Truck series rookie William Byron’s fourth win sets record for Kyle Busch Motorsports

SPARTA, Ky. – William Byron scored his fourth Camping World Truck Series victory through 10 starts this season, capturing the Buckle Up in Your Truck 225 at Kentucky Speedway.

Byron’s No. 9 Toyota held off a charge by John Hunter Nemechek, who finished 0.190 seconds behind in the first NASCAR race on the 1.5-mile oval’s repaved and reconfigured surface. Byron, 18, moved onto the truck circuit this year after winning the 2015 K&N East championship last year as a rookie.

“It just keeps going, man,” Byron told FS1. “I’ve got a great team behind me.”

The win marked a truck series-record 51st for Kyle Busch Motorsports, whose team owner also was racing Thursday. The defending Sprint Cup champion finished 30th after crashing but still reveled in Byron’s win.

“I’ve tried to assemble a great group of guys,” said Busch, who started the team in 2010. “I feel like we have a great group of guys now.

“It’s been a lot of fun, it’s been a lot trying times, it’s been a lot of blood, sweat and tears by both my wife and myself and all these guys that are on this team now and all the people that have been a part of Kyle Busch Motorsports in the years past. We wouldn’t be here without all them. This is a special moment.”

Daniel Hemric finished third, followed by Christopher Bell and Johnny Sauter.

HOW BYRON WON: He took first from Timothy Peters on the 82nd of 150 laps and didn’t relinquish the lead over the final 69 laps.

WHO ELSE HAD A GOOD RACE: Nemechek’s runner-up finish was his first top five since a second at Martinsville Speedway three months ago. … Daniel Suarez started from the pole and led 59 laps in an 11th-place finish … Hemric tied his season-best finish with his second consecutive third.

WHO HAD A BAD RACE: Brett Moffitt completed only 26 laps before being finishing 31st with an engine failure. … Rookie Austin Wayne Self suffered a transmission failure just past the halfway mark.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “It was self-inflicted, I guess. Got back in traffic, and I don’t know. Going down the backstretch I thought I had enough room on the inside, but I know who I crashed with. That doesn’t surprise me. Now I know how John Wes Townley feels. It’s just a shame. Brand new truck and really good piece. Destroyed..” – Busch after his crash with Spencer Gallagher (who was involved in a memorable wreck and fight with Townley two weeks ago).

WHAT’S NEXT: The series will return Wednesday, July 20 at Eldora Speedway (green flag is 9:16 p.m. ET).

Carl Edwards fastest in opening Sprint Cup practice at Kentucky

Carl Edwards led the way in the first and only practice session for the Sprint Cup Series on Thursday afternoon at Kentucky Speedway with a lap of 186.451 mph. He was followed by Toyota teammates Kyle Busch (186.181), Martin Truex Jr. (185.217), and Denny Hamlin (185.084) with Jimmie Johnson (184.989) rounding out the top five.

With Kentucky being newly paved, many teams spent the session scuffing tires they will carry over into Saturday night’s event.

The session was eventful for two drivers, Brad Keselowski and Kasey Kahne, as they discovered how slick the new surface is. Two-time Kentucky winner Keselowski scraped the Turn 4 wall just moments after the track opened for practice. Kahne later got into the wall coming off Turn 2. Both teams repaired their primary cars.

Here are the speeds from the first practice.

Kurt Busch ‘shark bombs’ Joey Logano’s interview (VIDEO)

SPARTA, Ky. – Just when Joey Logano thought it was safe to go back in the water …

Before Sprint Cup practice began Thursday afternoon on the repaved Kentucky Speedway, Logano’s interview on NBCSN drew an unexpected interloper: Kurt Busch.

As seen in the video above, Busch made a shark fin while passing behind Logano during the interview.

Busch then looped back from the other direction, passing behind Logano again (and perhaps quietly humming the theme to Jaws).

“You have a shark behind you,” NBCSN analyst Jeff Burton joked. “You might want to be careful.”

Logano laughed, but recent history between the drivers hasn’t been so lighthearted. Busch and crew chief Tony Gibson were hot at Logano after the No. 41 Chevrolet spun on the final lap last Saturday at Daytona after contact with the No. 22 Ford.

But based off Thursday’s interaction, it would seem things were much less contentious a few days later.

