Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M’S Toyota Camry Race Recap for the Season Finale 500k

Champion: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Race Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 2 Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)

 

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-75):

● Kyle Busch started eighth and finished sixth, earning four bonus points.

● The M&M’S driver started eighth and moved up to seventh by the time the competition yellow waved on lap 30.

● Busch came to pit road on lap 33 for four tires, fuel, and adjustments, as the M&M’S over-the-wall crew got him back out in the fifth position for the ensuing restart.

● The two-time Cup Series Champion lost one spot over the course of the rest of Stage 1 as he crossed the line sixth to end the stage.

 

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 76-190):

● Busch started eighth and finished ninth, earning two bonus points.

● The M&M’S driver started Stage 2 in eighth, but moved up to fourth by lap 99.

● However just a few laps later, Busch caught the outside SAFER barrier and created a tired rub on his No. 18 Toyota, as he dropped down the running order.

● Busch was forced to pit on lap 115 as he reported to crew chief Adam Stevens that he had a front tires flat, as he pitted for four tires and came back off sequence with the leaders.

● The M&M’S driver was able to get back on the lead lap and was just ahead of leader Chase Elliott when the caution waved on lap 159.

● Busch came to pit road on lap 161 to take on four tires, fuel, and a shock adjustment, as he restarted 20th on lap 166.

● Busch was able to get a good restart, moving up to 14th by lap 168, as he moved up to ninth by the end of Stage 2.

 

Final Stage Recap (Laps 191-312):

● Busch started ninth and finished 11th.

● Busch came to pit road on lap 196 to take on four tires, fuel and adjustments, as he came off pit road in ninth to start the final stage of the season.

● The M&M’S driver stayed just within the top-10 until the final pit stop of the race on lap 257, where Busch took on four tires, fuel and adjustments for the final green flag run of the 2020 season.

● Busch lost the 10th spot late in the race and brought home an 11th-place finish.

 

Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’S Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing:

 

“We had a decent M&M’S Camry. I got into the fence there early and we ended up having to pit off sequence, but we did a good job of recovering from that and get back towards the front. We just couldn’t quite get the car to turn like we wanted after that, and that’s all we had there at the end.”

 

Next Up:

The 2021 season kicks off with the 63rd running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 14 with live coverage from FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

 

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