NASCAR Texas: Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch edges out Kevin Harvick – NASCAR

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch took his first NASCAR Cup series victory of the 2018 season at Texas, narrowly defeating Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick.

Busch had fallen down the order at the beginning of the third stage, having won the previous instalment.

He was then given a reprieve when Denny Hamlin and Aric Almirola collided, causing a wreck that collected Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski and Austin Dillon among others.

That allowed Busch to remain in the lead pack behind team-mate Erik Jones and Busch was given further help by a caution when Wood Brothers’ Paul Menard collided with the wall at Turn 2.

On the subsequent restart on lap 241 of 334, Busch powered around the outside of Jones for a lead he would never relent despite a further two cautions, meaning he retains the points lead.

Harvick and Busch had looked set to battle throughout the race, but the SHR driver’s charge was heavily impacted by one of the lugnuts on his car becoming jammed.

After losing eight positions on pitroad, he re-joined the track to immediately radio his team to complain of a loose wheel – forcing a four tyre stop and losing further time.

Harvick’s race took another turn for the worse when he earned a penalty for having too many crew members over the wall after one of his mechanics fell over the wall reaching for a tyre.

Now running outside the top 10, he used the cautions of the third stage and his superior pace to climb the order – making a late move into second place.

Jamie McMurray took his season-best result of third place, moving up from fifth after Ricky Stenhouse Jr – suffering with a mechanical problem – and Darrell Wallace Jr fell back in the final stint.

JGR’s Erik Jones and Penske’s Ryan Blaney then benefitted to finish fourth and fifth, with Blaney’s team-mate Joey Logano in sixth.

Reigning champion Martin Truex Jr was an early retirement when he suffered a right-front puncture that put him into the wall in Turn 4 after running in second.

Race result