MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
ISM Connect 300
New Hampshire Motor Speedway – Loudon, N.H.
Sunday, September 24, 2017
Race Winner: Kyle Busch
Age: 32
Team: No. 18 –M&M’s Caramel Toyota
Owner: Joe Gibbs Racing
Crew Chief: Adam Stevens
IN THE WORDS OF THE WINNER – “It was just a great day for our team and for the 18 team. We were able to execute all day long and we did everything right. We did everything we were supposed to do and that’s where you end up when we’re able to do those things and it was a great race up front too with the 78 (Martin Truex Jr.) there. The 20 (Joey Logano) was there for a little. I think he was a little better on that long run that one time, but overall we had some really good short run speed there at the end. We were able to get out front there and kind of set the field because – set the pace – and that was what we needed to do today.”
· Kyle Busch
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· Kyle Busch won the 21st annual ISM Connect 300 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway Sunday afternoon. It was the second of three races in the Round of 16 of the MENCS playoffs. It is Busch’s 41st win in 454 career MENCS races and his third victory in 28 races this year.
· Busch led 187 of 300 laps today.
· With the win, Busch automatically advances to the Round of 12 in the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
· In addition, Kyle Larson and Brad Keselowski also locked up spots in the Round of 12 today based on points.
· It is Busch’s third win in 26 starts at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
· Overall, today’s finish marked Busch’s 17th top-10 and 11th top-5 in 28 races of 2017.
· This marked the 13th straight playoff race that was won by a driver who was still alive in the playoffs. The streak dates back to the 2015 Ford EcoBoost 400 on November 22 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, which was won by Kyle Busch.
· Each of the top five finishers today were playoff drivers.
· Kyle Larson (2nd) posted his 17th top-10 finish in 28 MENCS races this year and his 13th in the top-5. It was the eighth time this year he finished second.
· Matt Kenseth (3rd) posted his 14th top-10 finish in 28 races this year. It was also his eighth top-5 showing.
· Erik Jones (6th) was the highest finishing rookie as well as the highest finishing non-playoff driver.
· For 2017, NASCAR has introduced a new stage format in all three national series where each race is segmented into three stages. In addition to the points awarded at the end of a race (Final Stage), points are also awarded to the top-10 finishers of the first two stages (Stage 1 & Stage 2).
· Martin Truex Jr. won Stage 1 of Sunday’s race, while Kyle Busch captured Stage 2. It was Truex’s 19th stage win of the year while it was Busch’s 13th. They rank 1-2 in stage wins in MENCS this year.
· The following are the playoff standings following the second of three races of the Round of 16. The top 12 drivers following the three races will advance to the Round of 12.
Name Pts. Name Pts.
1. Martin Truex Jr.* 2149 9. Chase Elliott 2070
2. Kyle Larson@ 2125 10. Kevin Harvick 2069
3. Kyle Busch* 2119 11. Jamie McMurray 2053
4. Brad Keselowski@ 2106 12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 2044
5. Denny Hamlin 2088 13. Austin Dillon 2044
6. Matt Kenseth 2087 14. Ryan Newman 2043
7. Jimmie Johnson 2076 15. Kurt Busch 2027
8. Ryan Blaney 2070 16. Kasey Kahne 2023
*Advances to Round of 12 with win @Advances to Round of 12 based on points
· In 12 career MENCS starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Kyle Busch has recorded one win among five top-10 finishes and two top-5 showings. He won the 2015 Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway when he was part of the Championship 4, taking home the first Cup championship of his career.
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES
· Tyler Reddick won the 6th annual VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) race at Kentucky Speedway Saturday night. It is his first victory in 15 career XFINITY Series starts. It was his fourth top-10 finish and second top-5 in 15 races this year.
· The race marked the first of the 2017 XFINITY Series playoffs.
· Brennan Poole (2nd) was the highest finisher among the 12 XFINITY playoff drivers. It was Poole’s 13th top-10 finish and second top-5 in 27 races this year.
· Justin Allgaier (3rd) – also among the 12 playoff drivers - accounted for his 14th top-10 finish and eighth top-5 showing in 27 races this year.
· Cole Custer (5th) – also in the NXS playoffs - was the highest finishing rookie.
· The following are the standings following the first of three races in the Round of 12 of the 2017 NXS playoffs. The Playoffs culminate with the Ford EcoBoost 300 XFINITY Series championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, November 18.
Name Pts. Name Pts.
1. Justin Allgaier 2057 7. Matt Tifft# 2036
2. Cole Custer# 2057 8. Ryan Reed 2034
3. Elliott Sadler 2055 9. Brendan Gaughan 2026
4. Daniel Hemric# 2052 10. Blake Koch 2025
5. William Byron# 2051 11. Michael Annett 2022
6. Brennan Poole 2047 12. Jeremy Clements 2020
#Denotes rookie
NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES
· Christopher Bell won the 20th running of the UNOH 175 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) race Saturday afternoon at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The race was the first of the 2017 Camping World Truck Series playoffs. It marked Bell’s seventh victory in 47 career NCWTS starts and his fifth win in 17 races this year.
· With the victory, Bell – one of eight drivers in the playoffs – automatically advances to the Round of 6 in the playoffs.
· Ryan Truex (2nd) accounted for his 11th top-10 finish and seventh top-5 showing in 17 NCWTS races this year.
· Todd Gilliland (3rd) posted his first top-10 finish in four NCWTS races this year.
· Grant Enfinger (4th) was the highest finishing rookie.
· The following are the playoff standings following the first of three races in the Round of 8 in the NCWTS playoffs. The Playoffs culminate with the Ford EcoBoost 200 Camping World Truck Series championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Friday, November 17.
Name Pts. Name Pts.
1. Christopher Bell * 2100 5. Austin Cindric# 2043
2. Johnny Sauter 2060 6. Kaz Grala# 2038
3. Matt Crafton 2059 7. Chase Briscoe# 2035
4. Ben Rhodes 2050 8. John Hunter Nemechek 2031
*Advances to Round of 6 with victory #Denotes rookie
