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

By Jerry BonkowskiMay 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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An IndyCar iRacing Challenge at Talladega? Drivers have discussed it

David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
By Nate RyanApr 3, 2020, 10:30 PM EDT
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If Dale Earnhardt Jr. is interested in an IndyCar iRacing event on an oval, he might like the latest idea being kicked around by NTT Series drivers.

“I personally would want to run at Talladega, but I don’t think that’s an option,” Arrow McLaren SP driver rookie Oliver Askew told NBCSports.com in a Friday interview about his simulation work for the second round of the IndyCar iRacing Challenge. “IndyCar drivers have a group chat with iRacing, and someone had the idea of running at Talladega, and I thought it was brilliant.”

It actually would be a throwback of sorts as a USAC-sanctioned race with Indy cars at Talladega nearly happened 40 years ago.

The IndyCar iRacing Challenge will be running its second consecutive road course Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park (2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN or streaming here).

Of the four remaining races in the six-race series, there’s a chance that three of them could be ovals: A Drivers’ Choice track April 11; a “Random Draw” April 18 and a non-IndyCar “Dream” track May 2 (the April 25 race will be at Circuit of the Americas).

ENTRY LIST: Who will be racing at Barber

SPOTTER GUIDE: All 29 of this weekend’s paint schemes

IndyCar drivers are voting on next week’s track, and the options include high-speed ovals such as Texas Motor Speedway and Michigan Speedway.

A multicar crash at Talladega last October. (Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

Talladega apparently isn’t on the list for next week, but surely it could be considered for a future race if it meant having Earnhardt in the field. The 15-time NASCAR Most Popular Driver is a six-time winner at Talladega, and the NASCAR on NBC analyst’s family is synonymous with the 2.66-mile oval where his late seven-time champion father won a record 10 times.

“I hope he can make that happen,” Askew said of racing against Earnhardt. “I hope IndyCar can grant his wish on that.”

The addition of Earnhardt would fit well with an IndyCar iRacing Challenge that already features champions from NASCAR (Jimmie Johnson) and Supercars (Scott McLaughlin).

Will Power would like to see more of that.

“I think that would be great if we can get big-name drivers from other series,” Power said. “Getting a couple guys from Europe would be cool.”