From The Trussville Tribune staff reports
NASCAR’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS), NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) and the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series took on Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky, while the ARCA Menards Series was at Elko Speedway in Elko New Market, Minnesota, this past weekend. Below is a recap of the events.
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
- It was a two-lap dash to the finish in overtime between brothers Kurt and Kyle Busch, going toe-to-toe to the checkered, but it was elder brother Kurt who came out victorious on Saturday night in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) event at Kentucky. The win marked Kurt’s first of the season and first at the 1.5-mile track, in addition to Chevrolet scoring its first triumph at the venue.
- The margin of victory between Kurt and runner-up Kyle, after the two exchanged paint coming out of Turn 4, was .076 seconds.
- Erik Jones placed third, followed by Kurt’s teammate Kyle Larson in fourth and Denny Hamlin in fifth.
- Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano, Daniel Suarez, Ryan Newman and Chris Buescher completed the top 10.
- The Busch brothers, along with Hamlin, Logano, Alex Bowman, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr. and Chase Elliott have clinched spots in the MENCS Playoffs with wins this season.
- Talladega Superspeedway’s second MENCS race of 2019 is set for Sunday, Oct. 13, with the running of the 1000Bulbs.com 500, and will be the second race in the Round of 12 of the playoffs.
NASCAR Xfinity Series
- Cole Custer soared to his fifth NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) win of the season on Friday night at Kentucky. He led a race-high 88 laps of the 200-lap event enroute to his first victory at the 1.5-mile venue.
- Custer crossed the line 1.651 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Christopher Bell, who led 72 laps and won the first two stages.
- Tyler Reddick went home third, with Michael Annett fourth and Chase Briscoe fifth.
- With wins this season, Custer, Bell, Reddick and Annett have secured spots in the NXS Playoffs.
NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series
- At 18-years-old, Tyler Ankrum earned his first career victory in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series on Thursday night at Kentucky. Ankrum, who led a race-high 40 laps of the 150-lap event, took the lead on the next-to-last lap when leader Brett Moffitt ran out of fuel.
- The margin of victory was 7.373 seconds ahead of runner-up Stewart Friesen.
- Harrison Burton, Ross Chastain and Dylan Lupton rounded out the top five. Moffitt wound up seventh.
- Fairhope, AL’s Grant Enfinger (pole winner) was a front-runner early in the race, but a late incident in Stage 2 with Brandon Jones eliminated both drivers from the event. Enfinger wound up 24th but remains in the point standings lead (winless this season) by 34 points over Friesen. With wins this season, Ankrum, Moffitt, Chastain, Austin Hill and Johnny Sauter are locked in the Gander Trucks season-ending playoffs.
- The Gander Truck Series visits Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday, Oct. 12, with the running of the Sugarlands Shine 250, the first race in the Round of 6 of NASCAR’s Playoffs for the series.
ARCA Menards Series
- Chandler Smith recovered from a spin mid-race and grabbed his third series win of the season on Saturday night at Elko Speedway. He led a dominant 95 of 250 laps.
- Ty Gibbs placed second, 4.147 seconds behind, followed by Sam Mayer, Michael Self and Corey Heim.
- Hailie Deegan finished eighth, with Bret Holmes (Munford, AL) in ninth, sitting second in the point standings (-65).
