The last restart was key for Brendan Gaughan to bring home a win for Richard Childress Racing at Kentucky Speedway in the VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300.
He took the frontrunner three wide with his teammate Ty Dillon and Chase Elliott to capture the lead with seven laps to go. Elliott initially took the lead from Dillon after a caution came out due to an accident with Eric McClure. Gaughan had battled back after slipping out of the top 10 early in the race but methodically made his way back up to race with the frontrunners. A gutsy call by his crew chief Shane Wilson to take two tires on the last pit stop got Gaughan the track position he needed to put him into the hunt for the win.
Gaughan led early and he led when it counted. He logged 22 laps in the lead.
It was a strong night for Richard Childress Racing as they swept the first three spots in the finishing order. Second place finisher Brian Scott met Gaughan in Victory Lane with a hug and a smile while third place finisher Ty Dillon gave Gaughan a large bear hug in the winner’s circle.
Dillon was dominant throughout the race leading 155 laps in the 200-lap contest but started to fall back after a couple of restarts and couldn’t keep a hold of his race car to get the win. Despite his celebration with his teammate, he stated that it was a heartbreaking loss for his team.
Cale Conley, the fourth driver for RCR in the series, came in sixth. He had solid runs in the top ten and finished strong for the team.
Michael McDowell stepped into the No. 22 for Team Penske for the first time and had a solid night running in the top five. He slipped to the eighth position before the laps wound down.
Justin Boston had his first start in the Nationwide Series tonight and had a positive showing in his debut. He hovered outside of the top ten throughout much of the race, but got some track position in the latter part of the contest and went home in the ninth position in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
Chase Elliott extended his lead in the points for the championship and now leads Regan Smith by 20 points. Ty Dillon is in third and it 38 points behind Elliott.
The top ten: Brendan Gaughan, Brian Scott, Ty Dillon, Chase Elliott, Regan Smith, Cale Conley, Chris Buescher, Michael McDowell, Justin Boston, Ross Chastain.
The next race will be Saturday, Sept. 27 at 3:30 p.m. ET at Dover International Raceway for the NASCAR Nationwide September Dover Race.
