At Las Vegas, Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) driver John Hunter Nemechek won his maiden NASCAR Truck start for the team, holding off team owner Kyle Busch himself. Nemechek and Busch were a class apart on the day, but Nemechek just edged the NASCAR great to live up to his billing.
While the race winner was from his outfit, Busch was still unhappy to finish second. Another battle between the two drivers is on the cards on Saturday in Atlanta in the Truck race.
Busch admitted that Nemechek was just better than him in the end in Las Vegas, speaking ahead of the Atlanta race. While he does not like to lose, Busch is happy with how Nemechek has settled in at KBM.
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Kyle Busch looks back at his battle with John Hunter Nemechek
“At Las Vegas, John Hunter was a little bit better than us at the end of the race, and I hate I finished second, obviously. But it’s nice to see our Tundras getting used to their full potential and running up front,” Busch said during a media interaction.
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Busch further spoke about his team’s driver, impressed with how he has settled into the outfit, winning in only his third start with the team.
“I’m excited to have John Hunter racing at KBM this year and to have Eric Phillips back on board. I felt like, when we were able to make that move over the offseason and pair those two together, it was going to be a winning combination,” Busch said further.
“Three races in, we’ve already reaped the benefits,” he added.
Nemechek aims to continue winning run
Meanwhile, Nemechek wants to keep up his momentum, and another on-track battle with Busch will be very exciting to watch.
“We’re here to win races,” Nemechek expressed. “(Crew chief) Eric (Phillips) and I are on the same page. Kyle, Toyota, and all of our partners want to win, and that’s why we’re here. We are going to go try and win everything we can from poles to stages to practice to races,” he added.
Nemechek already has a win in Atlanta, back in 2016. While he will be confident to face Busch after the Las Vegas win, Atlanta will prove to be a big challenge due to Busch’s record there.
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