Kyle Busch wins, claims NASCAR Truck owner’s title for No. 51 team

By Nov 15, 2013, 11:04 PM EST
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The Camping World Truck Series’ season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway went into extended overtime as all three green-white-checkered attempts were needed to settle the matter. But Kyle Busch was able to withstand them all and hold off a hard-charging Ryan Blaney to win the Ford Ecoboost 200.

Busch was also able to lock up the CWTS owner’s championship for his No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports team on a tie-breaker over the No. 88 Thorsport Racing team of Matt Crafton, who clinched the CWTS driver’s title just by starting tonight. Crafton wound up 21st after sustaining damage in an incident during the first G-W-C attempt that forced him to pit for a quick repair.

Crafton re-started for G-W-C No. 2 in 24th position, but leaped up several spots before Johnny Sauter spun down the backstretch to bring out the yellow and set up the final G-W-C.

But with Busch able to turn back Blaney in the final laps, Crafton had to finish 20th to earn the owner’s title for ThorSport; he finished 21st. That left Busch’s No. 51 team and Crafton’s No. 88 tied in owner’s points, and the tie-breaker went to the No. 51 on 2013 wins – the No. 51 visited Victory Lane seven times this year, while Crafton had a sole win at Kansas in April.

“It means a lot to Kyle Busch Motorsports and it means a lot to myself and my wife [team co-owner Samantha Busch], but most importantly, every one of our employees – everyone at the shop, everyone back at home, everyone here with us tonight,” Busch said.

“This is so much fun to come out here and race for one, but to win races for two and contend for owner’s championships. It’s big for us.”

Crafton was disappointed to lose out on the owner’s title for his ThorSport team, especially the way that he did. With 38 laps to go, a slow pit stop under yellow knocked him out of the Top 5. And then, shortly after the green flag flew on G-W-C attempt No. 1, Joey Coulter made contact with Crafton down the backstretch.

After being forced to pit, Crafton tried in vain to climb back up to 20th through G-W-C attempts No. 2 and 3. Nonetheless, he was still able to complete every lap of every CWTS race this season.

“I thought we had a shot at winning the race – we just had a bad pit stop, got hung back there, and got in a wreck,” Crafton said. “It’s so disgusting. But all in all, I’m the Camping World Truck Series champion. Nobody can take that away, right?

“…The last two months, I’ve had a huge burden on my shoulders just trying to sleep at night. But [the season has] been a blessing.”

Jeb Burton finished third, while Brendan Gaughan finished fourth in his final CWTS event before moving up to the Nationwide Series next year. Ron Hornaday, Jr. completed the Top 5.

Will Power shows Flavor Flav what time it is in IndyCar: ‘This is the highlight of the weekend’

By Jun 4, 2023, 11:00 PM EDT
Will Power Flavor Flav
Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment
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DETROIT – When Flavor Flav unexpectedly showed up in Team Penske’s pits for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix weekend, Will Power knew what time it was.

So the defending NTT IndyCar Series champion dropped it on the man who made oversized clocks as fashion accessories famous.

And he used the kind of wordplay that was the pride of Public Enemy (the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame rap group led by Chuck D with Flavor Flav as loyal sidekick).

“I said to Flavor Flav, ‘You know, people today are going to have to ‘Fight the Power,’ ” Power said with a broad smirk, referencing one of Public Enemy’s most memorable and strident anthems. “And it was true! They had to ‘Fight the Power.’ ”

With a second place in Detroit, the No. 12 Dallara-Chevy driver earned his best finish since last September and impressed a musical hero who apparently attended his first IndyCar race this weekend and promptly fell in love with the sport.

After being interviewed by NBC Sports’ Kevin Lee during the Peacock qualifying broadcast Saturday, Flavor Flav made the rounds. He met with Roger Penske in Team Penske’s at-track headquarters and also ran into Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (who was at the track Saturday).

“I have a great picture of Roger Penske, the governor and Flavor Flav,” Detroit Grand Prix chairman Bud Denker said. “It’s a great one. I’ll cherish that one for a long time. It’s pretty precious.”

With the Detroit GP holding nightly free concerts in Hart Plaza inside the race course, Flav made an impromptu appearance to freestyle at Big Boi’s show Friday before also showing up during Steve Aoki’s Saturday night set.

He then rode with Power and his wife, Liz, in a pickup truck around the 1.645-mile street course during driver introductions Sunday morning.

Flav was wearing a red No. 12 Will Power shirt that the defending series champion believes was purchased at a track merchandise trailer.

“That is the highlight of the weekend,” he said. “Flavor Flav was wearing my shirt, man.”

It was a dream come true for the two-time IndyCar champion and 2018 Indy 500 winner. Power, 42, grew up listening to Public Enemy with his buddies in Toowoomba, Australia, and they went nuts when he posted photos with Flavor Flav to his personal Facebook page.

“My friends are like, ‘Dude, you should just quit racing now. You have made it to the top,’ ” Power said. “We all listened to Public Enemy, and they would never believe that I actually would be hanging out with Flavor Flav. That is nuts. I’ll have to go Vegas to hang out with him. Maybe we’ll do a rap together.”

“Yeeaaah, boy!” third-place finisher Felix Rosenqvist, who apparently gave “It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back” a few spins while growing up in Sweden, chimed in during the postrace news conference.

The only disappointment for Power was coming up 1.1843 seconds short of beating Alex Palou.

Flav had promised to celebrate on the podium if Power had won the race.

“He is the most positive dude you will ever meet,” Power said. “Pretty cool experience. Pretty cool to put it on your personal Facebook.

“All your friends that you went to school with, they’re like, ‘Man this dude is big-time, he’s hanging out with Flavor Flav. ‘I sat next to Ice-T at dinner. I have also had dinner with Slash from Guns N’ Roses. I wish I got videos of those ones as well so I could put it on the personal Facebook

“No one cares about race cars or that I won the Indy 500. It’s like, ‘You had dinner with Slash? You know Flavor Flav?’ Yeah!”

Power already has in mind some future musical guests he’d like to meet, starting with another of Detroit’s own.

“I’m more of a ’90s rap guy, but if I met Eminem, that would also be epic,” Power said. “Ice Cube’s the one, man. If I could meet Ice Cube or Snoop Dogg in Long Beach. Why doesn’t someone bring them to Long Beach? Maybe they should have an Ice Cube day. That would be dope.”