Kyle Busch, the driver of the #18 M&M’s Flavor Vote Toyota, poses with the winners’ sticker after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway on April 21, 2018, in Richmond, Virginia. Photo – Matt Sullivan/Getty Images
NASCAR went under the lights last night at Richmond Raceway for their first time back after a renovation to the infield to increase the level of fan involvement. Always cool to see speedways try their best to accommodate race fans. Racing under the lights is definitely a fun experience as it adds an extra level of excitement to racing.
Martin Truex Jr. started on the pole Saturday night but Joey Logano stole the spotlight in Stage 1 as he led just about every lap including the one that won him the stage. Stewart-Haas Racing had a strong night with a few of their drivers racing together in the top-five. Aric Almirola, Clint Bowyer, and Kurt Busch were racing in the front for most of the stage. However, Joey Logano won the caution-free stage in a dominating fashion.
In Stage 2, Kurt Busch took the lead from Logano for about half of the stage. After green-flag stops, Logano took the lead right back. It was another caution free stage with a lot of aggressive driving as racers were fighting for track position going into the late points of the race. There was a lot of three-wide racing going into the corners, and that is some of the most stressful times of the race when drivers are three-wide on short tracks. Joey Logano took Stage 2 for himself and made it look like the race was all his.
The night got a little tense in Stage 3 as the race picked up the pace. Before that, there was not a lot going on, but the last forty laps seemed like an eternity. A couple of cautions came out late in the race causing a few very important pit stops and restarts.
One moment it looked as if one driver was going to win, then a caution would come out and the leaderboard would get switched up. The race came down to a ‘green-white-checkered’ restart which means a restart with two laps left in the race, creating the most exciting part of racing. It was a shootout between Kyle Busch, Chase Elliot, Joey Logano, and Denny Hamlin – a heavyweight battle for the victory. Kyle Busch won the two-lap shootout and won his third race in a row.
Kyle Busch stayed up toward the front all race like he does every race. He is so good at getting aggressive in the perfect moments. He hung out in the top-ten and sometimes top-five, then when the race came down to the wire, he and his team stepped up. A late race pit stop under caution helped him gain a lot of track position because of a flawless stop. Kyle Busch means business this season.
Another topic, it seems as if after every time Kyle Busch wins, he is getting applauded more than the booing now. He has not really been a fan favorite despite his talent on the race track. Most fans pray for him to wreck and they go crazy when he does.
It seems like, after every win, his fan base is increasing, as he is starting to do more for the fans. For example, last night after winning, he climbed into the grandstands to high-five fans in the first row. This is not something we see from a lot of drivers. Kyle Busch takes trips through the campground and signs flags and memorabilia for the fans. It is almost like he is trying to respect the fan base of NASCAR and get more people on his side. He is a great character for the sport as he shows his attitude and is not afraid to speak his mind. This is something NASCAR needs more of, instead of every being buddies and just racing. Kyle Busch is not afraid to give someone a shove on the track and speak his mind about people off the track. It is great entertainment for all of NASCAR.
Next week we head to Talladega for superspeedway racing. Daytona was an exciting race a few months ago and now we get to experience another monster race at Talladega. Superspeedway racing is always exciting because of the amount of variables that come into play. A win is not guaranteed at Talladega no matter what stage of the race we are in. It will surely be exciting.