Kyle Busch makes a last-lap pass to get win 100 for Kyle Busch Motorsports as Corey Heim continues to lead the standings with one last race to get into the playoffs. Here are five takeaways from the CRC Brakleen 150 at Pocono Raceway.
1: Kyle Busch passes Corey Heim on the last lap to win
Craftsman Truck Series all-time wins leader Kyle Busch showed us why he has so many wins in this series. After a red flag for a large wreck on the backstretch, Busch and Corey Heim restarted next to each other once again with five to go in the race.
The pair had been dueling for several laps beforehand, but Heim was slightly quicker. On the last lap, Heim pulled away to a 0.33-second lead over Busch heading into the ‘tunnel turn’ or turn two.
Kyle Busch dove into the turn on Heim’s left side and took the lead of the race and drove away with an over a half-a-second lead on the championship leader.
This win would be Busch’s third Truck Series win at Pocono Raceway and second this season. He leads in wins at the track with three wins, in 2015, 2018, and this year.
The move that sealed the deal on the final lap for @KyleBusch! pic.twitter.com/v5gzd5HJFG
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) July 22, 2023
2: Win No. 100 for KBM comes at Pocono Raceway
With this win, Kyle Busch Motorsports has won one hundred races in the Craftsman Truck Series. Busch founded the team in 2010 and scored the first win for the team at Nashville Superspeedway in 2010, winning seven more races that year.
Since then, KBM was a key stepping stone for Toyota drivers looking to make a name in NASCAR. Here are some drivers who have come through KBM on their way to the Xfinity Series and later the Cup Series:
- Christopher Bell
- William Byron
- Erik Jones
- Noah Gragson
- Bubba Wallace
- John Hunter Nemechek
💯 🏁 pic.twitter.com/guKFznyBPI
— Kyle Busch Motorsports (@KBMteam) July 22, 2023
3: Corey Heim comes home second, and has a healthy lead in regular season points
Corey Heim walked away from Pocono Raceway second and was disappointed, but it was a great points day for the #11 team. Heim scored 39 points at Pocono. His next rival in points, Zane Smith, is 42 points behind Heim, who scored only 23 points.
With Richmond Raceway up next, it is Smith’s last chance to take back the points lead from Heim. But Smith has not run well at the 0.75-mile track. Heim on the other hand only needs to earn 19 points to get the championship, which comes with an extra 15 playoff points.
Let’s take a look at how the two stack up at Richmond:
Zane Smith has run three Truck Series races at Richmond Raceway. He has only one top ten at the track. Corey Heim, in only one start, has a top-five. Heim needs to win a stage and finish second in another to win the title, at minimum.
Smith needs to win both stages and get a top-five finish to beat Heim for the Championship.
4: Sanchez and Garcia spin, ending rookies’ excellent Pocono Raceway run
Rookies Nick Sanchez and Jake Garcia had excellent qualifying runs, with Sanchez earning the pole and Garcia starting beside him. This was Sanchez’s fourth pole this season, and Garcia’s best qualifying position yet, despite it being his first trip to Pocono.
In stage one, Sanchez finished runner-up to Zane Smith, earning nine points for the playoffs. Garcia finished sixth, earning four points.
Sanchez continued his pace, as stage two saw him finish third behind Smith and Friesen, earning seven points.
The great day the two rookies were having came to a crashing end. On lap forty-six, Sanchez, on the inside of Garcia, spun his truck. The spinning #2 Chevrolet used the #35 Chevrolet as a barrier, destroying Jake Garcia’s truck and ending his day.
Garcia was checked and released from the infield care center with no injuries. Sanchez would finish 19th, earning 35 points at the finish of the race.
That's going to bring out a late 🟡.
📺: FS1 | 📲: https://t.co/kd5eqkSSWE pic.twitter.com/FuzLNn3mmt
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) July 22, 2023
5: Huge crash brings out the red flag, takes out Friesen and Smith
On the lap 52 restart, coming out of turn one, Carson Hocevar‘s #42 Chevrolet came up the racetrack and made contact with Kaz Grala in the #1 Tundra for TRICON Garage. This created a huge wreck involving nine other trucks and bringing out the red flag.
In the wreck was the #38 of Zane Smith and #52 of Stewart Friesen.
Smith continued to drive his truck until a large fire began pouring out from it, ending his day. Friesen, after the initial contact, hit the inside wall and was hit by the #41 of Ross Chastain, causing Friesen’s truck to spin and stop on the straightaway.
All drivers were checked and released from the care center with no injuries.
Big trouble at the exit of Turn 1! @ZaneSmith and @StewartFriesen are among those involved! pic.twitter.com/y9YKLWOA24
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) July 22, 2023
Friesen is in a tight battle with Matt Crafton for a spot in the Truck Series playoffs. The two are separated by only nine points, and with Richmond coming up, let’s see who has the better record at the track.
Crafton, a veteran of the series, has eight starts at Richmond. In those eight starts, he has one top-five and three top-ten finishes. Friesen on the other hand, only has three starts and one top-ten finish.
Friesen has to qualify and earn stage points ahead of Crafton to get the final playoff spot.
