Kyle Busch wins Stage 2 at Richmond; JGR sweeps top four
Joe Gibbs Racing flexed its muscle as Kyle Busch earned the Stage 2 victory at Richmond and his three teammates followed to sweep the top four positions.
Busch picked up his 11th stage win by holding off Martin Truex Jr. by under half-a-second. Denny Hamlin was third and Erik Jones was fourth.
Brad Keselowski was the only non-JGR driver in the top-five.
Following the break between Stages 1 and 2, all of the lead-lap cars elected to pit with Kyle Busch the first off pit road.
On the restart on Lap 109, Busch led the way followed by Truex, Keselowski, Hamlin and Kevin Harvick.
Alex Bowman spun off Turn 4 after contact with Austin Dillon to bring out a caution on Lap 112.
Several cars elected to pit for new tires but Kyle Busch continued to lead on the restart on Lap 117, followed by Truex, Hamlin, Harvick and Chase Elliott. Joey Logano received the free pass on the caution and returned to the lead lap.
With 75 laps remaining in the second stage, Kyle Busch held about a 1-second lead over Truex with Hamlin running in third.
On Lap 141, Jones moved into the fifth spot, putting all four JGR cars in the top-five as Kyle Busch continued to lead the way.
With 50 laps to go in the stage, Kyle Busch’s lead over Truex hovered at about 1-second as Hamlin ran third. Harvick was fourth and Jones remained fifth.
After 175 laps, Truex had closed to Kyle Busch’s rear bumper and looked ready to attempt a pass for the lead. Hamlin remained in third.
With 20 to go, Kyle Busch was able to put some distance between himself and Truex.
On Lap 183, JGR drivers led the way with the top four spots with Harvick dropping to the fifth position.
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