NASCAR Cup Series two-time champion Kyle Busch made his first NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series start of the 2023 season last weekend at his home track of Las Vegas Motor Speedway and to no one’s surprise, gambled his way into Victory Lane.
Busch has made several starts and posted multiple wins at the Las Vegas track across all three series, but he’s had the most success in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. In his seven series starts, he has won the pole three times and has posted four wins (2018, 2019, 2020, 2023), six top fives and seven top 10s.
His win last weekend widened his lead as the winningest driver in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series with 63 wins and his lead as the driver with the most NASCAR National Series wins (225), after surpassing the long-standing record held by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty (200).
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series
Next Race: Fr8 208
The Place: Atlanta Motor Speedway
The Date: Saturday, March 18
The Time: 2 p.m. ET
The Purse: $673,693
TV: FS1, 1:30 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 207.9 miles (135 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 30),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 60), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 135)
Truckin’ in Atlanta
After an action-packed weekend in Las Vegas, the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series teams will head home before gearing up for the Fr8 208 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday, March 18 at 2 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR radio.
There have been 21 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races at the 1.5-mile track, producing 15 different race winners and 12 different pole winners. Five races have been won from the pole or first starting position, most recently by Christopher Bell in 2017.
Kyle Busch has made the most trips to Victory Lane (six) and has also posted the most top fives (nine). Ron Hornaday Jr. and Mike Skinner are tied for most poles at the track (three) while Matt Crafton holds the record for most top 10s (11).
Corey Heim is Atlanta Motor Speedway’s most recent winner in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series after snagging the lead from then teammate Chandler Smith in the final lap to get the victory.
Zane Smith riding the wave
Front Row Motorsports’ Zane Smith made a name for himself last season with his season-opening win at Daytona and his victory in the Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway.
Smith made sure to ride that momentum into the 2023 season and pulled off yet another season-opening win at Daytona and a runner-up finish last weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Now, as the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series gears up for their next race in two weeks at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Smith can be sure that his name is on everyone’s minds as a possible winning contender.
Although he’s only made three starts at the 1.5-mile Atlanta track, he’s posted two top fives and three top 10s. Last season, he even managed to work his way up to a fifth-place finish after starting in the 25th position.
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, Etc.
Sunoco Rookie class update – The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series rookie class now has two races marked off and they’re all sitting close in the standings. Let’s take a look at how they’re sitting as the head into race number three of the season:
Nick Sanchez currently leads the rookies with 31 points. He won the pole in the season-opener at Daytona and has posted a best-finish of 26th at Daytona. He was caught in an incident at Las Vegas and finished 30th. Sanchez will be making his series track debut at Atlanta next week.
Jake Garcia takes the second-place spot just four points behind Sanchez (27) after he won the Sunoco Rookie of the Race Award at Las Vegas for his 10th-place finish. Garcia will look to make his first series career start at Atlanta Motor Speedway in next week.
Just one point behind Garcia is Rajah Caruth (26). He’s posted 29th-place finishes in both races this season. He will be making his first start at Atlanta Motor Speedway in two weeks.
Coming in with 25 points is Daniel Dye. He posted a 19th-place finish last weekend in Las Vegas where he led for five laps. Like his classmates, he will be making his first start at the 1.5-mile Atlanta track in a couple weeks.
Rounding out the rookie class is Bret Holmes who sits with nine points and his made one series career start at Atlanta Motor Speedway (2021), finishing in 32nd.
