NASCAR: Kyle Busch sees multiple impressive streaks end at Atlanta
By Asher Fair
For the first time in over two years, Kyle Busch finished behind NASCAR Truck Series drivers in a Truck Series race, ending his streak of top two finishes.
Kyle Busch Motorsports team owner Kyle Busch entered last week’s NASCAR Truck Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on a seven-race winning streak that dated back to July of 2018 when he won at Pocono Raceway.
Busch dominated and won all five of his starts in the 2019 season before dominating and winning his first start of the 2020 season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Then Kevin Harvick and Marcus Lemonis teamed up to put a $100,000 bounty on Busch for any full-time Cup Series driver who could come to the Truck Series and beat the all-time winningest Truck driver.
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Chase Elliott took them up on it, and in the first bounty race, which took place 95 days after Busch’s win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway due to the coronavirus pandemic, he held off Busch to win at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
He donated that money to three different charities, including one that was started by Kyle and his wife Samantha.
The second place finish was Busch’s 11th consecutive top two finish but his first runner-up finish since May of 2018 at the same track.
In May of 2018 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Busch was defeated by full-time Truck Series driver Johnny Sauter. Entering today’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, this was still the most recent race to feature Busch finishing behind a Truck Series driver in any capacity.
Now after more than two years, that streak is over as well.
As he did in each of his first 11 Truck Series starts at the four-turn, 1.54-mile (2.478-kilometer) oval in Hampton, Georgia, Busch started in the top seven and drove his way to the lead this afternoon.
But late contact with the wall left him one lap off the lead lap, and he was only able to finish in 22nd place.
Meanwhile, after a late caution flag period caused by an Elliott spin, it was full-time driver Grant Enfinger who passed fellow full-time driver Austin Hill for the victory, marking the first victory for a Truck Series driver in a race that featured Busch since Sauter’s win at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The last time Busch finished a Truck Series race outside of the top two was also at Atlanta Motor Speedway back in February of 2018 when he finished in 21st place. This was also his most recent finish off the lead lap.
He has still led laps in each of his last nine starts, however. The last time he failed to lead any laps in a race was when Sauter beat him.
Busch is scheduled to make two more Truck Series starts this season, one at Homestead-Miami Speedway next Saturday, June 13 and another one at Kansas Speedway on Friday, July 24.