Kyle Busch becomes First NCWTS Repeat Winner at Dover - The Lucas Oil 200 Review
Drivers were racing hard from Lap one in Friday’s Lucas Oil 200. There were numerous opportunities to see the Monster Mile’s self-cleaning effect, where cars slide down to the inside of the track.
Multiple wrecks brought out the caution flag nine times; most notably was the hard hit by Ricky Carmichael that completely destroyed the front end of his truck. Carmichael got sideways and then overcorrected sending him straight into the wall. The wreck was so violent that the radiator was sitting outside of the truck and his splitter was stuck underneath the safer barrier.
“This is a testament to NASCAR’s safety procedures,” Carmichael said. “I haven’t had a lick like that in a while. Reminds me of my motocross days, days I’d like to forget.”
Kyle Busch became Dover International Speedway’s first repeat winner in the Truck Series. This is Busch’s 27th victory in 90 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts and he has won half of all the truck races this season. But his victory was not without challenge from series’ rookie, Cole Whitt. With 10 laps to go, Whitt was trying everything he could to pass Busch, but the veteran held his line and got the victory.
“Whitt’s got something going on,” Busch said. “He had me on one the last restarts.”
Whitt was excited as he emerged from the No. 60 Chevy. “Coming in second to Kyle Busch is like winning the race, nowadays” Whitt said. Busch echoed the sentiment saying that he felt the same way about Matt Kenseth and Mark Martin his first season in the trucks.
Whitt not only won the Sunoco Rookie of the Race award, but the Mobile 1 Driver of the Race award. The second-place finish was a career best for Whitt, who moves up two spots to third in the points.
Rookie Parker Kligerman seemed to have something for the front-runners as the race neared finish. But with nine laps to go, Whitt got him loose and sent him spinning. Kligerman finished 21st and dropped out of the Top 10 in points.
Though many expected to see Busch and Kevin Harvick work out their aggression on the track, the two were uncommonly tame. This could be due to Busch’s dominance throughout the day.
Friday the 13th hit Harvick the hardest as a culmination of issues dropped him out of contention. Harvick couldn’t get the truck dialed in, and then was penalized for speeding on pit road. He wound up with a fifth place finish.
The race was called after multiple attempts at Green-White-Checkered finishes. The final wreck involved Nelson Piquet Jr. and Timothy Peters who finished 2nd and 3rd respectively at Nashville Superspeedway.
Current NCWTS Champion Todd Bodine continued his streak of bad luck this season. Engine problems ended his day early. Bodine has only one Top 10 finish for 2011.
Crafton, Dillon, and Harvick round out your Top 5. Eight points currently separate the Top 4 drivers so it is still anybody’s game.
The next stop for NCWTS is the backyard of NASCAR, Charlotte Motor Speedway.
See More:
