2011 WinStar World Casino 350K
The 2011 WinStar World Casino 350K was a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event held on November 4, 2011 at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. Contested over 148 laps of the 1.5 miles (2.4 km) oval, it was the second-last race of the season, and was won by Kevin Harvick in a green-white-checker finish.
| Race details[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 24 of 25 in the 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season | |||
 Simple line diagram of Texas Motor Speedway track layout | |||
| Date | November 4, 2011 | ||
| Location | Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Texas | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.4 km) | ||
| Distance | 147 laps, 220.5 mi (350 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures reaching up to 63 °F (17 °C); wind speeds up to 7 miles per hour (11 km/h)[2] | ||
| Average speed | 121.275 mph (195.173 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Turner Scott Motorsports | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kevin Harvick | Kevin Harvick Incorporated | |
| Laps | 61 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 2 | Kevin Harvick | Kevin Harvick Incorporated | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Speed | ||
The race became notable for an incident on its fourteenth lap, where Kyle Busch deliberately spun out series regular (and championship contender) Ron Hornaday on a resulting caution after Hornaday caused Busch's truck to slide into a wall. Its aftermath affected the championship contentions of both drivers (in the Sprint Cup Series and the Camping World Truck Series respectively), and NASCAR's response to the incident also led to the first ever parking of a driver across all three races of a race weekend involving all of the association's national series since the original establishment of the Truck Series in 1995.
Report
James Buescher won the pole position for the race, setting a lap speed of 181.062 mph (291.391 km/h). Austin Dillon, Blake Feese, Kyle Busch and Ricky Carmichael started from the top five; Tim Andrews, Norm Benning and Derek White failed to qualify for the event.[3]
In the race, Kevin Harvick won his fourth event of the season; Austin Dillon finished second. James Buescher ran out of fuel on a green-white-checkered finish and dropped from third to 19th. The victory saw Harvick's No. 2 Chevrolet team clinch the series' Owners Championship.[4]
Ron Hornaday and Kyle Busch conflict
On Lap 13 after an incident with series regular and championship contender Ron Hornaday, Busch deliberately turned him into the outside wall under caution, ending Hornaday's title hopes. NASCAR black-flagged Busch, parking him from the event.[4] The next morning, NASCAR announced that Busch would remain parked for the remainder of the weekend, including the 2011 O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge and the 2011 AAA Texas 500.[5] NASCAR took this action under rules that allow it to park a driver in order to ensure the "orderly conduct of the event," an action which is not appealable.[6] Denny Hamlin and Michael McDowell stepped up to replace Busch in both the Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup series races.[5] It was the first time since the Truck Series was launched in 1995 that NASCAR had parked a driver across all three national series, and only the third cross-series sanction in NASCAR's 64-year history.[6] NASCAR's action mathematically eliminated Busch from contention for the Sprint Cup, though any realistic chance of him winning it ended earlier in the Chase.[7]
Later that day, Busch issued an apology to his fans, sponsors and teammates, saying that the Texas incident was "certainly a step backward."[8]
On November 7, NASCAR fined Busch $50,000 for "actions detrimental to stock car racing." While the sanctioning body lifted the parking directive, it placed Busch on probation for the rest of the year, saying that he would be suspended indefinitely if he committed another action "detrimental to stock car racing or to NASCAR" or "disrupts the orderly conduct of an event".[9]
Race results
Standings after the race
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Austin Dillon | 854 |
| 2 | Johnny Sauter | 834 |
| 3 | James Buescher | 826 |
| 4 | Ron Hornaday, Jr. | 806 |
| 5 | Timothy Peters | 796 |
| 6 | Todd Bodine | 775 |
| 7 | Matt Crafton | 759 |
| 8 | Joey Coulter | 757 |
| 9 | Cole Whitt | 742 |
| 10 | Nelson Piquet, Jr. | 712 |
References
- "2011 WinStar World Casino 350k". Racing-Reference. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
- Weather information for the 2011 WinStar World Casino 350K at The Old Farmers' Almanac
- "Buescher takes pole for Texas truck race". Fox News. November 3, 2011. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
- "Harvick wins at Texas after Hornaday knocked out". USA Today. McLean, VA: Gannett Company. November 4, 2011. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
- "Kyle Busch parked for weekend". ESPN. November 6, 2011. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
- Rodman, Dave (November 5, 2011). "Busch out at Texas". NASCAR.com. Turner Sports. Archived from the original on January 11, 2012. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
- Martin, Bruce (November 15, 2011). "Is Kyle Busch the biggest troublemaker in NASCAR history?". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
- Ryan, Nate (November 5, 2011). "Kyle Busch apologizes after being parked for Texas weekend". USA Today. McLean, VA: Gannett Company. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
- "NASCAR fines Kyle Busch $50,000, warns of indefinite suspension". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. November 7, 2011. Retrieved April 17, 2014.