Only Nascar Stuff . com

Busch falls short of NASCAR history in trucks race

Click here to go back to the main page of the Only Nascar Stuff store for Nascar Merchandise, Memorabilia, Tickets & More!

SPARTA, Kentucky (AP) — Kyle Busch came up five spots short in his bid to make NASCAR history Saturday night and Johnny Benson took advantage, holding off Michael Annett to win the Built Ford Tough 225 at Kentucky Speedway.

Busch was attempting to become the first driver to win in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series and Craftsman Truck Series in successive starts. He won the Nationwide Series’ Dollar General 300 on July 11 and the Sprint Cup’s Lifelock.com 400 the following night.

The early portion of the race featured a number of yellow flags, and nine of the first 24 laps were run under caution. There were eight cautions overall, slowing drivers for a total of 36 laps. There was also a 10-minute, 34-second stoppage for track repairs following a red flag.

“The crew had a lot of really good stops,” Benson said. “We had to use a little strategy because we had a loose right front tire, so I was glad that the (early) caution came out when it did. But these guys continue to do a great job.”

Benson grabbed the lead in the truck series points race by one over third-place finisher Matt Crafton. Previous points leader Ron Hornaday finished 10th, dropping him to third in the standings.

“I thought we had the best truck tonight,” Crafton said. “When we were in the dirty air, we could pass (Benson) and get away. I think if we had gotten the lead we would have won this race.”

The race did boast a historical milestone for Roush Racing, which eclipsed Spears Motorsports to become the team with the most starts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

The race also marked the debut for NFL wide receiver Randy Moss as a truck owner. Willie Allen drove the No. 81 Rascal Flatts Chevrolet under the newly formed Randy Moss Motorsports team and finished 15th.