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Kyle Busch took the checkered flag under caution at the end of a green-white-checkered-flag run to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday night.

ThorSport Racing’s Jeb Burton finished second, followed by Timothy Peters, polesitter Tyler Reddick and series leader Matt Crafton.

The victory was Busch’s seventh of the season, his third at Texas and the 42nd of his career.

“I think the biggest thing I’ve been most successful with is the draft with the big hole that these trucks push,” Busch said of his successes at TMS. “I’m just always searching for air. Even though the dirty air messes you up in traffic — and really makes your truck ill handling — you got to use that draft to your advantage as much as possible whether it’s through the corners or down the straightaways. I’ve always worked that and feel like I’ve been good at it — but also you have to have good stuff. When I was at Billy Ballew’s team we had some good stuff and we kept up with what times were changing at that point in the game – and same thing here (at Kyle Busch Motorsports).

“I feel like Eric (Phillips, crew chief) and all the guys at KBM have really kept up with the times that have changed to make these trucks go fast.”

Busch appeared to have the race in hand until a late-race caution setup a shootout to the finish. Busch hit pit road for four fresh tires and fuel, while five trucks stayed out and three other took just two tires, leaving the No. 51 ToyotaCare Tundra in the ninth position for the ensuing restart.

The field went back to green with five laps remaining and Busch quickly went to work. He made things four wide into Turns 1 and 2, then once again in Turns 3 and 4, dove to the bottom coming down the frontstretch and in just one lap had gained six positions. The next lap he picked up one more spot and was tucked in behind leader German Quiroga when the sixth caution of the race set up a green-white-checkered finish.

Quiroga chose the inside lane for the final restart, leaving Busch on the inside lane. By the time the two Toyotas exited Turn 2, KBM’s owner-driver had cleared Quiroga and began to distance himself from the field. Shortly after taking the white flag, Quiroga made contact with his teammate, Timothy Peters, and slammed into the outside wall. The incident brought out the caution and ended the race.

Crafton’s two closest pursuers in the series standings, Ryan Blaney and Darrell Wallace Jr., both had issues on Friday night, but Wallace got by far the worse of the exchange, as both his engine and his championship hopes expired in the same instant.

As Wallace was chasing Busch, his car owner, from the second position on Lap 106, his engine erupted in a plume of smoke and dropped a stream of oil on the race track. Wallace took his No. 54 Toyota to the garage and finished 26th, falling 42 points behind Crafton with two races left in the season.

“I feel really, really bad for Bubba Wallace,” Busch said. “He was doing everything right tonight. He was really, really fast. Jerry (Baxter, crew chief) and those guys did a great job getting that thing fast like our Toyota Care Tundra was. It’s a shame to see the motor let go.”

Blaney was forced to change batteries under caution on Lap 77 and fell to 16th for a restart on Lap 82 but rallied to finish ninth and minimized the damage to his position in the standings. Blaney remained second, 23 points behind Crafton.

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NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race – WinStar World Casino and Resort 350

Texas Motor Speedway

Fort Worth, Texas

Friday, October 31, 2014

1. (2) Kyle Busch(i), Toyota, 152, $52245.

2. (6) Jeb Burton, Toyota, 152, $37570.

3. (7) Timothy Peters, Toyota, 152, $29926.

4. (1) Tyler Reddick #, Ford, 152, $23535.

5. (3) Matt Crafton, Toyota, 152, $15745.

6. (13) Joey Coulter, Chevrolet, 152, $13230.

7. (18) Max Gresham, Chevrolet, 152, $12750.

8. (14) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, 152, $12265.

9. (9) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 152, $12170.

10. (5) Cameron Hayley, Chevrolet, 152, $13320.

11. (11) Brennan Newberry, Chevrolet, 152, $11950.

12. (16) Ron Hornaday Jr., Chevrolet, 152, $11755.

13. (20) Mason Mingus #, Chevrolet, 152, $9405.

14. (22) Tyler Young #, Chevrolet, 152, $11560.

15. (4) Ben Kennedy #, Chevrolet, 152, $12060.

16. (12) Johnny Sauter, Toyota, 152, $11340.

17. (15) German Quiroga, Toyota, 152, $11445.

18. (23) Ray Black Jr., Chevrolet, 151, $11150.

19. (10) Bryan Silas, Chevrolet, 151, $11050.

20. (17) John Wes Townley, Toyota, 151, $11580.

21. (19) Tayler Malsam, Chevrolet, 151, $9610.

22. (26) Ryan Lynch, Chevrolet, 149, $9510.

23. (25) Justin Jennings, Chevrolet, 130, $8410.

24. (27) Jennifer Jo Cobb, Chevrolet, Rear Gear, 123, $8315.

25. (24) TJ Bell, Chevrolet, Electrical, 110, $8370.

26. (8) Darrell Wallace Jr., Toyota, Engine, 106, $8125.

27. (28) Mike Harmon(i), Chevrolet, Vibration, 25, $8030.

28. (31) Norm Benning, Chevrolet, Accident, 19, $7935.

29. (32) Adam Edwards, Chevrolet, Rear Gear, 5, $7825.

30. (30) Caleb Roark, Chevrolet, Electrical, 5, $8225.

31. (21) Ryan Ellis(i), Toyota, Vibration, 4, $7650.

32. (29) Blake Koch(i), Chevrolet, Rear Axle, 3, $7625.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 118.87 mph.

Time of Race: 01 Hrs, 55 Mins, 05 Secs. Margin of Victory: Caution.

Caution Flags: 7 for 32 laps.

Lead Changes: 11 among 5 drivers.

Lap Leaders: T. Reddick # 1-3; D. Wallace Jr. 4-13; K. Busch(i) 14-23; M. Crafton 24-26; K. Busch(i) 27-38; D. Wallace Jr. 39-56; K. Busch(i) 57-71; M. Crafton 72-74; D. Wallace Jr. 75-97; K. Busch(i) 98-138; G. Quiroga 139-150; K. Busch(i) 151-152.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): K. Busch(i) 5 times for 80 laps; D. Wallace Jr. 3 times for 51 laps; G. Quiroga 1 time for 12 laps; M. Crafton 2 times for 6 laps; T. Reddick # 1 time for 3 laps.

Top 10 in Points: M. Crafton – 756; R. Blaney – 733; D. Wallace Jr. – 713; J. Sauter – 704; T. Peters – 680; J. Coulter – 645; G. Quiroga – 636; J. Burton – 629; B. Kennedy # – 619; R. Hornaday Jr. – 526.

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