Ah, short track racing. It’s what many of a great racer got their start on. In our area, there’s Central PA Speedway, Hummingbird, America’s Raceway Park, and more that host weekly races to let fans get a taste of the talent the area has behind the wheel.
When the focus of a short track reaches the biggest series in the country, everyone’s attention is on that track.
The last short track race, in an ironic twist, was last October at the same place, Martinsville, and it was epic. There were a couple drivers upset at one another, one then getting suspended because of those actions. The other reason it was epic was because of who won it. It was the final start at the track for a future hall of fame driver, and it was his final career victory.
So how does one follow up that kind of afternoon, which turned into a late evening?
The answer was ending a personal streak. Even though Kyle Busch has won a vast number of races in his career, over all three top tiers of NASCAR, he never succeeded at Martinsville. In 33 tries, not once did he get to the line first.
On Saturday, the Camping World Truck Series returned to the track, and Busch was entered in it. It was extra track time to see how he could improve his skills, and get better to ultimately try and achieve that elusive victory. All the work paid off, because the No. 18 Toyota Tundra went to victory lane.
The next day, all the extra track time was worth it because Busch found his way to the front, led over half the race, and went to victory lane once again.
For 33 races, he never got to take a bow before the Martinsville faithful. In a matter of days, the 33-race streak of losses at the “Paper Clip” was done, because Busch was taking home two grandfather clocks, which are presented to every winner at the speedway. It is a unique trophy, one that many have wanted and few have.
What made it better was thanks to a video that Busch posted after the race, as he and his wife, Samantha, were heading home. In traffic, Busch saw a fan in the truck next to him and honked the horn. He saw her hat and waved. Problem was, she didn’t know it was him because the window was tinted a bit and she couldn’t see. When he rolled the window down, however, and simply said, “How’s it going?”
The fan lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. All this was happening in some slow-moving traffic, and the lady was beside herself. Busch then reached out and said “Gimme that.” The young woman took her hat off, leaned out the window, and “Rowdy” as he’s called took it in his hand to give the impromptu autograph. A pretty sweet souvenir for the fan that never expected it to come.
Goes to show that when things are good, you never know how one will react. If Busch hadn’t won, he probably would never have tried to acknowledge the fan. But, this is a different Busch. He’s not the one who leaves when things go bad, nor the one that acts childish at incidents.
Since he’s returned from his broken bones, it’s a different driver, and man. Now, he’s got two clocks to show how far he’s come.
There’s just one problem: the car he and Samantha brought isn’t big enough to haul two clocks. Guess the family needs a bigger vehicle.
RESULTS: 1-Kyle Busch 2-Allmendinger 3-Larson 4-Dillon 5-Keselowski 6-Edwards 7-Vickers 8-Menard 9-Johnson 10-Newman
NOTABLE FINISHES: 11-Logano 14-Earnhardt Jr. 15-Kenseth 17-Harvick 39-Hamlin
CAUTIONS: 8 for 51 laps. Laps: 6-9 (#23, 88 accident-T2); 92-97 (#44, 46 accident-T2); 138-144 (#7, 17-T1); 222-227 (#11 accident-T1); 313-320 (#78, 30 accident-T2); 385-390 (#46 spin-T2); 458-466 (#7 accident-T2); 485-489 (#1 spin-T2).
LEAD CHANGES: 11 among 5 drivers. J. Logano 1-21; P. Menard 22-31; Kyle Busch 32-100; K. Harvick 101-105; Kyle Busch 106-131; M. Kenseth 132-146; Kyle Busch 147-155; K. Harvick 156-222; M. Kenseth 223-240; Kyle Busch 241-314; M. Kenseth 315-326; Kyle Busch 327-500.
TIME OF RACE: 3 Hrs, 17 Mins, 2 Secs.
AVERAGE SPEED: 80.088 MPH
MARGIN OF VICTORY: 0.663 Seconds
CHASE GRID: 1. Johnson-216 (points), 2 (wins); 2. Harvick-220, 1; 3. Kyle Busch-215, 1; 4. Keselowski-178, 1; 5. Hamlin-172, 1; 6. Edwards, -14 (from 1st-Harvick); 7. Logano, -24; 8. Dillon, -44; 9. Kurt Busch, -44; 10. Earnhardt Jr, -48; 11. Truex Jr, -70; 12. Allmendinger, -73; 13. McMurray, -77; 14. Kenseth, -80; 15. Blaney, -88; 16. Elliott, -89.
