{"id":9174,"date":"2017-05-20T23:41:38","date_gmt":"2017-05-21T04:41:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=9174"},"modified":"2017-05-20T23:41:38","modified_gmt":"2017-05-21T04:41:38","slug":"kyle-busch-wins-monster-energy-all-star-race-at-charlotte-motor-speedway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2017\/05\/20\/kyle-busch-wins-monster-energy-all-star-race-at-charlotte-motor-speedway\/","title":{"rendered":"Kyle Busch wins Monster Energy All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Reid Spencer<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

NASCAR Wire Service<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

CONCORD, N.C. \u2013 Kyle Busch<\/strong> took control of Saturday night\u2019s Monster Energy All-Star Race on the final restart with 10 laps left and motored away to a 1.274-second victory\u2014his first in a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series<\/a> car at Charlotte Motor Speedway<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M’s Caramel Toyota, takes the checkered flag to win the Monster Energy NASCAR All Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 20, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Sarah Crabill\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Busch powered his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to the inside of Brad Keselowski\u2019s No. 2 Team Penske Ford\u2014the race leader on old tires\u2014as the field roared toward Turn 1 on the final restart. Through the first two corners he cleared both Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson, who had restarted second on the outside to gain the race lead in clean air.<\/p>\n

Though Johnson pursued with an intensity befitting the $1 million first prize, he was unable to catch Busch. Kyle Larson, winner of the first two 20-lap stages of the 70-lap non-points event, passed Johnson for second-place on the final lap.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve never won at Charlotte in a Cup car and we finally achieved that goal tonight,\u201d an elated Busch said in Victory Lane. \u201cI won the All-Star Race. I won a million bucks. There\u2019s reason to celebrate and reason to celebrate big.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M’s Caramel Toyota, does a burnout to celebrate after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR All Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 20, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Sarah Crabill\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t say enough about this team. I can\u2019t say enough about (crew chief) Adam Stevens and these guys on the pit box. You can rely on them all day long. I had to do that tonight. We weren\u2019t quite the fastest car, but we made the right changes when it mattered most. We made the right moves when it mattered most. We got the most out of our night tonight and got here to Victory Lane. Just so relieved, elated, proud and excited\u2014all at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the first NASCAR race contested with both prime and faster short-run option tires, Johnson\u2019s best hope on the final restart was that Keselowski would impede the progress of the inside lane, but Busch made sure that didn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n

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Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M’s Caramel Toyota, celebrates with the trophyduring the Monster Energy NASCAR All Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 20, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jerry Markland\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI was really hopeful of old tires and being on the bottom,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cThey\u2019d be able to hold that lane back, especially Kyle (Busch) and how good he is on restarts. And it just didn\u2019t happen. He got in there. I had a decent start. The 11 (Denny Hamlin) spun his tires behind me, and he wasn\u2019t able to push me and get me going.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a couple of shots at him (Busch). He wasn\u2019t handling too well at the start of the run, but I just drove too hard. I could see a million dollars out the windshield, and I just drove this Lowe\u2019s Chevy way too hard in the corner a couple of times and gave up some ground. We learned a little bit tonight and we\u2019ll come back next week (for the Coca-Cola 600) and have some more fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the highest average finish in the first three 20-lap stages, Larson was first onto pit road during the final break. But a small glitch during the stop cost him three positions in the pits, and with Keselowski staying out because he had no fresh tires available, Larson restarted fifth with little chance to get to the front in the final 10-lap stage.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M’s Caramel Toyota, celebrates with the trophyduring the Monster Energy NASCAR All Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 20, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jerry Markland\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cMy pit crew has been awesome all year, and I don\u2019t want to take anything away from them,\u201d Larson said. \u201cWe came down pit road the leader, and three people passed us. That was pretty much the difference there. But in 10 laps\u2026 track position is huge.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just didn\u2019t have it there at the end. We had the best car out there, for sure. In traffic I thought it was really good. I thought we had it most of the race, but that\u2019s how racing goes. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn\u2019t. But I think we had a really fast car today. We\u2019ll go onto the 600\u2014that\u2019s a long race\u2014and try it again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of the most dramatic racing of the evening took place in the Monster Open, the 50-lap, three-stage qualifying race that preceded the main event. Clint Bowyer and Ryan Blaney won the first two stages and advanced to the All-Star Race.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Chase Elliott, driver of the #24 Mountain Dew Chevrolet, Daniel Suarez, driver of the #19 ARRIS Toyota, Ryan Blaney, driver of the #21 Motorcraft\/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford, and Clint Bowyer, driver of the #14 Haas Automation Ford, pose with their trophies after qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 20, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jerry Markland\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Early in the final 10-lap stage, Chase Elliott, Daniel Suarez and Erik Jones were battling for the lead as they entered the tri-oval. Moving to the inside in an attempt to get past Elliott, Jones clipped the infield grass and ruined his chances when the splitter dug in.<\/p>\n

Suarez went on to win the stage and made the main event. Elliott was the final addition to the Monster Energy All-Star race field via the Fan Vote.<\/p>\n

Notes:<\/strong> The race ran caution-free, except for the breaks between stages\u2026 None of the 10 drivers who qualified for the final 10-lap stage used the softer options tires in that segment\u2014they had used them earlier to establish track position. \u2026 Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick and Jamie McMurray ran fourth, fifth and sixth, with Elliott, Joey Logano, Keselowski and Hamlin completing the top 10.<\/p>\n

Media Center Interviews:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kyle Busch – <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/CMS_MENCS_KYLEBUSCH_052017.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Jimmie Johnson – <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/CMS_MENCS_JOHNSON_052017.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Kyle Larson – <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/CMS_MENCS_LARSON_052017.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

For race results, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service CONCORD, N.C. \u2013 Kyle Busch took control of Saturday night\u2019s Monster Energy All-Star Race on the final restart with 10 laps left and motored away to a 1.274-second victory\u2014his first in a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series car at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Busch powered his No. 18 Joe Gibbs […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9168,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[233,59,16],"class_list":["post-9174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-charlotte-motor-speedway","tag-kyle-busch","tag-nascar"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/686125274-e1495337959428.jpg?fit=625%2C426&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-2nY","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9174"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9174\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9181,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9174\/revisions\/9181"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}