A 'rowdy' night under the Kansas lights

Kyle Busch captured the pole for Friday night's SFP 250 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City and then led eight times for a race-high 104 laps en route to his second NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win in as many starts this season. The victory in the first-ever night event at the Midwest venue was Busch's third consecutive series win dating back to last year's series finale at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway and the 29th career triumph atop the pit box for Eric Phillips, who became the winningest crew chief in Truck Series history.

"I'm a winner at Kansas," said Busch, who picked up first Truck Series win in three starts at the 1.5-mile tri-oval. "Can't say enough about everyone from KBM, everybody there -- the chassis shop, body guys, everybody there in the fab shop. They do such a great job for me whether it's Late Models or whether it's trucks. They're a lot of fun to work with. They're a great group. All these guys right here -- pit stops were awesome tonight. Can't say enough about this ToyotaCare Tundra. We appreciate Toyota and TRD -- the support that they give us. They allow us to come out here and race in the Truck series and put a great Tundra out front and take it to victory lane. Congratulations to Eric (Phillips, crew chief) -- most wins all-time as a crew chief in the Camping World Truck Series -- that's pretty cool."

Busch captured the pole during the first-ever knockout qualifying session for the Truck Series Friday afternoon. KBM's owner-driver turned a lap of 30.181 seconds at 178.921 mph in the third and final round, setting a new track record. The No. 51 ToyotaCare Tundra team advanced into the second session with the fastest lap in round one (30.558 seconds at 176.713 mph) and followed it up with the seventh fastest time (30.605 seconds at 176.442 mph) to advance to the final round. It was the Las Vegas native's 13th career pole in NASCAR's third division.

Once the green flag dropped, Busch showed that he had the truck to beat, leading 65 of the first 70 laps. The No. 51 ToyotaCare Tundra made its second trip down pit road under caution on lap 70 for a four-tire stop with a wedge adjustment and then returned to the track scored in the third position for the ensuing restart on lap 73, the first truck with four fresh tires.

From the third spot, KBM's owner-driver made it three-wide into Turn 1 on the restart and regained the lead momentarily on lap 74, but a lap later fell back to the second spot. Joey Logano would pace the field from lap 75 until lap 111, but was unable to hold off a hard-charging Busch on lap 112. The driver of the ToyotaCare Tundra would remain out front until a two-car accident on lap 127 brought of the final caution of the night.

Phillips summoned his driver down pit road, where the over-the-wall crew administered a four-tire stop. Busch returned to the track scored in the second position, behind race leader Austin Dillon, who made a fuel-only stop. Dillon would remain out front until lap 146, when the No. 51 ToyotaCare Tundra would charge back to the lead and then set sail to victory.

Busch, who collected his 37th career Truck Series victory across 117 starts and his 131st win across NASCAR's top three divisions, finished 3.02 seconds ahead of fellow Toyota competitor Matt Crafton. Joey Logano came home third, while Dillon and Tayler Malsam rounded out the top-five finishers. Busch's KBM teammate, Darrell Wallace Jr., experienced issues with a vibration and finished 11 laps down in the 15th position.

The third race on the 2014 season featured nine cautions for a total of 46 laps. There were 15 lead changes among six drivers. The No. 51 team regained the lead in the Owner's point standings with its second victory of the season and currently sits one point ahead of the No. 88 team.

Busch will be back behind the wheel of the Hiring Our Heroes/ToyotaCare Tundra when the Truck Series resumes action at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway on May 16. Live coverage of the N.C. Education Lottery 200 on Fox Sports 1 begins with the Truck Series Setup Show at 8:00 p.m. ET.

Kyle Busch Motorsports