Erik Jones fastest in third Xfinity practice at Kentucky

Erik Jones continues to flex his muscle at Kentucky Speedway as he paced the third practice session on Thursday afternoon with a lap of 187.800 mph. Daniel Suarez (187.396) and Kyle Busch (187.084) were the only other drivers to break the 187 mph mark as they clocked in second and third fastest. Ty Dillon (184.395) was fourth quick and Ryan Blaney (183.561), in a second Team Penske car, rounded out the top five.

Jones, Suarez, and Busch were also the fastest three in the previous session.

The Xfinity Series will have one final practice session at 7 p.m. with teams anticipating the weather conditions will mirror those expected at race time on Friday night.

Here are the speeds from the third session.

Daniel Suarez grabs Kentucky Truck Series pole

Daniel Suarez started off his double-duty weekend at Kentucky Speedway by earning his first career pole in the Camping World Truck Series.

Suarez was the 10th of 12 drivers to take time in the final round of qualifying on Thursday evening. His lap of 182.983 mph was fast enough to edge Brett Moffit (182.834), who is substituting for Matt Tifft at Red Horse Racing, and his Kyle Busch Motorsports teammate, William Byron (182.494).

Byron was unable to back up his lap from the first round when he was the fastest qualifier by breaking the 183 mph mark.

The Buckle Up In Your Truck 225 will be Suarez’s seventh start of the 2016 season. He is still looking for his first career series win.

Here is how qualifying played out:

EDWARDS LEADS OPENING SPRINT CUP PRACTICE

Using a fast lap of 186.451 mph in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Carl Edwards topped opening Sprint Cup Series practice at Kentucky Speedway on Thursday.

Next on the leaderboard was Edwards' JGR teammate and defending race winner Kyle Busch, whose No. 18 Toyota whirled around the repaved track at 186.181 mph. Busch is running all three series races in this weekend's tripleheader.

Furniture Row Racing's Martin Truex Jr. came up third on the speed charts with a fast lap of 185.217 mph in his No. 78 Toyota, while Denny Hamlin 's No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was fourth-fastest (185.084 mph). Hendrick Motorsports' Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top five as the lone Chevrolet in the top bunch, posting a top speed of 184.989 mph in his No. 48 Chevrolet.

Points leader Kevin Harvick was 13th-fastest in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet.

Two-time Kentucky winner Brad Keselowski found trouble early in the opening session: his No. 2 Team Penske Ford brushed the wall coming around a turn, bringing out the caution briefly. Kasey Kahne  made contact with the exit of Turn 4 wall in his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, but the track remained green. Josh Wise brought out the final caution of the 85-minute session when his No. 30 ride began smoking.

The Sprint Cup Series is back on track for practice in the Bluegrass State on Friday at 11 a.m. ET.

Watch LIVE: NASCAR America at 6 p.m. ET: Kentucky preview, Martin Truex Jr.’s success at 1.5-mile tracks

NASCAR America airs today on NBCSN from 6 – 7 p.m. ET and previews this weekend’s racing from Kentucky Speedway.

Dave Briggs hosts with Kyle Petty from Stamford, Connecticut, and Marty Snider and Ray Evernham join them from NBC Charlotte.

What to expect from today’s episode.

We will look ahead to Kentucky Speedway and discuss how the track’s reconfiguration will affect this weekend’s race. Strategy will be a key factor, as many believe the winner will have the crew chief that takes the most risks.
The NASCAR America team will further discuss Brad Keselowski’s big win at Daytona – the historic 100th Sprint Cup win for Team Penske. We’ll also assess his chances of picking up back-to-back wins this weekend in Kentucky, where he’s won twice in his Cup career.
The Camping World Truck Series returns to action Thursday night. William Byron leads their Chase Grid, but Christopher Bell is coming off a victory in the last Truck race at Gateway Motorsports park. We’ll break down who to watch for.
As we head to Kentucky, Martin Truex Jr. figures to be a threat. He’s especially strong this year on 1.5-mile tracks like Kentucky and aims to boost his playoff standing with a second win.
My Home Track takes a look at two of the Bluegrass State’s finest dirt tracks.
If you’re not near a TV, you can watch online or on the NBC Sports app via at the NASCAR stream on NBC Sports.

If you plan to stream the show on your laptop or portable device, be sure to have your username and password from your cable/satellite/telco provider handy so your subscription can be verified.

Once you enter that information, you’ll have access to the stream.

Click here at 6 p.m. ET to watch live via the stream.