Kyle Busch won his sixth NASCAR Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway last night. He fought off Denny Hamlin and Erik Jones to win and move into second place in the playoff points behind current leader Martin Truex, Jr. The victory also brought Busch, his second triple sweep, making him the only driver in NASCAR history to complete such a feat.
Bristol Motor Speedway may be small but it always results in great racing.
Bristol Motor Speedway is one of the most famous tracks on the NASCAR circuit. A small track, only 0.533 miles around, Bristol tends to see slower speeds and more yellow flags than any other venue on the NASCAR schedule.
Despite being one of the oldest tracks, Bristol is always a fan favorite and always produces great wrecks and great racing alike. Some of the greatest names in NASCAR have thundered around this historic track just as the rising stars did last night.
On this particular night, it was Kyle Busch that raced his way into victory lane. Busch had won both the Truck race and Xfinity race earlier in the week to pull off a triple sweep and then kicked off the night by winning Stage 1 right off the bat. Busch had to fight for the win, however, battling with Kyle Larson for extra playoff points. Each playoff point contributes to overall points and will make a difference in the fight for the championship.
Matt Kenseth won Stage 2, taking advantage of Jimmy Johnson’s pit strategy, winning ten playoff points in the process. Playoff leader, Martin Truex, Jr. had problems in Stage 2 as well, having a loose tire that made him return to the pits and was then penalized for the tire violation. Austin Dillon in the No. 3 car, collided with the wall and then Jeffrey Earnhardt to end his night.
Kyle Busch is on the hunt for a championship.
Kyle Busch is chasing down Martin Truex, Jr. one race at a time. Truex, Jr. is sitting on 35 playoff points while Busch is charging forward with 20. In the overall points standings, Busch is in fourth place. Between Busch and the Truex Jr. is Kyle Larson in second and Jimmie Johnson in third.
The playoff points become more and more important as the season wears on and Busch is looking to win as many as he can in the process.
There is still a lot of racing left to go in the NASCAR season. Each race and each stage give drivers and teams an opportunity to earn much-needed points and come that much closer to winning the championship. Each lap is a turn toward victory and becoming a part of NASCAR history.
