Column By: MARTY CZEKALA / RPW – LONG POND, PA – Kyle Busch wouldn’t let that win get away from him.
He had the 100th win for his team at Kyle Busch Motorsports, which his team had been talking about too long.
The driver of the No. 51 made a last-lap pass on Corey Heim in turn two to score his second win of the season.
“We’ve been around for a long time, not as long as others,” said Busch in his frontstretch interview post-race. “We can find a way to make our clean move, so we had to make a little bit of a racey one getting into two. Heim ran a great race, just needed that win to get it over with.”
Friday, Busch talked about what it would mean to get No. 100.
“Again, just having too many opportunities slip away for sure over the last three years, and to not have gotten to 100 by now,” Busch told RPW. “Only winning one race last year, only winning one race this year….you know, its been pretty lackluster.”
Heim looked in good shape to score his third win as he had over a half-second lead at the white flag before Kyle Busch made his move, thanks to the draft and the slingshot.
“Seemed like our truck got a little tight at the end,” Heim explained. “I feel like after four or five laps, I didn’t get the run into the tunnel turn. He had some serious straightaway speed. I didn’t expect him to drive it as deep into the tunnel as I was. I’ve always respected Kyle, he’s a hard racer. That’s part of it.”
Heim, however, extended his points lead for the regular season championship over Zane Smith with a race left to go. Smith was involved in a red flag crash with eight to go for a Big One in turn one, which saw him have nowhere to go.
“In hindsight, it was a good day for us in points. To lead all the laps and play the strategy perfect, have a great pit stop, all the variables in our hand for the win.”
Smith took home the first two stages and received two playoff points.
“Unfortunately, this race is really weird,” Smith said. “The ARCA race is supposed to be longer than the Truck race. Pit once, decide when it’s gonna be. Once you get out there, its near impossible to pass, especially with all the squirrels in the Series. Fortunately, got the two playoff points. That’s the positive for the day.”
Smith is now 42 points behind Heim for the regular season championship.
The playoff picture for the final spot is now a lot more interesting, entering Richmond next week. Nick Sanchez holds the ninth spot by 21 points, while Matt Crafton has the tenth and final spot over Stewart Friesen by nine markers.
Trucks run Saturday night at Richmond to determine the final Playoff drivers at 7:30 p.m.
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Race – CRC Brakleen 150
Pocono Raceway
Long Pond, Pennsylvania
Saturday, July 22, 2023
1. (12) Kyle Busch(i), Chevrolet, 60.
2. (9) Corey Heim, Toyota, 60.
3. (11) Taylor Gray #, Toyota, 60.
4. (14) Christopher Bell(i), Toyota, 60.
5. (3) Grant Enfinger, Chevrolet, 60.
6. (34) Ty Majeski, Ford, 60.
7. (35) Christian Eckes, Chevrolet, 60.
8. (33) Dean Thompson, Toyota, 60.
9. (22) Ben Rhodes, Ford, 60.
10. (8) Matt DiBenedetto, Chevrolet, 60.
11. (4) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 60.
12. (18) Tyler Ankrum, Toyota, 60.
13. (21) Hailie Deegan, Ford, 60.
14. (25) Matt Crafton, Ford, 60.
15. (26) Colby Howard, Chevrolet, 60.
16. (7) Rajah Caruth #, Chevrolet, 60.
17. (20) Daniel Dye #, Chevrolet, 60
18. (10) Chase Purdy, Chevrolet, 60.
19. (1) Nick Sanchez #, Chevrolet, 60.
20. (17) Kaden Honeycutt, Chevrolet, 60.
21. (36) Tyler Hill, Toyota, 60.
22. (24) Parker Kligerman(i), Chevrolet, 60.
23. (31) Cory Roper, Ford, 60.
24. (32) Stephen Mallozzi, Ford, 60.
25. (30) Spencer Boyd, Chevrolet, 60.
26. (29) Josh Reaume, Ford, 60.
27. (27) Lawless Alan, Chevrolet, 60.
28. (19) Stefan Parsons(i), Chevrolet, 60.
29. (28) Bret Holmes #, Chevrolet, 60.
30. (23) Ross Chastain(i), Chevrolet, Accident, 52.
31. (15) Kaz Grala(i), Toyota, Accident, 51.
32. (16) Stewart Friesen, Toyota, Accident, 51.
33. (5) Austin Hill(i), Chevrolet, Accident, 51.
34. (6) Zane Smith, Ford, Accident, 51.
35. (2) Jake Garcia #, Chevrolet, Accident, 45.
36. (13) Tanner Gray, Toyota, Accident, 3.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 108.434 mph.
Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 23 Mins, 0 Secs. Margin of Victory: .604 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 5 for 20 laps.
Lead Changes: 5 among 4 drivers.
Lap Leaders: N. Sanchez # 1-7;Z. Smith 8-20;K. Busch(i) 21-26;Z. Smith 27-32;C. Heim 33-59;K. Busch(i) 60.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Corey Heim 1 time for 27 laps; Zane Smith 2 times for 19 laps; Kyle Busch(i) 2 times for 7 laps; Nick Sanchez # 1 time for 7 laps.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 38,2,25,51,7,35,11,23,52,17
Stage #2 Top Ten: 38,52,2,25,23,99,16,24,9,88