Backstretch Motorsports

NASCAR Nationwide Series
O’Reilly 300
Texas Motor Speedway
Fast Facts

Race Winner: Kyle Busch
Age: 22
Team: No. 18 DLP HDTV Toyota
Owner: Joe Gibbs
Crew Chief: Jason Ratliff

Kyle Busch won the O’Reilly 300, his 12th victory in 115 NASCAR Nationwide Series races.
This is his first victory and third top-10 finish in seven races in 2008.
This is first victory and sixth top-10 finish in seven races at Texas Motor Speedway.
Busch has posted victories on all three of NASCAR’s premier series this season.
Jeff Burton (second)
Clint Bowyer (third)
Dario Franchitti (11th) was the highest finishing rookie.
Dario Franchitti led lap 59 – his career-first NASCAR Nationwide Series lap led.

FORT WORTH, Texas (April 5, 2008) — In his seventh NASCAR Nationwide Series start of the season, Kyle Busch finally got a result befitting his performance.

Entering Saturday’s O’Reilly 300 at Texas Motor Speedway, Busch had led a series-best 345 laps without a win. After finishing second to Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Tony Stewart in the first two races of the season, a series of mishaps had blocked the Toyota driver’s path to victory lane.

That changed at Texas, where Busch ran away from the competition to post his first Nationwide win of the season and the 12th of his career. Though he had to survive a restart on Lap 194 of 200, Busch pulled away over the final seven laps and crossed the finish line 1.041 seconds ahead of runner-up Jeff Burton.

Series points leader Clint Bowyer finished third, followed by Bobby Labonte and Jamie McMurray. Brian Vickers, Dale Earnhardt Jr., David Ragan, Jason Leffler and Tony Stewart completed the top 10.

Busch, who had posted second-place finishes at Texas in 2004 and 2007, led four times for 126 laps, including the final 43. His winning average speed of 151.707 mph was a track record, eclipsing the 145.710 mph posted by Kevin Harvick in the 2006 fall race.

“This feels so good,” Busch said after he climbed from the winning No. 18 Camry. “It’s great to give (sponsor) DLP their first NASCAR win, and it’s great to bring Toyota to victory lane here. It’s so hard to win at this place. I want to thank my fans for sticking with me. We’ve been through some tough times in the Nationwide Series.”

Busch had opened a lead of almost four seconds when Kyle Krisiloff’s spin on Lap 190 brought out the fourth and final caution of the race. Busch and Burton remained on the track during the caution, while the 11 lead-lap cars behind them came to the pits for tires.

Busch said it was a difficult choice to stay out.

“It was tough,” he admitted. “I know four tires would be fast, but I didn’t know if I’d be able to get back through traffic.”

Burton initially second-guessed crew chief Pat Smith’s decision to not to bring him to the pits, but changed his mind after hanging on to the runner-up spot.

“Kyle’s car was really fast,” Burton said. “He was really fast on old tires. That said, holding the (second) spot was probably good enough. I don’t think we could have gotten past him.”

Notes: Harvick, who started on the pole after Thursday’s qualifying session was rained out, broke an axle on his first pit stop and lost 21 laps while his crew replaced it. He finished 34th. . . Stewart lost a lap with an unscheduled pit stop on Lap 71, after cutting his right rear tire. He had run over a lug nut on pit road during a green-flag pit stop on Lap 56. . . Fourteen cars finished on the lead lap.

Race Results
Texas Motor Speedway
O’Reilly 300
UNOFFICIAL
Fin Str Car Driver Team Lap Pts BPts Status TLd LLd
1 31 18 Kyle Busch DLP HDTV Toyota 200 195 10 Running 4 126
2 4 29 Jeff Burton Holiday Inn Chevrolet 200 175 5 Running 1 2
3 2 2 Clint Bowyer Camping World Chevrolet 200 170 5 Running 1 1
4 16 21 Bobby Labonte Prilosec OTC/Wal-Mart Chevrolet 200 160 Running
5 15 16 Jamie McMurray CitiFinancial Ford 200 160 5 Running 1 2
6 19 32 Brian Vickers ABF Toyota 200 150 Running
7 10 5 Dale Earnhardt Jr. GoDaddy.com Chevrolet 200 146 Running
8 7 6 David Ragan Discount Tire Ford 200 142 Running
9 14 38 Jason Leffler Great Clips Toyota 200 138 Running
10 6 20 Tony Stewart Old Spice Toyota 200 139 5 Running 2 12
11 21 40 Dario Franchitti # Fastenal Dodge 200 135 5 Running 1 1
12 20 11 Jason Keller America’s Incredible Pizza 200 127 Running
13 3 60 Carl Edwards Scotts Watersmart Ford 200 124 Running
14 5 99 David Reutimann Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota 200 121 Running
15 9 88 Brad Keselowski U.S. NAVY Chevrolet 199 123 5 Running 1 1
16 23 66 Steve Wallace Jimmy John’s Chevrolet 199 115 Running
17 12 47 Kelly Bires Clorox Ford 199 112 Running
18 24 59 Marcos Ambrose Kingsford with Hickory Ford 199 109 Running
19 43 12 Sam Hornish Jr. Penske Truck Rental Dodge 198 106 Running
20 8 22 Robby Gordon Supercuts Dodge 198 103 Running
21 11 9 Kasey Kahne Hellmann’s Dodge 198 100 Running
22 26 27 Brad Coleman Cottonelle/Brookshire’s Ford 198 97 Running
23 17 25 Bobby Hamilton Jr. Eckrich Ford 198 94 Running
24 22 1 Mike Bliss Miccosukee Resorts Chevrolet 197 91 Running
25 13 7 Mike Wallace GEICO Toyota 197 88 Running
26 25 28 Kenny Wallace U.S. Border Patrol Chevrolet 196 85 Running
27 41 30 Stanton Barrett NOS Energy Drink Chevrolet 196 82 Running
28 42 70 Mark Green ForeTravel/BIOMET Chevrolet 194 79 Running
29 29 4 Robert Richardson Jr. Chevrolet 194 76 Running
30 33 81 D.J. Kennington Mahindra Tractors/NPPL Dodge 190 73 Running
31 27 61 Kevin Lepage Courtyard by Marriott/Arlington 189 70 Running
32 34 01 Kertus Davis RACEGIRL Chevrolet 189 67 Running
33 28 41 Kyle Krisiloff Polaroid Dodge 184 64 Accident
34 1 33 Kevin Harvick RoadLoans Chevrolet 179 66 5 Running 2 55
35 18 64 David Stremme Atreus Homes & Communities 163 58 Running
36 32 24 Eric McClure Hefty Brand Chevrolet 145 55 Vibration
37 36 52 Derrike Cope Chevrolet 42 52 Vibration
38 35 05 Brett Rowe CertainTeed/31-W Insulation 40 49 Overheating
39 37 90 Johnny Chapman Chevrolet 33 46 Handling
40 30 37 Burney Lamar Ford 29 43 Overheating
41 39 91 Larry Gunselman Chevrolet 23 40 Rear End
42 38 89 Morgan Shepherd Victory in Jesus Racing Dodge 17 37 Handling
43 40 84 Mike Harmon James Otto/Muzik Mafia 13 34 Overheating

# = Rookie, Fin = Finish, Str = Start, Pts = Total Points, BPs = Lap Leader Bns Pts, TLd = Times Led, LLd = Laps Led
Average Speed: 151.707 MPH Time of Race: 01 Hrs, 58 Mins, 39 Secs. Margin of Victory: 1.041 Seconds
Lead Changes: 12 among 8 drivers Cautions: 4 for 13 laps Attendance: 97000