April 21, 2018 – Kyle Busch came from the 32nd starting position to win his third straight NASCAR Cup Series race of the season in the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway. Busch joined Kevin Harvick winning three straight races in the first nine races in 2018. The previous time that happened in the same year was 2015 when Busch and Joey Logano turned the three-peat. A late pit stop proved to be the move to seal the deal for Busch. He came off pit road with the top spot after a fast stop and was able to maintain the lead in the overtime shootout to the checkered flag after getting the jump on Denny Hamlin when the green flag flew to restart the race to its finish. Martin Truex Jr. led the most laps, with 121, but finished 14th
April 21, 2013 – Matt Kenseth outran a hard charging Kasey Kahne to win the NASCAR Cup Series STP 400 at Kansas Speedway. Kenseth, who started from the pole, drove his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to his second victory of the season and 26th of his NASCAR Cup career after leading 163 laps. Days later, NASCAR severely punished JGR, Kenseth and Toyota Racing Development for a violation with the engine of Kenseth’s race-winning car at Kansas. Kenseth’s No. 20 team was penalized for violating a rule that requires connecting rods to weigh a minimum 525.0 grams. Weeks later, the appeals panel reduced Kenseth’s 50-point penalty to 12, cut crew chief Jason Ratcliff’s suspension from six points races to one and gutted many of the other penalties NASCAR imposed.
April 21, 2012 – James Buescher scored his first career NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series victory in the SFP 250 at Kansas Speedway. Buescher led 103 of the 167-lap race around the 1.5-mile speedway to give Turner Motorsports its second straight Truck Series victory following Kasey Kahne’s win at Rockingham Speedway. He passed Brad Keselowski with 11 laps-to-go and then cruised to the checkered flag.
April 21, 2007 – Jeff Gordon scored his first Phoenix Raceway win and tied Dale Earnhardt on the all-time NASCAR Cup Series win list with a victory in the Subway Fresh Fit 500. Gordon started from the pole and battled Tony Stewart down to the wire to take the checkered flag. The dramatic win, the 76th of his career, capped off an exciting night that ended with Gordon celebrating his win with a victory lap while holding a flag with Earnhardt’s famous No. 3.
April 21, 2006 – Kevin Harvick scored his second straight NASCAR Xfinity (Busch) Series victory with an overtime win in the Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix Raceway. The win extended the season streak to nine races that were won by Cup Series regulars. Reed Sorenson followed Harvick across the finish line trailed by Carl Edwards, Kurt Busch and Mark Martin. Harvick took over the lead on Lap 156 when Kurt Busch was forced to surrender the top spot with a flat tire. Harvick stayed in front the rest of the way, but had to overcome a green-white-checkered finish to score the win.
April 21, 2002 – Dale Earnhardt Jr. dominated the Aaron’s 499 – in the wake of a huge pile-up on Lap 164 – to earn his second (of six) Talladega Superspeedway NASCAR Cup Series victory. Following the big accident, Earnhardt Jr. took the lead out of the pits and led the final 24 laps – the last four under green – to earn his first victory of the season. The field jockeyed for position the final four laps, but Earnhardt Jr. proved too strong for the field. Teamwork between Earnhardt Jr. and Michael Waltrip, as it has in the past at restrictor-plate tracks, worked well again at Talladega. Waltrip, who led 14 laps, finished second.
April 21, 2001 – Mike McLaughlin captured his final of six career NASCAR Xfinity (Busch) Series wins in the Subway 300 at Talladega Superspeedway. McLaughlin, driving the No. 20 for Joe Gibbs Racing, was one of 16 drivers on the lead lap at the finish. He led 31 laps, including the final 10 and held off Jimmy Spencer to end a 75-race winless streak. The race featured a 17-car accident on Lap 87.
April 21, 1996 – Rusty Wallace passed Jeff Gordon with 12 laps to go and went on to win the Goody’s Headache Powder 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Wallace led 164 of the 500 laps en route to his first win of the season and his fourth straight in the spring race at the .526-mile oval. Gordon wound up finishing third after leading 211 laps. Terry Labonte broke the former record for most consecutive starts with his 514th consecutive start and finished 24th.
April 21, 1985 – Neil Bonnett led a 1-2 charge for Junior Johnson after he held off his teammate Darrell Waltrip to win the Northwestern Bank 400 at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Bonnett led 214 laps to score his first win at North Wilkesboro Speedway an the 15th of 18 career wins. Audio: MRN Broadcast
Other winners on this date: 1996 – Jack Sprague (Phoenix Raceway); 1991 – Darrell Waltrip (North Wilkesboro Speedway); 1974 – Richard Petty (North Wilkesboro Speedway); 1968 – David Pearson (North Wilkesboro Speedway); 1963 – Richard Petty (Martinsville Speedway); 1962 – Jack Smith (Rambi Raceway)
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