MALSAM 17TH AT NASHVILLE

LEBANON, Tenn. — (April 2, 2010) Fortunately for Northwest driver Tayler Malsam, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series visit to Music City USA lasted just one day.



The Kyle Busch Motorsports driver finished 17th in Friday’s Nashville 200 after fighting an ill-handling truck through two practice sessions, qualifying and 150 laps on the 1.33-mile Nashville Superspeedway. It was a one-day show for the truck series, with all events taking place within the space of a little less than 12 hours.



Things went better for KBM owner Kyle Busch, who won for the first time driving his own truck after setting a blistering pace that resulted in just eight trucks on the lead lap when the checkered flag fell. With just two cautions to slow him down, Busch set a new series record for Nashville with an average speed of 136.459 mph, breaking the previous mark of 132.466 set by Scott Riggs in 2001.



“It’s so cool to win in your own stuff,” Busch said in Victory Lane after the race. “It’s a dream to own your own stuff, but to win in it, too …”



Kevin Harvick, who had won his previous four starts in the truck series, briefly challenged Busch for the lead in the closing laps before falling back to cross the line in second. Defending series champion Ron Hornaday was third, points leader Timothy Peters finished fourth and Todd Bodine rounded out the top five.



Earlier in the day Busch earned KBM’s first pole and as the race started it looked like he would go flag-to-flag for the win, putting nearly a dozen trucks a lap down in the first 20 circuits. Peters was able to grab the lead when Busch got bogged down in slower traffic, but Busch retook the point for good 17 laps later.



It was Busch’s second straight win at Nashville. Last June he won the Nationwide Series event there en route to his first NASCAR championship. After that race Busch created a stir by smashing the winner’s Sam Bass trophy guitar — one of the most coveted trophies in motorsports — to share the victory spoils with his crew. In Victory Lane on Friday, Busch gently handled the guitar, saying it was destined for the trophy case at KBM.



Malsam ran around 15th during much of the race, which was consistent with his practice times from earlier in the day while his KBM crew worked to loosen his truck. The Sammamish, Wash., native started 21st and went a lap down just past the halfway point. He was lapped a second time just before Busch took the checkered flag.



The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series returns to action with the O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 on May 2 at Kansas Speedway.