The winningest driver in Craftsman Truck Series history added another dub to his already impressive resume as Kyle Busch took the checkered flag first in Saturday’s FR8 208 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The victory is Busch’s seventh Truck Series win at the venue and his 65th overall NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win, extending his series record.
Busch, running for Spire Motorsports, qualified his No. 7 Group1001 Chevrolet in seventh and was the winner of Stage 2. This was the first Truck Series event that Busch ran for a team other than his own (Kyle Busch Motorsports) since Homestead in 2009. The team he drove for in that event, Billy Ballew Motorsports, hopped on Busch’s truck prior to Saturday’s race as an associate sponsor.
Kyle Busch doing Kyle Busch things. ?@AmandaBusick | #NASCARonFS1 pic.twitter.com/6TMta5j7Mh
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 24, 2024
Busch’s win was also the third for Spire Motorsports in the series. The team, running its first full-time efforts with Rajah Caruth and Chase Purdy, took their first checkered flag with William Byron at Martinsville in 2022 and collected another with Kyle Larson at North Wilkesboro in 2023.
RELATED: FR8 208 Race Results
Finishing in second was the No. 98 ThorSport Racing Ford F-150 of Ty Majeski. Majeski finished inside the top 10 in both stages and ran up at the front of the field for the duration of the event. Majeski, who had a chance to move out of line to pass Busch on the final lap, explained his predicament in a post-race interview.
“I just felt like if I had backed up to [Corey Heim], I knew he had a teammate behind him, I was afraid they were gonna hang me [out],” said Majeski.
Everything has to be perfect to beat the No. 7 and the run that @TyMajeski needed wasn't there.
P2 for the No. 98! pic.twitter.com/MTiO0fqMoI
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) February 24, 2024
Rounding out the podium finishers was the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota Tundra of Corey Heim. Heim finished fifth in Stage 1 and had a strong truck throughout the race.
Heim’s teammate Taylor Gray finished in fourth, and Daytona winner Nick Sanchez finished fifth to continue a strong start to his sophomore Truck Series season. The rest of the top 10 was made up of Kaden Honeycutt, Tyler Ankrum, who led the most laps in the race, Rajah Caruth, polesitter Daniel Dye, and Dean Thompson.
The race did have multiple cautions for contact but overall a much cleaner race took place compared to the season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway. The first caution flew early for a spin by Keith McGee, who made an incredible save in his no. 22 Ford to keep his truck undamaged.
The next caution for contact came on lap 50, when Thad Moffitt, running inside the top 10, made contact with Jake Garcia and Layne Riggs, sending all three to pit road for repairs. Garcia was able to record a lead lap finish, while Riggs and Moffitt both stayed multiple laps down for the remainder of the event and finished outside the top 20.
Video: Thad Moffitt, Jake Garcia Bring Out Third Caution at Atlanta
During the next green flag run, Christian Eckes, the winner of Stage 1, took his No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet to the garage with a brake issue. He would be declared out of the race a few laps later, which ended a very promising race for Eckes, who was attempting to win his second straight Atlanta Truck Series race.
The next caution took place on the final lap of stage two, when Jack Wood made contact with Bret Holmes, sending Wood into the infield grass on the frontstretch with significant damage. The No. 91 would be unable to continue, leaving Wood with back-to-back DNFs to start his part-time campaign. Holmes would recover from the damage he suffered to finish 11th on the lead lap.
Video: Jack Wood’s Day Ends Early After Stage Two Crash at Atlanta
The race also featured a rather bizarre incident, as the roof on Bayley Currey’s no. 41 Chevrolet peeled off while running inside the top five. Currey, who qualified 20th, had worked his way up into the top five despite a piece of debris striking his windshield in stage one, but the contact weakened the braces and eventually led to the roof coming off. Currey would pull his truck into the garage, ending his race prematurely.
.?@BayleyCurrey? describes what led to his roof peeling off like a can opener and what it felt like inside the truck when it happened. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/S70mLWHCJc
— Toby Christie (@Toby_Christie) February 24, 2024
Late in the race, it appeared that Grant Enfinger would have a great chance at taking the win. Enfinger, in the second race of his second tenure with CR7 Motorsports, would have a tire go down while leading with under 10 laps to go, handing the top spot over to Busch. Despite a late-race charge from Majeski, Heim, and Taylor Gray, Busch was able to fend them all off to take home the victory.
The win was also the fourth straight win for Chevrolet in the series dating back to last season, with each of those wins being scored by four different teams and four different drivers.
With a driver declared for Cup Series points winning the race, Nick Sanchez remains the only driver locked into the Truck Series playoffs by virtue of his win at Daytona. The next race for the Truck Series is Friday, March 1 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which will be televised by FS1.
