July 8, 2017 By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service SPARTA, Ky. – As Kyle Busch spun his No. 18 Toyota wildly during his celebratory burnout at Kentucky Speedway, the right rear tire exploded with an audible pop after it hit the drain below the apron. It was an astute call by crew chief Eric Phillips that enabled Busch’s tires to survive long enough to win Saturday afternoon’s rain-delayed Alsco 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at the 1.5-mile track. In effect, Phillips was the architect of Busch’s second victory this season, his fourth at Kentucky and the 88th of his career, extending his…

July 6, 2017 By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service SPARTA, Ky. – Christopher Bell survived an accident and an early spin to win Thursday night’s Buckle Up In Your Truck 225 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Kentucky Speedway. Bell picked up his third victory of the season, his first at Kentucky and the fifth of his career, holding off runner-up Brandon Jones by .187 seconds at the end of a closing 32-lap green-flag run. “This is pretty special,” Bell said in Victory Lane. “We had our ups and downs. Practice (on Wednesday) didn’t go very well, but we had a…