Joe Gibbs Racing took home their second straight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory Sunday evening in the Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Kyle Busch found his way to the front of the field with 33 laps to go and never looked back. Not only was this Joe Gibbs Racing’s second consecutive Sprint Cup victory but also reigning and defending champion Kyle Busch’s. The win makes four NASCAR-sponsored races in a row for Busch as the speedster once again swept the weekend’s races.
Kyle Busch became only the second driver in NASCAR history to have back-to-back weekend sweeps. Legend NASCAR racer Harry Gant accomplished the feat in 1991 by winning both the Xfinity Series races and the Sprint Cup Series races at Richmond and Dover. After winning it all in 2015, it’s fair to say that a let down year for Busch is far from racing reality.
“Our car was really, really fast, especially entry and center of the corner, and as the night progressed, I think the track actually came to us a little bit,” said Busch, who took over the series lead by six points over fourth-place finisher Jimmie Johnson. “Our car got a lot better, and crew chief Adam Stevens made some great adjustments all night long.
Hendrick Motorsports Dale Earnhardt Jr. took the second spot after passing Joey Logano with eight laps left. Jimmie Johnson, Dale Jr.’s teammate finished in the fourth spot while battling through some on track adversity. Johnson’s hot-rod was slowed when he collided with eventual winner Kyle Busch on pit row just after the first caution of the race at lap 30. Rookie Chase Elliot once again impressed the field with a fifth place finish. The newly acquired racer for Hendrick Motorsports captured his best finish of his young Sprint cup series career.
Martin Truex Jr. seized the sixth spot despite leading a race high 141 revolutions. It was pretty unanimous throughout the post race interviews that there was no question who had the fastest car in the Duck Commander 500. The pit strategy presented to Truex Jr. proved to be his demise. The Bass Pro Shops sponsored Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing, lost considerable ground when the decision was made to stay out on older tires after the race’s last caution with 33 laps to go.
“It hurts a little bit, but we’ll just take the positives and move on,” said Truex, who was the clear class of the field until divergent pit strategies proved his undoing.
Martin Truex Jr.’s racing teammate Carl Edwards started on the pole and led 121 times around the 1.5 mile paved oval. Edwards led for the better half of the first quarter of the event and still showed considerable speed in the later half as well. The #19 Stanley Toyota Camry suffered a blown tire 222 circuits into the race and spent the better half of 70 laps getting back on the lead lap. Edwards would finish in the seventh position for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Austin Dillon’s Chevrolet was fast once again but got caught up in a late race skirmish that slid Dillon up into the line of Jimmie Johnson, who was unable to avoid contact. Dillon was turned abruptly into the outside wall and came down across the track into oncoming traffic. The resulting 13-car accident damaged all three of the Richard Childress Racing cars. This was to be the seventh and last caution that reset the field for the restart on Lap 302.
“We were on older tires and I was trying to get all I could there,” Dillon said. “It’s part of trying to win a race. We put ourselves in a position to be out front, thinking that two laps wouldn’t mean much, but it did. That’s part of it. The good Lord kept me safe tonight and gave me a good race car. You have to be gracious in defeat.”
Kasey Kahne finally cracked the top ten finishing in the eighth spot. The finish for the #5 Quicken Loans Chevrolet placed all four of the Hendricks Motorsports teammates into the top ten slots. Ninth place was awarded to Kurt Busch and his #41 Monster Energy Chevrolet. Busch had a fast race car for the better part of the evening but couldn’t find enough speed to make a difference at the end. Tenth place went to Kevin Harvick and the #4 Freaky Fast Jimmy John’s team. Harvick managed to lead 20 laps but his tenth place finish dropped him behind Jimmie Johnson in third in the seasons point standings.
The Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway took three hours and 37 minutes to complete. There were seven cautions that totaled 41 laps. The average speed of the field was 138.335 miles per hour and the margin of victory was 3.904 seconds.
The Coors Light Pole Award went to Carl Edwards for his efforts on Saturday. Dale Earnhardt Jr. captured the Ingersoll Rand Power Move of the Race Award and once again Joe Gibbs Racing took home the coveted Mahle Clevite Engine builder of the Race Award. Chase Elliot received the Sunoco Rookie of the Race honors for his fifth place finish.
The Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway Final Results:
- Kyle Busch
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Joey Logano
- Jimmie Johnson
- Chase Elliott
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Carl Edwards
- Kasey Kahne
- Kurt Busch
- Kevin Harvick
- Matt Kenseth
- Denny Hamlin
- Jamie McMurray
- Kyle Larson
- Trevor Bayne
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Ryan Newman
- Brad Keselowski
- Austin Dillon
- Ty Dillon
- Danica Patrick
- AJ Allmendinger
- Casey Mears
- Aric Almirola
- Landon Cassill
- Paul Menard
- Brian Scott
- Chris Buescher
- Ryan Blaney
- Cole Whitt
- Regan Smith
- Michael Annett
- David Ragan
- Matt DiBenedetto
- Jeffrey Earnhardt
- Reed Sorenson
- Brian Vickers
- Clint Bowyer
- Greg Biffle
- Josh Wise
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