NASCAR Truck Series at Texas 2014 Results: Winner, Standings and Reaction

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Kyle Busch won his seventh NASCAR Truck Series event of the year and the third of his career at Texas Motor Speedway in Friday night's WinStar World and Casino Resort 350, holding off a slew of title contenders in the process.

Busch led more laps than anyone else, in front for 80 of the 152 laps. He was forced to come from behind multiple times down the stretch after a handful of caution flags, but nothing was stopping his inevitable victory. He now has seven wins in nine 2014 Truck Series appearances.

It was a hotly contested race, especially down the stretch, with championship positioning and late-season points at a premium. That was shown with some extracurricular action as Busch rolled past the checkered flag, per NASCAR:

Jeb Burton impressed by sticking around in the top five virtually all race and finishing in second, while Tyler Reddick finished third and reigning champion—and points leader—Matt Crafton finished fourth. Darrell Wallace led 51 laps in his quest to win for a second straight weekend, but untimely engine troubles prevented him from finishing.

Let's take a glance into the top finishers from Friday night's race. You can find the entire finishing order at NASCAR.com:

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Here's a look at how Busch's victory impacted the Camping World Truck Series standings with only two races to go, as per NASCAR.com:

Much of the talk heading into Friday's race centered around Burton, and for good reason. The notable NASCAR driver won last year's Truck Series event at Texas and entered Friday looking to make it 2-of-2.

He had a good feeling about his truck heading into the race:

That showed early and often for Burton, as he began in the top 10 and stayed near the front of the pack throughout. But despite threatening the leaders for most of the 152 laps, he failed to lead a single one of those laps.

Taking his place at the front for most of the early going was Darrell Wallace Jr., as the No. 54 car led the race for 51 of the first 106 laps and looked set to win a second straight race and take the Truck Series points lead.

Never far behind was Kyle Busch Racing teammate Busch, who stayed close to Wallace's rear bumper and made sure he didn't get far, and Matt Crafton, the Truck Series points leader entering Friday. 

At that point, it was all about the KBR teammates at the front, per NASCAR:

Wallace had no trouble being chased for nearly half of his laps Friday, but things turned sour on Lap 106. Engine troubles caused Wallace's car to go up in smoke, all but ending his championship hopes.

Understandably, Wallace was disheartened after the result and wasted no time taking to Twitter:

Wallace was the most impressive driver through the first half of the race, but the others near the front didn't scoff at the opportunity when the leader slipped. In fact, Busch—who had already taken the lead off and on from Wallace prior—used it as a chance to take a convincing lead.

Busch stayed leading throughout much of the clutch moments of the race, with Burton unable to keep generating the push he had earlier in the race. Crafton, however, saved his best for last and looked like he was refusing to give up his points lead.

With just more than 20 laps to go, Crafton was in position, per NASCAR Trucks:

Things remained tight heading down the stretch. With cautions virtually every couple of laps as the race wound down, it came down to execution on the closing couple of laps to decide who would take to the winner's circle.

It would prove to be Busch, with a little help from his friends, as Fox Sports NASCAR noted:

Crafton was fighting desperately for the lead down the stretch in order to guarantee he would keep the points lead, but he won't have to worry about that after Friday's race. The victor, Busch, isn't even in the Truck Series standings, and fellow contenders Ryan Blaney and Wallace failed to make a push.

While Crafton remains in position for his second consecutive Truck Series championship with two races to go, the talk after Friday's race was the 29-year-old Busch, and rightfully so. He's been virtually unstoppable in the Truck Series, winning seven races now on the season, despite racing primarily in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series. 

Busch's dominance on the Truck Series circuit just makes you wonder where he'd finish if he competed in it year-round. He's more efficient than ever before in the Truck Series, now having won 12 of the last 18 races he has appeared in.

Crafton, Blaney and the other top contenders for the championship are certainly glad he hasn't raced in 11 of the 20 races this year. That leaves the title wide open for Crafton to repeat or for Blaney to make a late push for his first championship.

But if it's wins that they hope to gain in pursuit of the title, they had better hope Busch isn't in the field. He's been nearly automatic in 2014 when it comes to the Truck Series.