Ty Dillon grabs first career truck win in Atlanta
Amanda Vincent, NASCAR Correspondent
Photo by: Getty Images
As Kyle Busch scraped the wall multiple times with his No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota in the closing laps of the Jeff Foxworthy's Grit Chips 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Friday night, Ty Dillon drove away in the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet to claim his first-career Truck Series win in his 17th start.
"My guys are awesome," an excited Dillon said in victory lane, going on to say that it had been his lifelong dream to win in NASCAR.
Busch finished second after leading a race-high 75 laps. James Buescher, already a three-time winner in 2012, finished third in the No. 31 Turner Motorsports Chevrolet.
Dillon started on the pole put lost the lead to Busch on the opening lap. By lap 15, though, he was back up front. Dillon lost that lead, and also second, when the No. 7 Red Horse Racing Toyota of Parker Kligerman and Busch both got by him to claim the first two spots on a restart following the first caution of the race that came out for debris on lap 31.
Buescher moved up to the runner-up spot following a caution that came out on lap 38, and he and Busch exchanged the lead several times until Buescher fell back and lost second to Dillon on lap 57 of the 130-lap race.
Dillon took the top spot from Busch a lap later, but by lap 71, Busch was back up front. The No. 18 truck remained up front until a cycle of green-flag pit stops got underway on lap 79. He cycled back to the lead and was ahead by a margin of nearly four-and-a-half seconds when the third and final caution of the race came out with 26 laps to go.
"If that caution wouldn't have come out, we wouldn't have made it on fuel, again," Dillon said.
Dillon beat Busch off pit road to restart in the first spot, but Busch got out in front on the restart to reassume the lead.
"Just got beat.
Busch continued to run up front until Dillon got by him for the lead with six laps to go. After retaking the top spot, Dillon pulled away as Busch struggled to keep up.
"Just got beat," a seemingly dejected Busch said after the race. "We just got beat on setup tonight."
Kligerman finished fourth, and Aric Almirola rounded out the top-five in his first race behind the wheel of the No. 5 Wauters Motorsports Toyota, replacing Paulie Harraka.
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