Ron Hornaday came to Bristol Motor Speedway riding an historic streak. Relying on his experienced Kevin Harvick, Inc. team, Hornaday had reeled off five straight wins in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Late Wednesday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, NASCAR’s hottest driver ran into a Busch.
Defending event champion Kyle Busch recorded his fifth career BMS victory with a dominant performance in the NASCAR Camping World Series O’Reilly 200.
“I love this place,” Busch said. “It’s a fun place to race.”
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: O’Reilly 200 - Race Results
Busch, who was greeted by usual chorus of boos in prerace introductions, grabbed the lead for the first time on lap 32. He led a total of 82 laps, then punctuated the triumph with his customary bow and burnout.
Last year’s race was slowed by 12 caution periods, but Wednesday’s event was slowed by just five relatively harmless cautions involving four drivers. Some fans feel the progressive
banking and smoother concrete surface at BMS has robbed the infamous track of some of it drama.
Busch has no complaints.
“For some reason, I’ve really taken to this surface,” said Busch, a three-time winner in the trucks this season. “We knew we were going to come here with a fast truck. We’ve been fast every time we’ve been here. It’s fun to be able to take advantage of it like this.” TriCities.com
Earlier this week, Busch was reunited with crew chief Richie Wauters, who guided him to victory in last year’s truck race at Bristol. While Wauters came on board with Billy Ballew Motorsports’ No.51 Toyota, Doug George, who had served as Busch’s crew chief this season, moved over to the No.15 Toyota, with Aric Almirola taking the wheel at Bristol.
“It feels great,” Wauters said. “Anytime Kyle and I get together, we know we can win races.”
Hornaday ran among the top-10 throughout the race before ending up with a third-place finish.
“We just run into so much bad luck here,” said Hornaday, whose last win at Bristol came in 1998. “When [Busch] pitted and then came right back for fuel, that’s what hurt us right there. We lost so much track position, and it was my own fault. I should have been paying more attention.”
Ryan Newman, the pole sitter, finished fourth, followed by Brian Scott.
Almirola, David Starr, T.J. Bell, Stacy Compton and Timothy Peters completed the top-10. MiamiHerald.com
