Elliott ends Busch’s win streak, collects $100,000 bounty

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — Chase Elliott snapped Kyle Busch’s seven-race Truck Series winning streak and collected a $100,000 bounty for beating NASCAR’s most successful truck driver Tuesday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Kevin Harvick announced before the race he would donate $50,000 to Covid-19 relief for any full-time Cup driver who finished ahead of Busch. Marcus Lemonis, the CEO of Gander RV & Outdoors, which sponsors the Truck Series, agreed to match Harvick’s pledge, bringing the total to $100,000 for pandemic relief.

Elliott rubbed a little salt in the wound after the race, borrowing Busch’s celebratory bow after the race.

“Hopefully nobody gets their feelings hurt over it,” Elliott said.

The win comes six days after Busch wrecked Elliott in a Cup Series race at Darlington and two days after Elliott’s costly decision to pit late in the Coca-Cola 600, opening the door for Brad Keselowski to win.

“It doesn’t make up for Sunday but it was still a really good night, and to do some good for the relief efforts for this virus,” Elliott said.

Busch appeared upset after the race and his interview was not aired on television.

“I did an interview,” Busch posted on Twitter. “It wasn’t aired. That is all.”

It was the first Truck Series race since Feb. 21 when Busch won at Las Vegas.

Elliott, John Hunter Nemechek and Brennan Poole were the three full-time Cup drivers eligible to collect the $100,000 bounty.

Zane Smith finished third and Brett Moffitt was fourth.

It marked the first time a Trucks Series was run on a Tuesday night.

Busch had won 57 Truck Series races entering the night, the most of any driver in history, and appeared to be the favorite.

But he could never chase down Elliott on a long green flag stretch to close the race.

Busch started 16th and quickly made a move to sixth place before splitter issues forced him to pit and dropped him back to 33rd place. But the winner of 210 races across NASCAR’s three top series quickly moved back into contention with a strong second stage and took the lead on lap 69.

But when Busch pitted with 34 laps to go it dropped him back to 23rd and he could never regain the lead.

This was Busch’s third race in three nights. He followed up a fourth-place finish in the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday by winning the Xfinity Series race on Monday in overtime after passing Austin Cindric on the final lap.