JOLIET, Ill. (AP) Kyle Busch overcame a race-record 11 cautions for his 46th career NASCAR Truck Series victory Friday night, dashing the hopes of full-time drivers needing wins to claim a spot in the debut Chase for the championship.
The Sprint Cup star's second circuit win of the season and fifth trucks win at Chicagoland Speedway meant Daniel Hemric and Timothy Peters earned the final two spots in the eight-driver playoff field based on points.
Busch took on four tires and re-started ninth with 42 laps to go before quickly charging to the front just before Johnny Sauter clipped Ben Kennedy to ignite a crash and red flag.
There were four more cautions before Busch blew past Cameron Hayley on an overtime restart and had the lead when the final caution flew on the last lap. Busch led 95 of the 150 laps on the 1.5-mile oval for his 167th win on NASCAR's top three circuits.
Hemric finished second, followed by Cameron Hayley and Christopher Bell.
The race began with six of the eight Chase spots already determined. John Hunter Nemechek was the last to clinch after he tangled with Cole Custer in the grass before claiming claiming a win in Canada.
Top-seeded William Byron, 2015 champion Matt Crafton, Kennedy, Sauter and Bell also were safely in.
Custer, who announced earlier Friday that he would move to the Xfinity Series next season with Stewart-Haas Racing, was penalized for speeding on pit road with 84 laps left. He still got into the top 10 late before being involved in a wreck that caused a tire rub. He finished 10th.
Spencer Gallagher earned his first pole and John Wes Townley joined him on the front row. It rekindled memories of their on-track wrestling and boxing match after an incident at Gateway Motorsports Park in June that included takedowns and punches to the face.
But mistakes kept both out of the Chase, with Townley sparking an accident that caused the final caution and Gallagher finishing sixth.
Peters qualified for the Chase by finishing eighth despite hitting the wall and having a right-front tire go down on the 67th lap.
Byron, a five-time winner, scraped the outside wall after four laps and headed to the garage. He returned 40 laps later only to again crash and finished 30th.
Kennedy's car was destroyed and damaged the SAFER barrier, causing a 14-minute delay. He was treated and released from the infield care center.
Matt Tifft had to pit early with a loose wheel and finished 12th in his first race since undergoing surgery to remove a non-cancerous brain tumor. Tifft received applause when he was introduced in the pre-race driver meeting.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.