February 24
Atlanta Motor Speedway
200.2 miles/130 laps (stages: 40, 40, 50)
In the end, the Dream Season version of this event also proved to be the back end of a bummer day for future NASCAR Hall of Famer Kyle Busch, who finished second - again.
Minutes after finishing "first loser" to Brad Keselowski in the Xfinity Series race, he climbed into the #51 Toyota Tundra he "leased back" to former owner Billy Ballew. He took the lead from pole-sitter Kasey Kahne on lap 19 and hung on through the end of the first stage on lap 40. Jack Sprague was kept on the track during the break and led the race on the restart.The first major incident was on lap 48, when James Buescher (2012 champion) cut a tire and took John Wes Townley and Scott Riggs out with him. Busch won stage 2 as well when the pit stops cycled through.
Stage 3 again saw a new leader when it went green, but this time it was due to Justin Allgaier winning the race off pit road. However, Busch quickly regained the lead; in fact, he would lead 90 of the 130 laps in the race.
But - and I think you know where this is going - none of those laps were the last one. That's because the truck Busch drove got looser and looser as the run progressed, enough for Matt Crafton, two-time champion and record holder for most career starts in NCWTS history, to make the pass with seven laps to go. Crafton would go on to replicate his victory from 2015.
"Frankly, I don't know where it all went wrong for me," Busch would have said afterwards. "Some things are meant to be, and unfortunately for me this whole day was not among them."
Busch's stage wins were based on three career wins and an incredible average finish of 1.80.
Two crashes on laps 94 and 113 during stage 3 ended the day for eight drivers.
Top 10 after stage 1: Kyle Busch, Ron Hornaday, Todd Bodine, Mike Skinner, Matt Crafton, Bobby Hamilton, David Reutimann, Timothy Peters, Dennis Setzer, Travis Kvapil
Top 10 after stage 2: Kyle Busch, Todd Bodine, Timothy Peters, Matt Crafton, Brendan Gaughan, Ron Hornaday, Mike Skinner, Johnny Sauter, Travis Kvapil
Final full-field results with point totals
- Matt Crafton - #88 Menards Toyota - 53
- Kyle Busch - #51 CertainTeed Toyota - 0*
- Travis Kvapil - #77 SafeLite Auto Glass Toyota - 37
- Todd Bodine - #13 Ride TV Toyota - 50
- Kurt Busch - #2 LTi Printing Ford - 0*
- Kasey Kahne - #21 Allegiant Air Chevrolet - 31
- Justin Allgaier - #19 Draw-Tite Ford - 30
- Joey Logano - #29 Cooper Standard Ford - 29
- Kyle Larson - #12 Georgia Tech Chevrolet - 28
- Mike Skinner - #5 Edelbrock Ford - 38
- David Reutimann - #18 Aaron's Toyota - 30
- Timothy Peters - #17 Red Horse Racing Toyota - 36
- Darrell Wallace, Jr. - #4 Sirius XM Toyota - 24
- Ryan Blaney - #66 Blue Gate Bank Ford - 23
- Ron Hornaday - #33 Smoky Mountain Snuff Ford - 36
- Erik Jones - #16 Great Wolf Lodge Toyota - 21
- Mike Wallace - #50 BB&T Chevrolet - 0*
- Jack Sprague - #7 Red Horse Racing Toyota - 20
- Johnny Sauter - #23 Allegiant Air Chevrolet - 21
- Jason Leffler - #83 Tom Johnson's RV/MRN Chevrolet - 17
- Scott Riggs - #52 Ford Credit Ford - 16
- Brendan Gaughan - #62 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet - 21
- Bobby Hamilton - #98 Square D Toyota - 19
- Reed Sorenson - #02 Young Motorsports Chevrolet - 13
- David Ragan - #63 Mittler Racing Chevrolet - 12
- Regan Smith - #8 DAB Construction Chevrolet - 11
- Dennis Setzer - #44 TMM Chevrolet - 12
- John Wes Townley - #1 Zaxby's Ford - 9
- James Buescher - #92 Black's Tire Service Chevrolet - 8
- Jennifer Jo Cobb - #10 Racegirl Ford - 7
- Cale Gale - #99 Stone Mountain Park Chevrolet - 6
- Joe Ruttman - #49 Schwan's Ford - 5
Top 8 in points after this race
- Todd Bodine - 89
- Matt Crafton - 85 (1 win)
- Ron Hornaday - 76
- Timothy Peters - 74
- Mike Skinner - 71
- Joey Logano - 69 (1 win)
- Bobby Hamilton - 64
- David Reutimann - 62
Pole winner: Kasey Kahne, 177.873 mph
Race speed: 130.397 mph
Margin of victory: 0.402 seconds
Time of race: 1 hr., 32 min., 7 sec.
Cautions: 6 for 29 laps
Lead changes: 7 among 5 drivers
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