Making his fourth start for Spire Motorsports in the No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado, Busch snagged his second win of the year after sweeping both stages at TMS.
He regained the lead from Christian Eckes on the final restart before holding off a charging Corey Heim on the final lap of the race. It was Busch's 66th career Truck Series victory.
"Great team, everybody here at Spire," said Busch post-race. "I appreciate [crew chief] Brian Pattie and everybody that was able to work so hard to prepare us a really fast Silverado ... They definitely kept my honest, I'll give them that."
He later added: "Corey kept us honest right there. He started to find the top over there and get some momentum. I tried it with three to go and I chattered really bad, so my front just wasn't working over there. But I needed more laps on my tires to get up there and make that work, but he made it and got to my rear bumper in Turn 3. I didn't know which way to go so I ran the middle and then darted bottom and he slipped up top, so I guess we had enough of a gap after that."
Heim finished second, Nick Sanchez third, Christian Eckes fourth, and Zane Smith fifth. Daniel Dye, Taylor Gray, Tanner Gray, Stefan Parsons, and Ty Majeski rounded out the top-ten.
Stage 1
Sanchez started the race from pole position, but the caution flag quickly flew for a bizarre incident. Thad Moffitt ended up outside of the groove and his front wheels appeared to be locked to the left. He came back down the track, slamming into Tyler Ankrum. Memphis Villarreal was also involved, and none of the three drivers were able to continue.
Here's what happened. https://t.co/l1o5aXx4xW pic.twitter.com/IFeGyBz2N4
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 13, 2024
Rajah Caruth, who narrowly avoided being a part of the first incident, was the cause of the next caution, spinning in Turn 2.
On the ensuing restart, Eckes took the lead after Sanchez got put three-wide by Stewart Friesen. It appeared like he may go on to win the stage, but Kyle Busch ran him down and snatched the lead away with just a few laps to go.
Busch claimed the Stage 1 victory ahead of Eckes, Sanchez, Smith, Friesen, Dye, Layne Riggs, Grant Enfinger, Heim, and Tay. Gray.
Stage 2
The second stage was far cleaner, despite a couple tense moments on the initial restart. Eckes mounted a brief challenge against Busch, but he was unable to pass the 2x NASCAR Cup Series champion.
Busch ended up sweeping the stages with ease. At the conclusion of Stage 2, it was Busch, Sanchez, Eckes, Heim, Tay. Gray, Riggs, Z. Smith, Dye, Enfinger, and Johnny Sauter.
Stage 3
While a thrilling battle ensued for second place, Busch skipped away at the start of the final stage. Heim, Eckes, Gray, and Sanchez went back-and-forth with Eckes ultimately prevailing in the runner-up position.
The race settled into a long green-flag run and the final round of stops began with 46 laps to go. Busch pitted from the lead with 39 laps remaining and soon after, Riggs crashed out of Turn 2.
Busch cycled back into the race lead as Smith pitted. There were just 26 laps to go at the green flag.
The sixth caution flew a few laps later after Kris Wright pushed up in Turn 1 and collected Friesen in a crash.
Heim made a bold three-wide move to the inside of Busch on the following restart, but was unable to keep the momentum up down the backstretch. As Eckes and Busch battled side-by-side for control of the race, a crash broke out in the middle of the pack.
Dean Thomspon spun, collecting Grant Enfinger and Matt Crafton. Johnny Sauter also got a piece of it. Eckes was scored as the race leader at the time of caution.
The race resumed with only 10 laps to go, and Busch was able to quickly fight his way back into the race lead. As the finish drew near, Heim closed in and was right on his back bumper as Busch as the checkered flag waved.
