NASCAR
Kyle Busch’s 2022 Truck Series Woes are Almost Unmatched
Saturday’s Door Dash 250 Camping World Truck Series race from Sonoma Raceway will be special on multiple levels. For one, this marks the Truck Series’ first trek to wine country since 1998. In addition, a very stacked field includes Kyle Busch in the 51. Sonoma will be Busch’s fifth and final Truck Series start of 2022. Through his first four Truck races, Busch has shockingly gone 0-4. Busch has not had a winless season in the Truck Series for 10 years, will that history repeat itself Saturday? Just how close has the Truck Series’ all-time wins leader been to breaking through this season?
Las Vegas
In his first start of 2022 at his home track, Kyle Busch initially finished third. After illegal lugnuts disqualified Zane Smith from second though, Busch was awarded a runner-up finish to his teenager teammate, Chandler Smith. While the 51 did lead at Las Vegas, both Smiths, Zane and Chandler, simply had faster trucks that night. While Busch is never content with anything but a win, he was proud that one of his team trucks brought home the victory.
COTA
In just the second ever Truck Series event from COTA, Busch’s 51 was dominant, leading 31 of 46 laps. By virtue of short-pitting each Stage, Busch was in prime position to take home the victory. That all changed in double-overtime though, as Busch was forced off line by a three-wide move in turn 11. This loss of time allowed Zane Smith to scoot by for the win, and saw Busch come home third. Perhaps the closest KB has been to a Truck Series win so far in 2022, he was none too pleased with this daring move.
Martinsville
In a rare off race at Martinsville, Kyle Busch led a grand total on one lap at the paperclip. While Busch was logging laps inside the top-10, another Cup driver owned the night. William Byron took home the grandfather clock trophy after starting deep in the field. After a lackluster night by the 61-time Truck Series winner’s standards, Busch was a quiet third.
Charlotte
Many saw Charlotte two weeks ago as another race where Busch could easily win. An eight-time Truck Series Charlotte victor, starting third Busch appeared in great position to make it nine. However, the 51 was once again mired back in traffic for much of the night. Even with a few chaotic overtime restarts, Busch only rallied to seventh at the checkered flag.
Whether it’s bad luck, having no handle on the new Toyota Tundra body, or just lacking speed, Kyle Busch has been snakebitten in 2022. The only time Busch went a full Truck season without a win was 2012. Rowdy has once more chance to erase his losing streak in 2022. A two-time Cup Series winner at Sonoma, Busch’s experience will be a huge factor in Saturday’s Truck race. However, many other Cup drivers are also entered in the Door Dash 250 as practice for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350. Will Kyle Busch score the win, or will he end 2022 in the Truck Series at 0-5? Tune in Saturday at 7:30 ET on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90 to see if Kyle can end 2022 on top in the Truck.
Written by Peter Stratta
Be sure to follow us on Twitter
Be sure to follow the writer on Twitter
Photo Credit to Peter Stratta/TSJSports
