A Big NASCAR Truck Series Win for Chase Elliott over Kyle Busch nets 100K for Virus Relief

On his first try, the bounty hunter got his prey.

In the closing laps of Tuesday night’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Chase Elliott held off a determined charge from Kyle Busch. In the closing laps, Chase Elliott took the lead to earn the victory and a $100,000 bounty offered to any full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver who could beat Busch.

Not bad for a guy who hadn’t competed in a NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race since 2017.

The Bounty

Busch had won each of his last seven starts in the Gander Trucks, dating to 2018, but Elliott had plenty of incentive to end that string. Driver Kevin Harvick and Marcus Lemonis, chairman and CEO of the series sponsor, each put up $50,000 for any full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver who could beat Busch in a Truck race. The money is earmarked for coronavirus relief.

The Darlington Incident

It wasn’t just the money for charity. Busch had wrecked Elliott just before rain ended last Wednesday night’s Cup race at Darlington. And Elliott was denied victory in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte when a caution flew with two laps left—and Elliott leading comfortably.

“It was a lot of fun,” Elliott said of Tuesday’s win. “First off, a thanks to (sponsors) iRacing and Hooters, Chevrolet, and GMS (Racing) for letting me come do this. (The truck) was really good from the get-go, for having no laps (of practice). The splitter was where it needed to be,” said Elliott.

“It made it easy for me to move forward and try to get back acclimated… It doesn’t make up for Sunday, but it was still a really good night. Glad to win and glad to do some good for the relief effort for this virus.”

The Closing Laps

Busch was 11th for the final restart on lap 109 of 134. By lap 114, he had surged into the second position and trailed Elliott by 0.974 seconds. Busch got as close as 0.301 seconds on lap 129, but on the following circuit, a lapped truck took Busch’s preferred inside line through the corner and broke his momentum.

When he crossed the finish line, Elliott held a 0.627-second lead.

“He was a little better than I was there at the end,” Elliott acknowledged. “I got tight. I don’t think we adjusted enough on that last pit stop (on lap 89). I was a little scared. I really didn’t know exactly what I needed or what these things did as time went on.

“Luckily, the right front stayed on it long enough to get to the end. And I think he (Busch) burned out his stuff pretty hard trying to get to me. It was a lot a fun. To be able to come out and outrun him, and him, finish second—I’d much rather him finish second than wreck or something, so I feel like I did something right.”

The Top-Five

Sunoco rookie Zane Smith, Elliott’s GMS Racing teammate, finished third in his first national-series start at Charlotte. Brett Moffitt was fourth and Sheldon Creed fifth. John Hunter Nemechek, also trying for the bounty, ran sixth, followed by Johnny Sauter, Ty Majeski, Austin Hill, and Ben Rhodes.

The NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Point Standings

Kyle Busch Ends his Truck Series Winning Streak

Busch had to come from the rear twice after a pair of long pit stops to adjust the height of his No. 51 Toyota. Busch said afterward that the feel was never right.

“We were out in left field the whole night, never really had a great feel for the truck, a great-driving truck, and just salvaged what I could,” Busch said.

Where Busch’s winning streak ended at seven, Elliott’s reached two. In 2017, the driver of the No. 24 GMS Chevrolet won from the pole at Martinsville in his previous Truck Series start.

                1. (26)  Chase Elliott(i), Chevrolet, 134.

                2. (16)  Kyle Busch(i), Toyota, 134.

                3. (30)  Zane Smith #, Chevrolet, 134.

                4. (22)  Brett Moffitt, Chevrolet, 134.

                5. (21)  Sheldon Creed, Chevrolet, 134.

                6. (38)  John Hunter Nemechek(i), Ford, 134.

                7. (8)  Johnny Sauter, Ford, 134.

                8. (7)  Ty Majeski #, Chevrolet, 134.

                9. (5)  Austin Hill, Toyota, 134.

                10. (1)  Ben Rhodes, Ford, 134.

                11. (27)  Ross Chastain(i), Chevrolet, 134.

                12. (9)  Grant Enfinger, Ford, 134.

                13. (2)  Tyler Ankrum, Chevrolet, 134.

                14. (6)  Christian Eckes #, Toyota, 134.

                15. (20)  Raphael Lessard #, Toyota, 134.

                16. (25)  Derek Kraus #, Toyota, 134.

                17. (17)  Tate Fogleman #, Chevrolet, 134.

                18. (31)  Codie Rohrbaugh, Chevrolet, 134.

                19. (15)  Austin Wayne Self, Chevrolet, 134.

                20. (35)  Jesse Little(i), Chevrolet, 134.

                21. (3)  Tanner Gray #, Ford, 134.

                22. (33)  Timmy Hill, Chevrolet, 134.

                23. (12)  Angela Ruch, Toyota, 133.

                24. (34)  Korbin Forrister, Toyota, 133.

                25. (19)  Spencer Boyd, Chevrolet, 133.

                26. (29)  Jennifer Jo Cobb, Chevrolet, 133.

                27. (13)  Natalie Decker, Chevrolet, 132.

                28. (40)  Bayley Currey(i), Chevrolet, 132.

                29. (39)  Clay Greenfield, Toyota, 130.

                30. (10)  Stewart Friesen, Toyota, 130.

                31. (18)  Jordan Anderson, Chevrolet, 130.

                32. (23)  Cory Roper, Ford, 129.

                33. (37)  TJ Bell, Chevrolet, 127.

                34. (36)  Bryan Dauzat, Chevrolet, 120.

                35. (4)  Matt Crafton, Ford, 107.

                36. (24)  Garrett Smithley(i), Chevrolet, Rear End, 105.

                37. (11)  Todd Gilliland, Ford, Accident, 102.

                38. (32)  Brennan Poole(i), Toyota, DVP, 83.

                39. (14)  Jesse Iwuji, Toyota, Accident, 74.

                40. (28)  Spencer Davis #, Toyota, Transmission, 54.

The North Carolina Education Lottery 200 Stats

Average Speed of Race Winner:  111.978 mph.

Time of Race:  One Hr, 47 Mins, 42 Secs. The Margin of Victory:  0.627 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  Seven for 37 laps.

Lead Changes:  19 among ten drivers.

Lap Leaders:   B. Rhodes 0;A. Hill 1-19;M. Crafton 20;A. Hill 21-26;R. Chastain(i) 27-32;Z. Smith # 33-36;R. Lessard # 37-38;M. Crafton 39-43;C. Elliott(i) 44-63;B. Rhodes 64;C. Elliott(i) 65-67;B. Rhodes 68;K. Busch(i) 69-86;B. Moffitt 87-88;K. Busch(i) 89-92;A. Hill 93;K. Busch(i) 94-96;Z. Smith # 97-107;J. Sauter 108-110;C. Elliott(i) 111-134.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Chase Elliott(i) three times for 47 laps; Austin Hill three times for 26 laps; Kyle Busch(i) three times for 25 laps; Zane Smith # two times for 15 laps; Matt Crafton two times for six laps; Ross Chastain(i) one time for six laps; Johnny Sauter one time for three laps; Ben Rhodes two times for two laps; Brett Moffitt one time for two laps; Raphael Lessard # one time for two laps.

Stage 1 Top-Ten: 42,16,21,88,45,24,38,99,26,23

Stage 2 Top-Ten: 24,99,8,88,51,23,21,38,42,16