Kyle Busch took the main event win in the SRX series’ visit to Pulaski on Thursday night.
Busch took the lead with a move to the inside of NASCAR Cup Series rival Brad Keselowski on lap 57 – a move that ended with Keselowski in the outside wall – and held his position through several restarts to secure the victory.
“It’s a lot of fun to come out here and just have a good race with the SRX guys; a lot of cool guys, a lot of different personalities, a lot of different backgrounds,” Busch said.
“It’s nice to get out here and let loose and go out there for a win. It was nice to grab that one.
“I don’t know if (Keselowski) knew I was there, or didn’t know I was there or what, but I had a nose in there, I got in next to his door and he came down – we made contact. So definitely a product (of having no) spotters, and also I was always checking my mirrors to see were guys were and what they were doing around me to make sure that I wouldn’t put myself in a spot like that.”
Clint Bowyer came out on top from a see-saw battle with Tony Stewart to claim second.
“It’s Tony-damn-Stewart,” Bowyer said. “Say it again, I wanna hear it… how many times? Four times I passed Tony Stewart!
“I honestly think if we had 20 laps green, I could’ve had something for (Busch). I had a good line going, the car was rotating good and I wasn’t having to push it for whatever reason. I couldn’t believe anybody else didn’t try it. I found a groove down there (on the apron); as long as I could be by myself where I could arc it in a little bit, I could hook that apron and really roll. That’s what was hard with Tony being on my outside, it kind of forced you down there too soon and I couldn’t really hook it really well. Once I got clear of Tony, I could get it on pretty good. I had fun.”
Keselowski recovered from his incident to finish fourth ahead of Ryan Newman, although everyone’s job was made easier by a couple of big incidents elsewhere in the field, starting with Josef Newgarden and Helio Castroneves making contact on lap 82 and triggering an incident that also tangled up Bobby Labonte and front-row starter Marco Andretti.
No sooner had everyone dusted themselves off from that, Paul Tracy washed up in Turn 4 and put Newgarden into the barriers, causing a wreck that snared Ken Schrader, Haile Deegan and Andretti. Deegan and Andretti were able to continue, finishing eighth and ninth respectively.
“Tracy took out three or four of us, that’s all,” said Schrader. “Normal. Just a regular day.”
In the opening heat, Andretti took an early lead from polesitter Newgarden and never looked back, while Busch took advantage of a late error by Keselowski to secure second. Keselowski held on for third.
In the second heat, Bowyer spent the race trading blows with Newman before emerging triumphant, leaving Schrader to complete the podium.
Points standings
- Ryan Newman: 105
- Marco Andretti: 84 (-21)
- Tony Stewart: 81 (-24)
- Brad Keselowski: 72 (-33)
- Paul Tracy: 72 (-33)
- Bobby Labonte: 72 (-33)
- Ken Schrader: 65 (-40)
- Hallie Deegan: 61 (-44)
Next race: Berlin Raceway, Thursday August 3, 2023.