By Aaron Bearden, Motorsports Editor
HAMPTON, Ga. — Kyle Busch’s misfortune nearly became Myatt Snider’s moment to shine.
Snider, 23, parlayed a late two-tire call into a seventh-place result in Saturday’s Active Pest Control 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, salvaging a challenging day with a strong points result for his ThorSport Racing team.
The rookie was running in the back half of the top 15 in the midst of a quiet evening when the caution flag flew for a Josh Reaume spin on Lap 126. With the race scheduled for 130 laps, the incident forced the event into NASCAR Overtime.
Like everyone else in the field, the caution led Snider to pit road for fresh tires – a necessary move to combat the rough 1.5-mile oval’s racing surface. But unlike his competitors, Snider and crew chief Rich Lushes elected for a two-tire stop.
He emerged from pit stops in second. When leader Busch’s tire fell off as a result of a pit-road gaffe moments later, the North Carolinian suddenly found himself in the race lead.
The call was a risky one. Fresh rubber has proven paramount at Atlanta in recent years, with lap times falling by a second or more after just a handful of circuits. But Snider felt the move to be justified.
“Obviously, four tires always beats two at Atlanta,” he said. “This place wears out tires so bad, but we had been running really good on our last run.
“We just needed track position, so I think [two tires] was definitely the right call to get up front and get into clear air. If we had four tires, I think we could have easily gone for the win.”
Snider led the field to green on the ensuing restart, but quickly lost the top spot when Brett Moffitt dove under his No. 13 Ford from third while the battled down the front straightaway. Moffitt quickly cleared Snider and set sail, driving off for his second-career victory.
From that moment he lost the lead Snider’s run became a fight for survival. With old tires there was little he could do to keep his fellow competitors at bay. The rookie lost six positions in the final two laps before slotting in seventh – his first top 10 of the season and fourth in 11 series starts.
The run was far from his best, but one he could be proud of after a challenging weekend.
“You always want the best for your team, but considering how everything went, I consider it a pretty good result,” Snider said. “I’m pretty happy with it.
“It’s definitely a great start to the year and we’re going to keep clicking away.”