Catchfence

LONG POND, Pa. (August 7, 2011) - Kyle Busch finished second to Kevin Harvick Sunday in the completion of the rain-delayed NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) Good Sam RV Emergency Road Service 125 at Pocono Raceway. Busch, who punctured a tire while running second and had to make a pit stop just before rain delayed the race Saturday, was scored in the 19th position when the race resumed Sunday morning. The Las Vegas native worked his way back up to second place late in the race, but despite a valiant effort couldn’t make his way around Harvick during the green-white-checkered finish.

“The CocoaVia Tundra was pretty good today, but we all weekend we knew that if we were going to beat the 2 truck, we needed to find some more speed,” said Bush. “We tried to minimize our losses today and coming home second we were able to do that. A few of those cautions helped us and kind of bunched the field back up and got us to where we could make some moves on the restarts and that seemed to be the pivotal turning point to the race on most of these guys. It is fun racing the trucks here. It’s certainly entertaining for us behind the wheel. It’s real rough and you’re bouncing all over trying to hold onto it and all of that. I can’t say enough about CocoaVia.com – another Mars product. Thanks to those guys for stepping up and being the primary sponsor on our No. 18 this weekend. Coming out here putting on a good show for them – and fans can go to their website throughout August and use the code ‘GOKYLE’ to get 25 percent off their purchases. So, that will be pretty cool to help cardiovascular health and make sure you have healthy blood vessels.”

Busch, making his first start at Pocono Raceway in the NASCAR NCWTS, qualified second and started on the front row beside Harvick, who captured the pole. In the early stages of the race, Harvick opened up a 10-truck lead on the field while Busch maintained the second spot.

On lap 15, precipitation on the racetrack brought out the third caution of the race. Just as the yellow flag waved in the air, Busch communicated to crew chief Eric Phillips that he believed that a tire was going down on his No. 18 CocoaVia Tundra. As the field drove past pit road, Phillips examined the truck and verified that the left-front tire was flat. When pit road opened, the 26-year old brought his Toyota down pit road where the KBM crew put on four fresh tires, filled it with fuel and quickly surveyed the truck to see the severity of the damage caused by the flat. The flat tire caused had caused minor damage to the front splitter by dragging on the race track.

Busch was scored in the 19th position when he returned to the track with the field still slowed by caution. Shortly after returning to the track, the precipitation had overtaken the track and NASCAR was forced to red-flag the field after completing just 18 of the 50-scheduled laps. Just over three hours passed before the race was suspended and it was announced that it would be resumed Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m. ET.

The race resumed under cloudy skies and the threat of rain looming Sunday morning. When pit road opened, the Las Vegas native brought his CocoaVia Tundra down pit road where the KBM crew filled it with fuel and made minor repairs to the front splitter. Busch returned to the track and was scored in the 17th position when the race restarted on lap 21.

Busch began maneuvering his way around competitors and by lap 25 had worked his way back into the top 10. He was scored in the seventh position when a debris caution slowed the field on lap 31. He communicated to Phillips that his Toyota needed improvements to advance through the field further and that the handling of the truck was “the roughest it had felt all weekend.” When pit road opened, the No. 18 CocoaVia Tundra came down pit road where the KBM crew put on right side tires with an air pressure adjustment, filled it with fuel and returned their driver to the track scored in the seventh position.

Two laps after the field went back to green-flag conditions, a three-truck incident brought out the fifth caution of the race. The race restarted on lap 40 with Busch scored in the sixth position. Busch, known for his great restarts, made his way around three trucks before the field made it back to the start-finish line and was continued running until the sixth caution of the race slowed the field on lap 46.

Shortly after the restart, Busch drove past James Buescher regaining the second position. He was running second when the final caution of the race occurred on lap 49. The caution set up a green-white-checkered finish with Harvick on point and Busch in the runner-up spot.

Harvick chose the outside lane for the restart and the two trucks went through turn 1 side-by-side before the race leader cleared the No. 18 CocoaVia Tundra down the backstretch. Busch tucked in behind Harvick down the backstretch, and then as they approached turn 3, got slightly loose trying to make a move for the lead knowing that the white flag was about to wave. He was able to hold off Buescher on the final lap to secure his second runner-up finish and ninth top 10 in as many NCWTS starts this season.

Johnny Sauter finished fourth and Austin Dillon rounded out the top five. Joey Coulter was sixth, followed by Mark Martin, Matt Crafton, Ron Hornaday and Timothy Peters rounded out the top 10.

The race featured seven cautions for a total of 22 laps. 26 of the 31 trucks were running at the finish of the 53-lap race with 24 cars finishing on the lead lap.

Busch’s KBM No. 18 team holds a 27-point lead over Harvick’s No. 2 team in the NCWTS owner’s point standings after 14 races.

Busch will be back behind the wheel of the No. 18 Traxxas Toyota when the NCWTS heads to Michigan International Speedway Saturday August 20 at 12:30 p.m. ET. SPEED’s live coverage begins with the NCWTS Setup Show at Noon ET.

About Kyle Busch Motorsports

Kyle Busch Motorsports has quickly established itself as one of the most successful teams in all of NASCAR. The reigning Camping World Truck Series owners’ champions prepare a fleet of race-winning Toyotas out of a 77,000-square-foot facility in Mooresville, N.C. Pending LEED certification, the facility’s state-of-the art equipment and innovative green initiatives make it unmatched among its peers. Fans can stay up-to-date with all the latest KBM news online at kylebuschmotorsports.com, by liking the team on facebook (KyleBuschMS) and following the team on twitter (@KyleBuschMS).

- Kyle Busch Motorsports Press Release