has hit Arizona this past weekend and it ha been raining off and on all day. Areas like Prescott and Flagstaff even saw snow. The cloud coverage disrupted the handling on Jimmie Johnson’s car during his qualifying lap, and he wound up in 24th, his worst qualifying effort since Bristol. Brad Keselowski qualified his #2 Miller Lite Dodge in the 14th position. He also had some trouble on his qualifying lap, but Mother Nature was a little more lenient to Keselowski.
If Keselowski wants to gain any momentum, he needs to do it on Sunday. Johnson is already ten spots behind Brad when the race begins, and he can’t hesitate when Johnson is a 4-time winner at this track.
Spring winner Denny Hamlin will start from the third position. Kasey Kahne (2011 winner of this event), Aric Almirola, Kurt Busch, Paul Menard, Regan Smith, Mark Martin, and Tony Stewart will round out the Top 10 for Sunday’s race.
Notables: Jeff Gordon (11th), Ryan Newman (12th), Carl Edwards (13th), Joey Logano (15th), Clint Bowyer (16th), Kevin Harvick (19th), Greg Biffle (20th), Matt Kenseth (22nd), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (23rd), Danica Patrick (37th).
For you Kyle Busch fans, I asked him in the media center the following question: How important is it for you and your team to get a win before the season is out to carry momentum for 2013?
“I think getting a win would be nice. We don’t necessarily need a win, but we need to finish well these final few races. I think we actually have performed well enough these past couple weeks. We were up there battling Brad and Jimmie at Texas all night long, but we just didn’t have the car in the end and of course we’ve been bitten by fuel in the past, but to win would definitely be a big boost to this team.”
| Starting Lineup | |||||
| AdvoCare 500, Phoenix Int’l Raceway | |||||
| http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/qual.php?race=35 | |||||
| =========================================== | |||||
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Make | Speed | Time |
| =========================================== | |||||
| 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 138.766 | 25.943 |
| 2 | 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | 138.217 | 26.046 |
| 3 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 137.578 | 26.167 |
| 4 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet | 137.478 | 26.186 |
| 5 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Ford | 137.211 | 26.237 |
| 6 | 78 | Kurt Busch | Chevrolet | 137.007 | 26.276 |
| 7 | 27 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | 136.992 | 26.279 |
| 8 | 51 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | 136.872 | 26.302 |
| 9 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | 136.867 | 26.303 |
| 10 | 55 | Mark Martin | Toyota | 136.867 | 26.303 |
| 11 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | 136.83 | 26.31 |
| 12 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | 136.721 | 26.331 |
| 13 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | 136.679 | 26.339 |
| 14 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Dodge | 136.622 | 26.35 |
| 15 | 20 | Joey Logano | Toyota | 136.488 | 26.376 |
| 16 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | Toyota | 136.436 | 26.386 |
| 17 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Ford | 136.359 | 26.401 |
| 18 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | 136.353 | 26.402 |
| 19 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | 136.271 | 26.418 |
| 20 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 136.219 | 26.428 |
| 21 | 42 | Juan Montoya | Chevrolet | 136.003 | 26.47 |
| 22 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | 135.906 | 26.489 |
| 23 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | 135.547 | 26.559 |
| 24 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | 135.44 | 26.58 |
| 25 | 13 | Casey Mears | Ford | 135.211 | 26.625 |
| 26 | 22 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Dodge | 135.171 | 26.633 |
| 27 | 83 | Landon Cassill | Toyota | 134.948 | 26.677 |
| 28 | 98 | Michael McDowell | Ford | 134.948 | 26.677 |
| 29 | 34 | David Ragan | Ford | 134.932 | 26.68 |
| 30 | 47 | Bobby Labonte | Toyota | 134.449 | 26.776 |
| 31 | 38 | David Gilliland | Ford | 134.374 | 26.791 |
| 32 | 30 | David Stremme | Toyota | 134.343 | 26.797 |
| 33 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | 134.198 | 26.826 |
| 34 | 144 | David Reutimann | Ford | 134.008 | 26.864 |
| 35 | 33 | Stephen Leicht* | Chevrolet | 133.62 | 26.942 |
| 36 | 119 | Mike Bliss | Toyota | 133.576 | 26.951 |
| 37 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Chevrolet | 132.954 | 27.077 |
| 38 | 26 | Josh Wise* | Ford | 132.817 | 27.105 |
| 39 | 93 | Travis Kvapil | Toyota | 132.387 | 27.193 |
| 40 | 191 | Jason Leffler | Toyota | 131.329 | 27.412 |
| 41 | 32 | Timmy Hill | Ford | 129.945 | 27.704 |
| 42 | 36 | Dave Blaney+ | Chevrolet | 128.691 | 27.974 |
| 43 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | 130.067 | 27.678 |







