Kyle Busch clinches Chase Spot with Win

Written by Steven B. Wilson, Speedway Digest

Kyle Busch spent the first 300 miles of the Advocare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway complaining about his race car.  First, it was “plowing”.  Then it was “way too loose.”

By the end of the 500 miles, though, Busch was the man out front as he held off a fast-closing Joey Logano to win his fourth race of the season and clinch a spot in this year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup.

The complexion of the race changed with 37 laps to go when… (continued)

Sunday weather summary – Afternoon showers dampened the track but did not dampening spirits at Atlanta. A heavier shower moved over the area around 5:20 PM and ended around 6:05 PM.

Kevin Harvick holds off Kyle Busch for thrilling Atlanta win

Written by NASCAR Wire Service

Perhaps it was appropriate, on the first weekend of college football this year, that solid team fundamentals and deft blocking should play such an integral part in Kevin Harvick’s NASCAR Nationwide Series victory over Kyle Busch.

In a battle of Sprint Cup regulars, Harvick edged Busch for the in Saturday night’s Great Clips/Grit Chips 300 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, after the drivers waged… (continued)

Saturday weather summary –– Afternoon showers and t-storms moved over and around the Atlanta Motor Speedway this afternoon, interrupting this afternoon Sprint Cup practice session. Nationwide qualifying went off without a hitch with Kyle Busch winning the Coors Light Pole.

Friday – The skies were partly cloudy but hazy through the day at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The Nationwide Series had their practice sessions while the Sprint Cup Series has both their practice and qualifying sessions. High temperatures reach 90°F while winds were light & variable through the day.

Sprint Cup qualifying was a bit of a paradox compared to the speeds seen in the day’s practice session. While Brad Keslowski led the pack in practice, he only qualified 23rd. Meanwhile, rookie of the year leader Ricky Stenhouse Jr left his rookie stripe behind as he won his first career Coors Light Pole. Did I mentioned that Stenhouse Jr’s practice speed was 23rd? Carl Edwards will be starting on the outside pole, while Montoya, Hamlin and Gordon round out the top five. Starting up front does tend to be promising – 60 of the 105 (57.1%) winners at Atlanta have started in the Top 5. (Jayski.com/NASCAR)

Sunday – As forecast, the weather was cooperative. That allowed the Camping World Series to venture outside the United States for the first time. The fans at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park got their money’s worth. Chase Elliott took his first win in the Camping World Truck Series after sending a low-on-fuel Ty Dillon spinning on the final lap. The ensuing chaos on the track made for a dramatic finish for the series’ inaugural trip to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, with several teams — including those of James Buescher, Max Papis and Dillon — exchanging harsh words with fellow competitors. A caution came out with six laps to go as Johnny Sauter slowed to a halt on the Andretti straightaway. The caution laps helped ease concerns that Dillon would run out of fuel in the final laps, but the tank was never put to the test as Dillon hit the wall and finished 17th.

Papis, his RCR teammate, got into a last-lap battle with Mike Skeen as the two raced for a podium finish before contact between the two dropped them to sixth and 13th respectively.

“It was just an amateur move,” Papis said. “I don’t have time for guys like that.” As Papis walked away from a post-race interview with FOX Sports 1, a woman identifying herself as “Mike Skeen’s girlfriend” slapped Papis, reminiscent of Papis’ slap of Billy Johnson after Papis and the Roush Fenway Racing driver got into it on the track and then on pit road after June’s Road America race.

Besides Sauter’s late-race yellow, there were only three other caution flags thrown during the 64-lap race, two others for slowed trucks as Max Gresham and Alex Guenette lost speed on the track and one as Jennifer Jo Cobb’s No. 10 took a trip through the grass.

(Source: NASCAR.com)

Saturday – Practice at the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park this morning was followed up by the afternoon qualifying session. James Buescher won the pole for Sunday’s Chevy Silverado 250. Ryan Blaney in the #29 will start second, followed by Mike Skeen, Chase Elliott, and Miguel Paludo.

Friday – In a season of firsts for the Camping World Truck Series, this is a weekend of firsts.  This is the first race the Truck Series has had outside the United States.  This is the series’ first road course action since 2001 – not quite a first but you get the idea.  While we’re talking about firsts, Mike Skeen ran the fastest practice laps today – this is his first Camping World Truck Series race.  Other series regulars’ ran towards the front with German Quiroga being second quick, followed by Ryan Blaney, Miguel Paludo, and Ty Dillon.

There are two more hours of practice tomorrow.  The 9 AM session could have a risk of showers, but afternoon qualifying (5:05 PM ET) should go off without a hitch.

(NASCAR/Getty Images)