• Recap
• Bleachers

Busch wins EasyCare Vehicle 500

Oct 27, 2007 - 7:33 PM By Bruce Martin PA SportsTicker Contributing Editor

HAMPTON, Georgia (Ticker) Kyle Busch made it two in a row at Atlanta Motor Speedway as the NASCAR Nextel Cup regular scored his fifth career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory.

A timely caution period allowed him to avoid losing a lap as he went on to win Saturday's EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 200.

With 26 laps remaining, NASCAR officials black-flagged Busch because the window net was halfway down on his truck. That would have put him one-lap down but before he came into the pits to serve the penalty, Jack Sprague crashed to bring out the caution, which allowed Busch to stay on the lead lap.

Busch was able to pit and repair the problem to stay near the front. When the race was restarted, he blasted to the lead and was able to defeat Ron Hornaday Jr. by 0.971-seconds.

"Ours was the best when it counted the most," Busch said. "We put ourselves in the right position at the end."

Busch had to hold the window net up with his left hand while steering while steering with his right.

"That was an experience, I've never had to do that before," Busch said of having to hold up the window net to avoid the black flag. "The truck was vibrating a little bit at the end but it was a product of racing, there is always a little bit going on. I was too worried about not wrecking the truck but my arm was starting to get sore. When that caution came out, I said thank God and just let the window net down.

"At that point, I didn't care."

The top t were Chevrolet Silverados as Hornaday retakes the points lead by four over Mike Skinner, who finished fifth in a Toyota Tundra.

"Can you believe that? Ron Hornaday brought a truck home in one piece," Hornaday said. "To run second to a guy like that is great. This is what racing is all about. This was fun. To change the points lead each week is unbelievable.

"Kyle Busch, my hat is off. What a teammate. I asked Busch if I could lead the first lap because starting third there you get a good draft off the lead truck and I was able to lead that first lap."

Johnny Benson Jr. finished third in a Toyota.

"It was a pretty good effort," Benson said. "We changed the setup front to back and tried it out in qualifying. Kyle was pretty good, Ron was good and Mark Martin was good. The top four were pretty good trucks the entire race."

Martin was fourth in a Ford and Skinner finished fifth in a Chevrolet.

The key point in the NCTS battle for the title is the series does not use a manipulated format like NASCAR's 10-race "Chase for the Championship" but the trucks actually have a much better title with the points lead changing the last five races and Hornaday clinging to a four-time lead.

"When you get what NASCAR has done to this truck series, anybody in the top 30 can win this race," Hornaday said. "It's unbelievable to have a four-point lead coming down to the end of this season."

There were five caution periods for 25 laps an 11 lead changes among four drivers. Busch lead four times for 65 laps. Hornaday led five times for 51 laps.

The winner averaged 127.381 miles per hour.