Kyle Busch was up for some home cooking Thursday night as he competed in the Star Nursery 100 Super Late Model event at The Bullring in Las Vegas.
Busch, a Vegas native, took home the checkered flag in a solid battle with Derek Thorn.
While he eventually won, things weren’t looking good for Busch early on. He qualified eighth-fastest and after a pill draw, Busch would start back in sixth.
In the opening 25 laps, Busch didn’t make up much ground.
“I worked my guys butts off these last few days — it’s a good thing I had a lot of Rowdy Energy to keep them going. Appreciate everyone at KBM, Rowdy Manufacturing, Toyota and TRD – our Rowdy Energy Camry was super-fast once we got into the second-half of the race tonight. Always enjoy battling with Derek Thorn — he’s the guy to beat out here on the west coast and I knew that if we were going to win tonight it was going to be him that we were battling. Hopefully we put on a good show for my hometown fans.”
However, he finally started moving forward and by lap 50, the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion was up to third.
In the battle for the lead at lap 60, Busch had to execute two separate bump and runs to pull away from Thorn on lap 65. From there, Busch would cruise to the victory.
Christian McGhee would finish second as Thorn faded down the stretch to finish third.
Nothing like home town cookin’ ??@KyleBusch wins at The Bullring!#StarNursery100 | @LVMotorSpeedway pic.twitter.com/1aWYVi3kIQ
— NASCAR Roots (@NASCARRoots) February 21, 2020
Busch, who grew up battling tooth and nail for wins on the short track, rolled into victory lane where he enjoyed a tasty Rowdy Energy Drink. After climbing from his car, Busch exclaimed excitement to win a race at his old hometown track in front of his loyal fans.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve won here — a really long time,” Busch said. “I certainly want to give a shout out to the Rowdy Nation fans that are always there to support me, all the ones from the Bullring days back when I was a kid. My mom and dad and my wife and my son now — my, how times have changed.”
“It’s been a long time since I’ve won here. A REALLY long time!” – @KyleBusch#StarNursery100 | @LVMotorSpeedway pic.twitter.com/nEr3JxPIxT
— NASCAR Roots (@NASCARRoots) February 21, 2020
