Still perfect: Kyle Busch dominates Dover for fourth truck win of 2014
Perfection is almost impossible to achieve in any organized sport or racing series.
Apparently, someone forgot to tell Kyle Busch.
Making his fourth Camping World Truck Series start of the five series races held thus far this season, the Sprint Cup Series interloper dusted the competition on Friday at Dover International Speedway en route to his fourth truck victory of 2014.
Brad Keselowski Racing's Ryan Blaney finished second after taking the runner-up position from Johnny Sauter with 16 laps to go. Sauter held on to finish third ahead of Brandon Jones and Joey Coulter.
Starting from the pole after qualifying was rained out and the field set according to the NASCAR rule book, Busch spent the early laps out front and unchallenged in his No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota with reigning series champion Matt Crafton in tow.
Unable to pass Busch despite spirited attempts on several early restarts, Crafton took the lead for the first time when the caution came out moments after Busch came down pit road for a planned green-flag pit stop.
Realizing a caution flag had waved as he prepared to stop, Busch returned to the track without pitting but fell to eighth in the running order after finally making his stop with the other lead-lap trucks under caution on Lap 78.
Crafton led the field ahead of Blaney and teammate Tyler Reddick on the ensuing Lap 81 restart, and held the top spot until Busch, who quickly worked his way back toward the front, recaptured the lead on Lap 121 of 200.
Busch never trailed from there, but later admitted concern about getting back to the front after falling all the way to eighth.
"Yeah, a little bit," said the 29-year-old KBM team owner/driver. "These things are certainly a lit bit more aero-sensitive than, I think, last year's trucks."
After surrendering the lead to Busch, matters took an even direr turn for Crafton, who hit the wall hard with 44 laps to go while still running second.
"Something in the right front went down and didn't give me any warning," said Crafton, who entered the race as the series points leader. "It's a shame."
Crafton is now tied with ThorSport Racing teammate Sauter for second in the standings, where both sit a single point behind new championship leader and 10th-place Dover finisher Timothy Peters.
Busch, who has skipped only one truck race this season, plans to take the next several races off as he continues his traditional part-time truck schedule in the No. 51.
That's good news for the rest of the competitors in the series.
