Kyle Busch takes home the checkered flag after Atlanta photo finish win in Truck Series

Kyle Busch took the win in a photo finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, the Fr8 Racing 208. The race, held on February 22, 2025, saw Busch edge out Stewart Friesen by just 0.017 seconds in a battle to the checkered flag.

Pulling ahead of Friesen just 20 yards from the finish line, Busch’s No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet attained the win in a race that had 19 lead changes within 11 drivers. This was Busch’s record-extending eighth victory at Atlanta in the Truck Series. He led a race-high total of 80 out of 135 laps.

A snippet of his winning performance was also shared by the Truck Series’ official X handle. In the final lap, Friesen had the advantage coming out of Turn 4, but Busch executed a late-side draft maneuver to take the lead. With no push from behind, Friesen couldn’t hold off Kyle Busch, who crossed the line first in a dramatic finish. The caption with the video read,

“Right to the line for the win!”

“Awesome run for this Spire Chevrolet and everybody at Gainbridge,” Busch said post-race. “Just trying to make sure I stayed as far forward as I possibly could. I had to battle back multiple times to control the race at the end.” (via NASCAR.com)

Friesen, who finished second, nodded to the effort but was disappointed. In his own words post-race,

“We had a shot. I thought I could pack some more air on him coming out of three and surge ahead, but I had the surge at the wrong time and he came back.” (via NASCAR.com)

Tyler Ankrum and Bayley Currey finished side-by-side for third place, with Ankrum barely edging out Currey by 0.001 seconds. Chandler Smith completed the top five. The race had only two caution flags after the stage breaks.

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Kyle Busch Calls Out Logano After Daytona Crash

Days before his Atlanta win, Busch was frustrated after a crash at the Daytona 500, holding Joey Logano accountable. As sourced from Autoweek, Busch explained that he had worked his way into contention with 14 laps remaining in the race when Logano attempted a risky middle-lane move. Logano and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. made contact, triggering a crash that ended Kyle Busch’s race early.

“It looks like the fastest car got in a hurry to get to the wreck,” Busch said, criticizing Logano’s aggressive driving. “With a few laps to go, he’s trying to make a hole through the middle that wasn’t there and created chaos.”

Logano also defended his move, saying he was trying to position himself for the win. As sourced via Autoweek,

“I saw the opportunity to drop down and get underneath the 47 (Stenhouse), but he threw a late block. I checked up, but at that point, everyone behind me was stacked up, and we made contact.”

Kyle Busch finished 34th at Daytona, with Logano right behind him in 35th. The crash ended both drivers’ chances of winning NASCAR’s biggest race.