Kyle Busch spent the closing laps of Sunday’s Apache Warrior 400 in relentless pursuit of leader Chase Elliott and finally swept past him on the outside as they took the white flag at Dover International Speedway, winning his second straight race of the post-season and charging into the next round. Elliott was strong throughout the final stage, leading all but 23 laps, including a stretch of 59 that carried him to the threshold of what would have been his first Cup Series win. But Busch’s late rally erased a four-second deficit and carried the #18 Joe Gibbs Racing team into the second round of the playoffs that opens next weekend in Concord, North Carolina. His margin of victory was .35 of a second over Elliott.
11-time Dover winner Jimmie Johnson fell two spots short of becoming a 12-time Dover winner. Pole sitter Martin Truex, Jr. grabbed 4th place. Kyle Larson won Stage-2, led three times for 137 laps and finished 5th
Sunday was a post-season elimination race with 4 of the original 16 title contenders trimmed from the field: Ryan Newman, Austin Dillon, Kasey Kahne and Kurt Busch. Newman was the highest-seeded driver in that group at #11. He missed advancing by a mere two points despite a respectable 13th-place finish in Sunday’s race. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. held on to get the last spot in the 2nd round after finishing only 19th, six positions behind Newman. It was an early birthday present for the Roush Fenway Racing driver, who turns 30 on Monday (10/02).
[button style=”btn-primary btn-lg” icon=”fa fa-flag-checkered” align=”left” type=”link” target=”true” title=”mrn.com Race Center” link=”http://www.mrn.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/News/Articles/2017/10/Kyle-Busch-Wins-Apache-Warrior-400-at-Dover-International-Speedway.aspx”]
– story by John Singler
www.mrn.com
Concord, North Carolina
1. Martin Truex, Jr.
2. Kyle Busch (-18)
3. Kyle Larson (-25)
4. Brad Keselowski (-39)
5. Jimmie Johnson (-42)
For the complete driver standings in the Playoffs, please visit the official page on nascar.com.
Drivers eliminated after Round 1: Ryan Newman, Austin Dillon, Kasey Kahne and Kurt Busch
