Kyle Busch
Nashville has many attractions for people to enjoy on the weekend, but I can think of none better than a NASCAR double-header weekend at the Nashville Superspeedway. The track has also been blessed this year by getting not one, but two double-header weekends, and to make it even better, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series had an off week for the first of the two double headers.
Friday, the first day of the double header, started out on a down note with rain moving through the area. Luckily, the rain did not stay long, and track officials were able to get the track dried without much hassle. NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) practice got under way just after 10:00 a.m. Kyle Busch paced both practices, and he also finished 2nd in the final nationwide practice. Kyle Bush continued, in qualifying, right were he left off in practice. Busch took the pole for the Bully Hill Vineyards 200 with a lap time of 30.62 seconds.
“I was walking around the garage talking to different people, talking to Johnny Sauter; as per usual, everybody said that the #18 truck is in a league of it’s own, and looks like Kyle Busch has got them covered pretty good…”, said Darrel Waltrip not long before qualifying. Austin Dillon, the driver of the #3 Bass Pro Shops/Remington/Tracker Chevy missed the pole by .03 seconds. Justin Johnson, Nelson Piquet Jr., and Elliott Sadler rounded out the top 5.
At the drop of the green flag, Kyle Busch continued to show everyone why people in the garage had pointed to him as being in a league of his own. Busch lead 140 out of the 150 laps that made up the Bully Hill Vineyard 200 on his way to the victory. Though Kyle Busch did not have to work hard during the first 140 laps, Ron Hornaday made sure he had to work the last 10 laps. Hornaday was able to pass Busch on a restart with 8 laps remaining, bringing the crowd to their feet. But Ron was not able to hold Busch off with two laps left, as Busch slipped under Hornaday to take back the lead.
While the two big name drivers battled it out for the win, a rookie by the name of Nelson Piquet Jr. was sitting back in 5th place just biding his time. With two laps left, Piquet Jr. made a hard charge, going from 5th to 2nd. If the race had been the Bully Hill Vineyard 202, we could have been looking at Piquet Jr. in Victory Lane.
Piquet Jr. is a former F1 driver, and some may remember him from the FIA investigation of Renault Racing in 2009 in which he testified against his former team. Piquet Jr. is a very talented driver and one that will make NASCAR a better sport. Don’t be surprised if you see Nelson Piquet Jr. in Victory Lane before the end of the season.
The next NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race will be on Friday, May 13, 2011, at Dover International Speedway.
