Full Throttle

Kyle Busch ended Ron Hornaday Jr.’s five-race winning streak, capturing Wednesday night’s O’Reilly 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Busch took the lead on Lap 124 after a lengthy side-by-side battle with Jason White and was a comfortable 2.721 seconds ahead of runner-up Matt Crafton by the time the checkered flag appeared.

That side-by-side battle sent the “purists, old schoolers and traditionalists” to their favorite blogs, chat rooms and forums complaining Bristol has been “ruined.” It seems as if they somehow miss the old one groove Bristol and it’s nearly mandated bump-and-run maneuver to make any forward progress in the field.

Many of the same “purists, old schoolers and traditionalists” complain about other tracks having only one groove and lack of side-by-side racing which only goes to prove Roseanne Roseannadanna was right.

“Well, Jane, it just goes to show you, it’s always something.”

“It’s a fun place to race,” Busch said after collecting his third truck win of the season. “I knew we would come here with a fast truck; we’ve been fast every time we’ve come here. … It’s good to be back, finally.”

Hornaday, polesitter Ryan Newman and Brian Scott rounded out the top five.

“Anytime Kyle and I get together, we know we can win races,” crew chief Richie Wauters said. “We thought about (pitting a second time), but the tires are so hard here, they’re not falling off. … We decided to stay out, and it was the right call.”

Wauters replaced Doug George atop the pit box heading into this week’s race.

Busch led twice for 82 laps en route to his 12th career win in the series. White led one time for 86.

Hornaday, running in the top 10, restarted in 17th after pitting during the night’s first caution. He worked his way back into the top 10 and was safely inside the top five at the finish. After winning five consecutive races, Hornaday said he was “just glad (the streak) is over so you guys will stop asking me about it.”

“Bristol is the toughest one. (I) just left a lot out there,” Hornaday said. “Top five is what we needed for points. It’s been pretty cool.”

Hornaday remains atop the standings and leads Crafton by 211 points. Mike Skinner, who had to pit late under green, finished 20th and remained third in the standings.