NASCAR: Major development on Kyle Busch bounty
By Asher Fair
According to Kevin Harvick, beating Kyle Busch to win the $100,000 bounty does not require actually winning a NASCAR Truck Series race, although that may end up being what it takes.
Last week, in response to Kyle Busch’s dominant NASCAR Truck Series victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway two Friday nights ago that was his seventh consecutive victory at NASCAR’s third highest level going back to July of 2018, Kevin Harvick placed a bounty on Busch.
He stated that if any full-time Cup Series driver could drop down to the Truck Series and beat Busch in any of his remaining four starts throughout the 2020 season, he would award them with $50,000.
Marcus Lemonis, the CEO of Truck Series title sponsor Gander RV & Outdoors, loved the idea and added $50,000 to that bounty for a total of $100,000.
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Despite Busch saying that it wouldn’t happen, there were two early takers, and both are set to compete for GMS Racing.
Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott is set to drive the #24 Chevrolet in the races at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway on Saturday, March 14 and Friday, May 30 while Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson is set to drive the #24 Chevrolet in the race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Friday, March 20.
Busch’s other scheduled start in the Truck Series this season is at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday, March 27.
However, there is one thing about this bounty that was recently confirmed: a driver does not necessarily have to win the Truck Series race to collect the bounty.
As long as the driver finishes ahead of Busch, he will be able to collect the money. But once somebody wins it, it will be off the table for future races. Should multiple full-time Cup Series drivers beat Busch in a single race, the money would go to the highest finisher.
Of course, given his history, beating Busch likely means winning. He finished in second place in his two most recent defeats, and his last non-top two finish came 11 races ago.
Checked in with KHI on some bounty rules: DO NOT have to WIN race, just finish ahead of Kyle Busch -- if more than one Cup driver in it, highest-finishing driver. ... Once someone wins, no bounty remaining races ... Must be Cup full-time points-earning driver to be eligible.
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) February 28, 2020
Kevin Harvick’s thoughts on drivers talking him up on the Truck Series bounty of Kyle Busch, talking to Larson about the tweet that sparked it all and whether he should have required the driver to win and not just finish ahead of Busch: pic.twitter.com/FpQakVUorx
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) February 29, 2020
It is worth noting that since this bounty deal transpired, Halmar International, the title sponsor of Halmar Friesen Racing and Stewart Friesen, full-time driver of the #52 Toyota in the series, have put a second bounty on Busch, a $50,000 bounty, for any full-time Truck Series driver who beats Busch in any one of these four races.
This bounty, however, will only be paid out if the driver who beats Busch actually wins the race and Busch is still running at its conclusion.
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Will anybody be able to stop Kyle Busch over the course of his final four starts of the 2020 NASCAR Truck Series season? If so, will it fit the criteria to collect one of these bounties? All of these Truck Series races are set to be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1.