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Todd Bodine crosses the finish
line on his way to winning the Built Ford Tough 225 at Kentucky Speedway. |
Bodine staged a dramatic rally, as he recovered from a spin to win the Built Ford Tough 225 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Kentucky Speedway.
On Lap 82 of the 150-lap race, Bodine and Kyle Busch were battling for the race lead, when Bodine spun out at the exit of Turn 4, flat-spotting the tires on his No. 30 Germain.com Toyota.
That forced Bodine to pit for fuel and fresh rubber, which at the time seemed like it would doom him to a poor finish. But he was able to stay on track for the rest of the race, while Busch and the other leaders had to pit in the closing laps.
And when they did, Bodine inherited the lead for good, cruising to an easy victory over Johnny Sauter, followed by Aric Almirola, Jason White and Ricky Carmichael. With 18 of 25 races in the books, Bodine now leads Almirola by 261 points.
"The first person I've got to thank is Kyle Busch, for driving dirty, sucking me down and getting me spun out," said Bodine, who won his fourth race of the season. "That gave me the gas. That's why we won the race. We had a great truck, don't get me wrong. ... Lo and behold, we got sucked around, got some fuel. Here we are in victory lane."
Busch, who finished seventh after leading 73 laps, angrily confronted Bodine in victory lane after the race, unhappy with Bodine's comments.
It was an interesting finish to an exciting race.
Austin Dillon started from the pole in the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, with second-qualifier Johnny Sauter taking the lead on the opening lap.
Busch qualified fourth, but had to begin the race at the back of the field because an off-course excursion on his qualifying lap damaged the splitter of his truck. From his 36th starting spot, he was up to 19th by Lap 5.
Jeffrey Earnhardt spun in between Turns 3 and 4 on Lap 20, bringing out the first caution of the race and sending the leaders down pit road under yellow. Hornaday took fuel only and came out first, ahead of points leader Todd Bodine and Dillon.
Hornaday had one of his patented great restarts, jumping into the lead when the green came out on Lap 27. Busch, meanwhile, was up to sixth already and still moving forward, climbing to third by Lap 34.
Bodine went into the lead for the first time on Lap 44, with Busch about 2.42 seconds back in third.
Then James Buescher hit the Turn 4 wall in his Wolf Pack Rentals Chevy, causing the second caution of the race on Lap 47. This time, the leaders all took fresh rubber during their pit stops. Stacy Compton eschewed new tires and picked up 13 spots under yellow to lead over Dillon.
Compton got a terrible restart and Hornaday went into the lead, with Busch into second. Then, on Lap 54, Busch assumed the top spot for the first time, pulling Bodine with him into second past Hornaday.
On Lap 77, two laps past the midpoint of the race, caution No. 3 flew for debris. This time on pit road, most of the leaders took gas only, Busch maintaining the top spot.
The race restarted on Lap 81, Bodine spinning wickedly at the exit of Turn 4, as he raced Busch for the lead. Fortuitously, Bodine avoided contact, the whole field passing him as he slid into the infield frontstretch.
Bodine was 25th when the race restarted on Lap 87, Busch easily moving into the lead over Hornaday and Dillon.
Paddy Rodenback made contact with Compton and crashed in Turn 2 on Lap 91, sending the caution waving again. But none of the leaders pitted then, figuring there would be additional cautions. Turns out they were wrong, which cost Busch what seemed like a sure victory.
Todd Bodine won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Built Ford Tough 225 at Kentucky Speedway. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
The track then stayed green for the remainder of the race, meaning the drivers who didn't pit when Bodine did would have to make one more stop.
Busch pitted on Lap 127 for gas and right-side tires, rejoining the race in 18th place. And although he worked his way back to the top 10, his chances of winning were done.
Dillon pitted from the lead with 13 laps to go, and that put Bodine out front, a position he would hold for the rest of the race.