Kyle Busch (who else?) wins Truck race from pole at Dover

By May 30, 2014, 7:54 PM EDT
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This is getting redundant:

Kyle Busch started from the pole, Kyle Busch dominated throughout the race and, who else, Kyle Busch went on to win Friday’s Lucas Oil 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Dover International Speedway.

Busch led 150 of the 200 laps on the one-mile, all-concrete track, averaging just under 150 mph per lap.

It was Busch’s fourth win in as many starts for him in the NCWTS’ first five races of 2014. It was also his 39th career win in a truck (in 119 starts) and his 133rd overall win across all three of NASCAR’s national series.

Busch had some good news for his rivals when he climbed out of his truck in victory lane: It will be a while before he is back on the Truck circuit.

“Hey, my little buddy, it’s Eric Jones’ (who also races for Kyle Busch Motorsports) birthday today, so happy 18th birthday to Eric Jones,” Busch said with a smile. “(Jones will drive Busch’s truck) for five of the next six, I think, so everybody can get rid of Kyle Busch.”

Ryan Blaney made a late rally to finish second, followed by Johnny Sauter, Brandon Jones and Joey Coulter.

Sixth through 10th were John Hunter Nemechek, Ben Kennedy, Tyler Reddick, German Quiroga Jr. and Timothy Peters.

With 44 laps to go, points leader Matt Crafton was running second to Kyle Busch before wrecking hard coming out of Turn 2.

“Something in the right front went down, didn’t give me any warning,” Crafton said. “All of a sudden, boom, it was done. It’s a shame.”

This marks the first time Crafton has not finished a NCWTS in 47 starts.

With the wreck, Crafton dropped out of the points lead. Timothy Peters is now atop the standings, but Crafton is close by, tied with Johnny Sauter for second, just one point behind Peters. Quiroga is in fourth, six points back, while four-time NCWTS champ Ron Hornaday is in fifth place in the rankings, 15 points back.

Here’s the final results of Friday’s Lucas Oil 200 at Dover International Speedway:

  1. Kyle Busch
  2. Ryan Blaney
  3. Johnny Sauter
  4. Brandon Jones
  5. Joey Coulter
  6. John Hunter Nemechek
  7. Ben Kennedy
  8. Tyler Reddick
  9. German Quiroga Jr.
  10. Timothy Peters
  11. Ron Hornaday Jr.
  12. John Wes Townley
  13. Scott Riggs
  14. Cole Custer
  15. T.J. Bell
  16. Darrell Wallace Jr.
  17. Tyler Young
  18. Jeb Burton
  19. Justin Jennings
  20. Jennifer Jo Cobb
  21. Gray Gaulding
  22. Ben Rhodes
  23. Matt Crafton
  24. Ryan Sieg
  25. Bryan Silas
  26. Mason Mingus
  27. Brennan Newberry
  28. Norm Benning
  29. Jake Crum
  30. Jimmy Weller III
  31. Raymond Terczak Jr.
  32. Charles Lewandoski
  33. Todd Peck
  34. Ryan Ellis
  35. Blake Koch

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Sergio Perez wins rain-delayed race in Singapore over Leclerc; Verstappen seventh

Associated PressOct 2, 2022, 12:00 PM EDT
Sergio Perez Singapore
Clive Rose/Getty Images,
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SINGAPORE — Max Verstappen’s Formula One title celebrations were put on hold after the Red Bull driver placed seventh at a chaotic Singapore Grand Prix, won by his teammate Sergio Perez on Sunday.

Perez’s second win of the season saw him finish 7.6 seconds ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with Leclerc’s teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. in third place.

Perez was investigated for a potential safety car infringement but still kept the win after a 5-second time penalty for dropping too far back after being warned.

Verstappen had won the past five races but needed to win here and finish 22 points ahead of Leclerc to be crowned champion for a second straight season. That could happen next weekend at the Japanese GP.

Verstappen made a mistake after the second safety car restart, following AlphaTauri driver Yuki Tsunoda’s crash on Lap 36. When Verstappen tried to overtake Lando Norris’ McLaren, he locked his tires and needed to pit again.

Leclerc started from pole position with Verstappen going from eighth after a team blunder in qualifying.

The race start was delayed by more than an hour to clear water off the Marina Bay Circuit track following heavy rainfall. Drivers had to finish the 61-lap race within a two-hour window; 59 laps were completed.

Tricky conditions saw the virtual safety car deployed three times and DRS was allowed with about 30 minutes remaining.

Perez made a good start and jumped past Leclerc while Verstappen dropped several places. The first safety car was on Lap 8 when Zhou Guanyu’s Alfa Romeo was cut off by Nicholas Latifi’s Williams.

Perez got away cleanly at the restart, while Verstappen climbed into seventh behind Fernando Alonso – whose 350th F1 race ended disappointingly when his engine failed on Lap 21, bringing out the first VSC.

With the track still damp, drivers decided against changing to quicker tires – apart from Mercedes’ George Russell, who struggled for grip.

Hamilton made a rare mistake on Lap 33 and thudded into the crash barrier. Soon after, the leading drivers changed tires in a flurry of stops. They did so just before the safety car was deployed again following Tsunoda’s error.

Verstappen overtook Sebastian Vettel’s Aston Martin right at the end for seventh place.