Kyle Busch found himself in a familiar spot in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series on Friday, taking the checkered flag for the 69th time in his career.
He now has five Truck Series wins at Dover, beating Ty Majeski and Layne Riggs in the end. Kaden Honeycutt finished fourth, Christopher Bell fifth, Brandon Jones sixth, Christian Eckes seventh, Corey LaJoie eighth, Jake Garcia, and Justin Haley tenth.
Asked about why this win is important, Busch told NASCAR on FOX: “Because you never know when the last one is. I know that all too well, unfortunately, with the Cup stuff, but the Truck stuff right now is awesome, just to be part of Spire Motorsports … love coming to Dover, always one of my favorite places to race. Definitely some managing of the fuel and the tires (at the end). It was an interesting strategic battle.”
*Note from the writer: Nick DeGroot here, and I just want to share a few words from an unfortunate future, a week after this race. I found myself returning to this standard, unremarkable race report of the Dover Truck race, just wanting to read through it again. The 2026 Coca-Cola 600 has now passed, and it was a weekend full of heartbreak and sorrow as we reflected on the unimaginable. And I guess I just wanted to do something I’ve never done before and break down the barrier between reader and writer, just this once, for a truly human moment in order share some thoughts outside of the written content you’ve clicked to read.
You see, I’ve written reports like this countless times in my 12+ years with Motorsport.com and there’s nothing special about them, and it’s all rather procedural, but this one … I just kept reading the words, and can’t seem to believe that I won’t ever get to write ‘Kyle Busch wins’ again. I didn’t think much about writing this at the time, as it was not exactly breaking news to announce another KB win. But now, I’d give anything to pen a simple report just like again, as this entire situation continues to feel so unreal, like we’ve descended into some grim episode of the Twilight Zone. It’s even more heartbreaking when you listen to that winner’s interview … “you never know when the last one is.” I imagine those eerily prophetic words will become as well-remembered as Dale Earnhardt’s “you’re probably gonna see something you ain’t ever seen on FOX” that fateful Daytona day in 2001. NASCAR has lost another giant.
And for me, I struggle to understand a world without Kyle Busch. I’ve written dozens of stories about the man, like this race report here, interviewed him, even iRaced with him over the years. Whether you’re a driver, fan, team member, or a writer like me, I imagine the feeling is similar. But, I’m just glad I got to witness the greatness that was Rowdy Busch with my own eyes, and I am just so saddened that he will never get to enjoy the legacy he was leaving, nor the incredible children he and Samantha were raising together, or see all the nice things we had to say about him — even if he could be a bit difficult to talk to, from time to time! He was an incredible personality, and NASCAR has lost something indescribable in losing him. So, if you are like me and returned this dull and rather ordinary report for whatever reason, weeks, months, or years after Busch’s passing, I hope these words brought you some small comfort. Enjoy reading the rest about how he whooped the Truck field one final time and took one last bow before the curtain fell on the Kyle Busch Show. As always, thanks for visiting Motorsport.com … and rest easy, Rowdy.
Kyle Busch tribute at Charlotte Motor Speedway
Photo by: David Jensen / Getty Images
Stage 1
Busch controlled the race from the start, as Honeycutt moved up into second, hoping to go back-to-back after his first career win at Watkins Glen.
Daniel Hemric went behind the wall early with a fuel pump issue, later returning to the race over 20 laps down. The first incident was for Dystany Spurlock, who crashed down the backstretch, ending her Truck Series debut.
This set up a one-lap dash to end the stage, with only two trucks staying out — Butcher and Queen. Off pit road, both Honeycutt and Rhodes got hit with speeding penalties, sending them to the back of the field.
The restart was chaotic with lots of pushing and shoving as the field scrambled for whatever stage points they could get.
Busch quickly got back to the lead, winning Stage 1 over Majeski, Butcher, Chastain, Hocevar, Ruggiero, Garcia, Bell, Riggs, and Enfinger. Unlike Butcher, the gamble did not pay off for Queen, who fell back to 12th after a run-in with Riggs.
Stage 2
Busch led the way at the start of the second stage with Chastain moving up to second, and though he tried, he couldn’t take the lead from Busch.
Perez had to pit with a flat tire under green, and got into the outside wall. Elsewhere in the pack, Natalie Decker was black-flagged for not meeting minimum speed.
Butcher also got into the wall and sustained damage, but managed to make it into the pits under green.
Making his first NASCAR Truck start in several years, Clint Bowyer got into it with Luke Baldwin, and the two drivers traded some paint in the closing laps of the stage. They also had a close call in the first stage of the race.
Busch won Stage 2 over a rapidly closing Chastain, then Majeski, Ruggiero, Bell, Hocevar, Riggs, Jones, Honeycutt, and Jones.
Stage 3
Chastain and Majeski jumped ahead of Busch on pit road as the field got ready for the final 100 laps of racing. Chastain held the lead over Busch on the restart, while Riggs moved up to third.
Also on the restart, there was contact between Hocevar and Bowyer, but Bowyer managed to hang onto it. Soon after, Smith and Hocevar made contact in a heated battle, continuing an eventful day for the driver of the No. 77 Chevrolet. He had to pit with a flat tire soon after.
The next caution came right as the pit window opened, with Baldwin slamming the wall. He got loose under Queen and then spun into the inside wall at the exit of Turn 4.
Chastain stayed out while most of the field pitted, taking their final set of tires. Only his teammate Parker Eatmon stayed out with him.
Impressively, Chastain held the lead, and the next yellow flew for Mini Tyrrell spinning into the frontstretch wall. He was battling side-by-side with his teammate, Bowyer, as they both tried to pass Eatmon.
During the caution, Ruggiero pitted to repair damage from the previous restart, as he made contact with Eatmon.
Bowyer got a tire rub on the restart after contact from C. Smith, but carried on.
Busch finally took the lead from Chastain with 57 laps to go. Elsewhere in the field, Hocevar had to make another unscheduled pit stop with 40 laps to go.
Chastain finally pitted with just over 20 laps to go as Niece Motorsports’ high-risk strategy did not pay off, putting him multiple laps down. He only managed to get back to 18th by the time the checkered flag flew.
Bowyer’s NASCAR return ended with around 15 laps to go, as he came down pit road and shut the truck off with a loose wheel.
At the very end, some trucks began to run out, including William Sawalich and Ben Rhodes. However, the leaders made it to the end without issue, and Busch had plenty of fuel to do some post-race burnouts.
Watch: Busch in feel-good spirits after dominant Dover dub
Dover NASCAR Truck Results
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