For the last two seasons, it was one driver that won both races and stages at Kentucky Speedway. This time, it was anyone’s race to win at the 1.5 mile track.
Kurt Busch in the 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet Camaro for Chip Ganassi Racing has won the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Kurt Busch would win stage one, lead 41 laps, his first win at Kentucky, first win this season, and his 31st Cup Series victory. His teammate Kyle Larson in the 42 Clover Chevy would not lead a lap, but finished fourth. Busch last week was about to win until the lighting struck giving Justin haley the victory at Daytona.
Team Penske had a decent to disappointing night. The best finish was Joey Logano in the 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang who was about to win before the Bubba Wallace spin that caused overtime. Logano would fall back and finish seventh. Ryan Blaney in the 12 DEX Imaging Ford Mustang finished 13th, and Brad Keselowski in the 2 Discount Tire Ford led three laps but finished 20th.
Hendrick Motorsports early on had some of their cars in the top ten, but at the end of the night, they would fall. Chase Elliott in the 9 DEWnited Chevrolet Camaro had a caution early with a right front tire going down on lap 38 and would stay midpack for most of the time after sometimes getting into the top ten. Elliott finished 15th. Alex Bowman in the 88 Nationwide Children’s Hospital Chevy finished 17th and William Byron in the 24 Axalta Chevy finished behind him in 18th due to a restart violation when he passed leader Clint Bowyer before the restart line. The final car was Jimmie Johnson in the 48 Ally Chevy who had a top ten run going until he would hit the wall and spin out on lap 178. Johnson finished 30th.
Three of the four Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota’s finished in the top five. Kyle Busch in the 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry finished second as his brother Kurt edged him out for the win. The younger Busch would win stage two, and lead 72 laps. Erik Jones in the 20 Craftsman Toyota had an important playoff run moving up to 16th in the standings, led one lap, and finished third. Denny Hamlin in the 11 FedEx Freight Toyota led five laps and finished fifth. The only car that finished outside the top five and ten was last years winner Martin Truex Jr in the 19 Auto Owners Toyota who struggled for most of the night finishing 19th.
The next race will be at New Hampshire MotorSpeedway for the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 where Kevin Harvick looks to repeat and get his first win of the season.
Results
- Kurt Busch 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet Camaro Chip Ganassi Racing
- Kyle Busch 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry Joe Gibbs Racing
- Erik Jones 20 Craftsman Toyota Camry Joe Gibbs Racing
- Kyle Larson 42 Clover Chevrolet Camaro Chip Ganassi Racing
- Denny Hamlin 11 FedEx Freight Toyota Camry Joe Gibbs Racing
- Clint Bowyer 14 Rush Truck Centers/Haas CNC Ford Mustang Stewart-Haas Racing
- Joey Logano 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Team Penske
- Daniel Suárez 41 Haas Ford Mustang Stewart-Haas Racing
- Ryan Newman 6 Acorns Ford Mustang Roush-Fenway Racing
- Chris Buescher 37 Planters Chevrolet Camaro JTG-Daugherty Racing
- Paul Menard 21 Quaker State/Menards Ford Mustang Wood Brothers Racing
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 17 Fifth-Third Bank Ford Mustang Roush-Fenway Racing
- Ryan Blaney 12 DEX Imaging Ford Mustang Team Penske
- Aric Almirola 10 Valley Tech Learning Ford Mustang Stewart-Haas Racing
- Chase Elliott 9 Mountain Dew/DEWnited States Chevrolet Camaro Hendrick Motorsports
- Matt DiBenedetto 95 Anest Iwata Toyota Camry Leavine Family Racing
- Alex Bowman 88 Nationwide Chevrolet Camaro Hendrick Motorsports
- William Byron 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro Hendrick Motorsports
- Martin Truex Jr. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota Camry Joe Gibbs Racing
- Brad Keselowski 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang Team Penske
- Ryan Preece (R) 47 Kroger Chevrolet Camaro JTG-Daugherty Racing
- Kevin Harvick 4 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang Stewart-Haas Racing
- Bubba Wallace 43 Victory Junction Chevrolet Camaro Richard Petty Motorsports
- Daniel Hemric (R) 8 Caterpillar Chevrolet Camaro Richard Childress Racing
- Michael McDowell 34 Love’s/Speedco Ford Mustang Front Row Motorsports
- Ty Dillon 13 GEICO Military Chevrolet Camaro Germain Racing
- Matt Tifft (R) 36 Southwestern Trucking Ford Mustang Front Row Motorsports
- Corey LaJoie 32 Keen Parts/CorvetteParts.net Ford Mustang Go Fas Racing
- David Ragan 38 Long John Silver’s Ford Mustang Front Row Motorsports
- Jimmie Johnson 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro Hendrick Motorsports
- Ross Chastain 15 Chevrolet Camaro Premium Motorsports
- Landon Cassill 00 StarCom Fiber Chevrolet Camaro StarCom Racing
- Bayley Currey (R) 51 Jacob Companies Ford Mustang Rick Ware Racing
- Quin Houff (R) 77 Go-Parts.com Chevrolet Camaro Spire Motorsports
- Austin Dillon 3 AAA Chevrolet Camaro Richard Childress Racing
- B.J. McLeod 52 Jacob Companies Chevrolet Camaro Rick Ware Racing
Ian O’Brien is a Contributor for the Unwrapped Sports Network website. Follow him @Ianthekicker41 on Twitter.