NASCAR Truck Series: Will Kyle Busch restart winning streak in Atlanta?
By Mark Kristl
Kyle Busch’s seven-race winning streak in the NASCAR Truck Series is over. Can he resume it in the 2020 Vet Tix Camping World 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway?
Finally, someone beat Kyle Busch in a NASCAR Truck Series race. Chase Elliott bested Busch in the series first race back since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Elliott won the 2020 North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. With his win, he claimed the bounty and ended Busch’s seven-race winning streak in the series.
Now the Truck Series is set to head to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the 2020 Vet Tix Camping World 200 this Saturday. Busch is slated to compete in the race driving the #51 Toyota for Kyle Busch Motorsports.
Can he begin a new winning streak in this 130-lap race around the four-turn, 1.54-mile (2.478-kilometer) oval in Hampton, Georgia?
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Busch has won at Atlanta Motor Speedway in all three top NASCAR series. In the Truck Series specifically, he has five wins, eight top five finishes, and nine top 10 finishes. His victory there last year made him the all-time wins leader in the Truck Series.
Furthermore, Busch has led laps in all 11 of his Truck Series starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He has yet to start outside the top 10, so he quickly drives to the lead. Make no mistake about it; he is the favorite to win the Vet Tix Camping World 200.
So who will be his strongest competitors for the trophy? For starters, Elliott beat Busch at Charlotte Motor Speedway and is slated to compete at Atlanta Motor Speedway again as well. He is again set to pilot the #24 Chevrolet for GMS Racing.
Here's a little sneak peak of what we will be seeing @amsupdates this Saturday. The bounty hunter is back in action! @HootersRacing @HootersSpirits @GMSRacingLLC 🔥🔥#di9 | #Hooters | #HootersSpirits| #BountyHunter pic.twitter.com/sOkZ7OT8QA
— Chase Elliott Store (@CElliottStore) June 3, 2020
Elliott has never won at Atlanta Motor Speedway before. In his lone Truck Series start there, he started in ninth place and finished in fifth.
Elliott and Busch are two of the four full-time Cup Series drivers who are set to moonlight in this race. The other two are John Hunter Nemechek and Brennan Poole. Nemechek won the 2016 edition of this race. In the race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, he started in 38th place and ran as high as third at the end of the second stage before eventually finishing in sixth.
Poole has made one Truck Series start at Atlanta Motor Speedway. In that race, he started in 29th place but managed to work his way up to a 16th place finish. He has also made two Xfinity Series starts there. His average starting position is 8.0 and his average finishing position is 12.5. On Point Motorsports have never won a Truck Series race, but can Poole pull off a surprise win this Saturday?
As for the Truck Series regulars, who can challenge for the win? ThorSport Racing’s Matt Crafton and GMS Racing’s Brett Moffitt have each won at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Neither driver has won this season, so they are both seeking wins to clinch their playoff berths.
ThorSport Racing teammates Ben Rhodes and Grant Enfinger each have made four starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and both have four top 10 finishes.
All three Truck Series winners this season — Enfinger, Busch and Elliott — have led the most laps in their victories.
Notably, Christian Eckes has not started a race this season outside of the top 10. He has also not finished inside the top 10 yet this season, but with the lineup set via a random draw based on the owner standings, Eckes took the pole position, as his #18 Toyota for Kyle Busch Motorsports sits in ninth place in the standings.
Can he learn from his owner and teammate and capitalize on the opportunity to start from the pole position and win his first Truck Series race?
The first stage of the Vet Tix Camping World 200 is set to end at lap 30 and the second stage is set to end at lap 60. The stage break pit stops will be important as teams adjust the vehicles for the longest run of the race, the third and final stage. Although Busch is the favorite, he should have some stout competition.
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The 2020 Vet Tix Camping World 200 is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. ET this Saturday, June 6, with live TV coverage from Atlanta Motor Speedway provided by Fox Sports 1.