| CLA | DRIVER | # | MANUFACTURER | LAPS | TIME | INTERVAL | PITS | POINTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | K. BuschSPIRE MOTORSPORTS | 7 | Chevrolet | 167 |
2:06'52.691 |
5 | |||
| 2 |
C. HeimTRICON GARAGE
|
11 | Toyota | 167 |
+0.112 2:06'52.803 |
0.112 | 6 | ||
| 3 |
N. SanchezREV RACING
|
2 | Chevrolet | 167 |
+0.835 2:06'53.526 |
0.723 | 6 | ||
| 4 | C. EckesMCANALLY HILGEMANN RACING | 19 | Chevrolet | 167 |
+1.496 2:06'54.187 |
0.661 | 6 | ||
| 5 |
Z. SmithMCANALLY HILGEMANN RACING
|
91 | Chevrolet | 167 |
+2.614 2:06'55.305 |
1.118 | 7 | ||
| 6 |
D. DyeMCANALLY HILGEMANN RACING
|
43 | Chevrolet | 167 |
+3.224 2:06'55.915 |
0.610 | 6 | ||
| 7 |
T. GrayTRICON GARAGE
|
17 | Toyota | 167 |
+4.378 2:06'57.069 |
1.154 | 6 | ||
| 8 | T. GrayTRICON GARAGE | 15 | Toyota | 167 |
+5.384 2:06'58.075 |
1.006 | 8 | ||
| 9 |
S. ParsonsHENDERSON MOTORSPORTS
|
75 | Chevrolet | 167 |
+5.626 2:06'58.317 |
0.242 | 6 | ||
| 10 | T. MajeskiTHORSPORT RACING | 98 | Ford | 167 |
+6.074 2:06'58.765 |
0.448 | 6 | ||
| 11 |
A. LawlessREAUME BROTHERS RACING
|
33 | Ford | 167 |
+7.399 2:07'00.090 |
1.325 | 6 | ||
| 12 |
R. CaruthSPIRE MOTORSPORTS
|
71 | Chevrolet | 167 |
+8.079 2:07'00.770 |
0.680 | 9 | ||
| 13 | S. FriesenHALMAR FRIESEN RACING | 52 | Toyota | 167 |
+8.604 2:07'01.295 |
0.525 | 7 | ||
| 14 | B. CurreyNIECE MOTORSPORTS | 41 | Chevrolet | 167 |
+8.951 2:07'01.642 |
0.347 | 7 | ||
| 15 | M. CraftonTHORSPORT RACING | 88 | Ford | 167 |
+9.967 2:07'02.658 |
1.016 | 7 | ||
| 16 |
D. ThompsonTRICON GARAGE
|
5 | Toyota | 167 |
+13.211 2:07'05.902 |
3.244 | 8 | ||
| 17 | J. SauterNIECE MOTORSPORTS | 45 | Chevrolet | 167 |
+14.858 2:07'07.549 |
1.647 | 8 | ||
| 18 |
C. JonesTHORSPORT RACING
|
66 | Ford | 166 |
+1 Lap 2:07'01.833 |
1 Lap | 6 | ||
| 19 |
J. GarciaTHORSPORT RACING
|
13 | Ford | 166 |
+1 Lap 2:07'03.088 |
1.255 | 6 | ||
| 20 |
M. MasseyYOUNG'S MOTORSPORTS
|
02 | Chevrolet | 166 |
+1 Lap 2:07'04.832 |
1.744 | 6 | ||
| 21 | T. HillHILL MOTORSPORTS | 56 | Toyota | 166 |
+1 Lap 2:07'06.107 |
1.275 | 7 | ||
| 22 |
B. HolmesBRET HOLMES RACING
|
32 | Chevrolet | 166 |
+1 Lap 2:07'06.625 |
0.518 | 7 | ||
| 23 | T. DillonRACKLEY W.A.R. | 25 | Chevrolet | 166 |
+1 Lap 2:07'06.737 |
0.112 | 7 | ||
| 24 | B. RhodesTHORSPORT RACING | 99 | Ford | 165 |
+2 Laps 2:07'03.254 |
1 Lap | 7 | ||
| 25 | C. PurdySPIRE MOTORSPORTS | 77 | Chevrolet | 165 |
+2 Laps 2:07'03.397 |
0.143 | 8 | ||
| 26 | M. MillsNIECE MOTORSPORTS | 42 | Chevrolet | 165 |
+2 Laps 2:07'07.941 |
4.544 | 6 | ||
| 27 | S. BoydFREEDOM RACING ENTERPRISES | 76 | Chevrolet | 162 |
+5 Laps 2:07'09.854 |
3 Laps | 9 | ||
| 28 |
K. McGeeREAUME BROTHERS RACING
|
22 | Ford | 159 |
+8 Laps 2:07'23.474 |
3 Laps | 7 | ||
| 29 | G. EnfingerCR7 MOTORSPORTS | 9 | Chevrolet | 151 |
+16 Laps 1:53'15.070 |
8 Laps | 6 | ||
| 30 | K. WrightTRICON GARAGE | 1 | Toyota | 145 |
+22 Laps 1:46'21.175 |
6 Laps | 9 | ||
| 31 |
L. RiggsFRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS
|
38 | Ford | 135 |
+32 Laps 1:43'54.032 |
10 Laps | 8 | ||
| 32 | T. MoffittFACTION MOTORSPORTS | 46 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+166 Laps 35.012 |
134 Laps | 2 | ||
| 33 |
M. VillarrealYOUNG'S MOTORSPORTS
|
20 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+166 Laps 36.724 |
1.712 | 2 | ||
| 34 | T. AnkrumMCANALLY HILGEMANN RACING | 18 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+166 Laps 36.737 |
0.013 | 3 |
