NATIONWIDE Carquest Auto Parts 300
Final
for this game
Busch captures Auto Parts 300
May 25, 2008 - 4:52 AM CONCORD, North Carolina (Ticker) -- Kyle Busch is winning in every possible fashion in 2008.Busch won his fourth NASCAR Nationwide Series race this season, taking an unusual checkered-yellow flag at the Carquest Auto Parts 300 at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Saturday.
With an average speed of 120.33 miles per hour, the Las Vegas native matched Tony Stewart for the most wins in this series this year.
"What an awesome race car," Busch said. "It didn't start off that great for me, but we made some great adjustments to get better at the end."
In a Toyota Camry, the 23-year-old Busch led three close pursuers in the final lap of the race. However, the No. 7 car of Mike Wallace, which was grouped in traffic behind the leaders, spun and hit the wall, bringing out both the checkered and yellow flags, effectively ending the race and giving Busch his 15th career win on the circuit.
Busch, who won this race in 2005, helped Toyota win for the ninth time in 13 Nationwide races in 2008. It was his ninth victory of the season, including the Sprint Cup and Craftsman Truck Series.
On Sunday, Busch gets another opportunity for another win at Lowe's when he starts on the pole for the Sprint series Coca-Cola 600.
Denny Hamlin, also in a Toyota, finished second followed by Brad Keselowski and Dale Earnhardt Jr. - both in Chevrolet Monte Carlos - in third and fourth. All were closely situated behind Busch when the race ended under yellow.
Before they crossed the finish line, Hamlin and Keselowski took turns banging their cars into each other, causing a near-brawl in the pits between their respective racing crews.
NASCAR officials needed several minutes to control the scene, and after they exited their cars, Hamlin and Keselowski were prevented from joining the fighting by racing representatives.
"Brad bumped him in the back just a little bit under caution," said Earnhardt, who owns Keselowski's race car. "Then Denny knocked the fender off Brad's car. I'm not happy about that. It just tore his fender up. I mean, it wasn't no excuse in it."
For Hamlin, it was his third top-five finish this season, while the 26-year-old Keselowski's third-place finish was a career best.
Earnhardt collected his fifth top-five finish at this 1 1/2-mile track.
Pole-sitter Brian Vickers rounded out the top five in a Toyota, while series points leader Clint Bowyer, driving a Chevy, finished sixth to enable Busch to cut a 112-point deficit to 67.
