Backstretch Motorsports

FONTANA, Calif. — Déjà vu.

Kyle Busch picked up right where he left off in 2008, as the driver of the No. 18 Z-Line Designs/Fryes.com Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) scored his first NASCAR Nationwide Series victory of the season Saturday night in the Stater Bros. 300 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif.

Hours after winning a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race in a runaway, Kyle Busch staged a repeat performance in Saturday night’s Stater Bros. 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series event at Auto Club Speedway.

“This is awesome, and to win here twice in one day is even more special,” said Busch, who now has five wins across NASCAR’s top-three series at Fontana – two in the Nationwide Series, two in the Camping World Truck Series and one in the Sprint Cup Series. “I wouldn’t be able to do it without all these guys and the help of Z-Line Designs. I love driving for Joe Gibbs Racing. This Toyota Camry was just flawless and I can’t thank them enough.”

In claiming the 22nd Nationwide Series victory of his career, Busch became the first driver ever to win two races in any of NASCAR’s top three series on the same day. Busch had come close once before, finishing second to Jamie McMurray by .005 seconds in a July 7, 2007 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona after winning a rain-delayed Nationwide race earlier in the day.

On Sunday, he’ll try for another record — a weekend sweep of NASCAR’s top three series at the same racetrack.

About the only suspense came on a restart on Lap 135, after Carl Edwards beat Busch off pit road following the final stops for both cars. Busch dived to the inside of Edwards’ Ford, and Kevin Harvick made it three-wide through the corner before Busch regained the lead through Turns 3 and 4.

From that point, Busch pulled away and crossed the finish line 1.011 seconds ahead of Harvick. Joey Logano, Busch’s teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing, finished third, followed by polesitter Edwards and his Roush Fenway Racing teammate, David Ragan.

Jeff Burton, David Reutimann, Brian Vickers, series rookie Brendan Gaughan and Steve Wallace completed the top 10.

“It was a blast,” Busch said. “We were just glad to put on a great show. It got a little nerve-wracking there on that last restart… but that’s what the fans come to see.”

Harvick tried to seize the opportunity but couldn’t force his way past Busch and Edwards.

“I was able to sneak by Kyle and Carl when they got together there (on the restart) — at least that’s what it looked like from my perspective… I just couldn’t quite complete the pass there.”

Busch, who led 143 of the 150 laps, obliterated the field during the first green-flag run, streaking to an advantage of more than eight seconds before pitting from the lead on Lap 40. After the cycle of green-flag stops, Busch led Kevin Harvick by as much as 11.486 seconds before Michael McDowell’s fiery crash in Turn 2 caused the first caution of the race on Lap 52.

By then, 14 of the 43 cars that had started the race were on the lead lap. There were four caution periods for 23 laps, with 10 drivers failing to finish the 300-mile race.

“Definitely, the best car won — that’s for sure,” said Edwards, who fell back after battling Busch and Harvick on the final restart. “That was amazing.”

Race Fast Facts
Auto Club Speedway
Stater Bros. 300

Race Winner: Kyle Busch
Age: 23
Team : No. 18 - Z-Line Designs Toyota
Owner: Joe Gibbs
Crew Chief: Jason Ratcliff

Kyle Busch became the first driver to win twice in the same day on two of NASCAR?s top-three circuits. He held the previous best same-day performance with a first in the NASCAR Nationwide and second in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races held at Daytona on July 7, 2007.
This is just the third time a driver has won both a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and a NASCAR Nationwide Series race in the same weekend (Greg Biffle at Phoenix in October 2001 and Kyle Busch at Phoenix in November 2007). There have been 31 NASCAR Sprint Cup-NASCAR Nationwide weekend sweeps. No driver has ever won all three races in the same weekend.

Kyle Busch won the Stater Bros. 300, his 22nd victory in 140 NASCAR Nationwide Series races.
This is his first victory and second top-10 finish in 2009.
This is his second victory and seventh top-10 finish in nine races at Auto Club Speedway.
Kevin Harvick (second) posted his 11th top-10 finish in 13 races at Auto Club Speedway. It is his first top-10 finish in 2009.
Joey Logano (third) posted his second top-10 finish in two races at Auto Club Speedway.
Brendan Gaughan (ninth) was the highest finishing rookie.
Kyle Busch leads the point standings by 20 points over Carl Edwards. This is the second time in as many years that Busch has led the point standings in two national series after the first Auto Club Speedway weekend of the season. In 2008, he led the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series leaving Fontana. This his his first time to lead the NASCAR Nationwide Series point standings since May 2004.

NASCAR Race Number 2
Unofficial Race Results for the Stater Bros. 300 - Saturday, February 21, 2009
Auto Club Speedway - Fontana, CA - 2 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 150 Laps - 300 Miles - Purse: $1,646,100

Leader
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Winnings Status Times Laps
1 2 18 Kyle Busch Z-Line Designs Toyota 150 195 10 $76,820 Running 3 143
2 9 33 Kevin Harvick Rheem Chevrolet 150 170 $60,525 Running
3 7 20 Joey Logano GameStop Toyota 150 165 $56,893 Running
4 1 60 Carl Edwards Scotts Ford 150 165 5 $44,150 Running 2 5
5 8 6 David Ragan Discount Tire Ford 150 155 $34,375 Running
6 6 29 Jeff Burton Holiday Inn Chevrolet 150 150 $31,325 Running
7 29 10 David Reutimann Beringer Vineyards Toyota 150 146 $28,275 Running
8 12 32 Brian Vickers Dollar General Toyota 150 142 $26,825 Running
9 11 62 Brendan Gaughan # South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet 150 138 $35,903 Running
10 15 66 Steve Wallace USfidelis Chevrolet 150 134 $35,493 Running
11 18 38 Jason Leffler Great Clips Toyota 150 130 $32,393 Running
12 23 11 Scott Lagasse Jr. # Gatorz Precision Built Eyewear Toyota 150 127 $32,143 Running
13 4 1 Mike Bliss Miccosukee Resorts Chevrolet 150 124 $32,943 Running
14 17 12 Justin Allgaier # Verizon Wireless Dodge 150 121 $31,808 Running
15 10 99 Michael Waltrip BestWestern.com Toyota 150 118 $26,055 Running
16 42 15 Michael Annett # Pilot Travel Centers Toyota 149 115 $31,563 Running
17 19 27 Jason Keller Cottonelle/Stater Bros. Charities Ford 149 112 $31,353 Running
18 36 07 David Green Toyota 149 109 $31,518 Running
19 27 89 Morgan Shepherd Lagina Plumbing/Eldora Speedway Chevrolet 149 106 $31,108 Running
20 24 23 Ken Butler III # Aaron’s Dream Machine Chevrolet 149 103 $31,498 Running
21 30 34 Tony Raines Long John Silver’s Chevrolet 149 100 $31,238 Running
22 14 09 John Wes Townley # Zaxby’s Ford 148 97 $30,753 Running
23 20 61 Brandon Whitt Ford 147 94 $31,068 Running
24 25 81 D J Kennington Red Bank Outfitters Dodge 147 91 $30,508 Running
25 26 49 Kertus Davis Chevrolet 146 88 $24,055 Running
26 32 42 Kenny Hendrick Smith Ironworks Dodge 146 85 $30,263 Running
27 13 88 Brad Keselowski GoDaddy.com Chevrolet 145 87 5 $30,128 Running 1 2
28 43 31 Stanton Barrett Interush.net Chevrolet 145 79 $23,540 Running
29 31 26 Brian Keselowski Schweitzer Title Dodge 145 76 $23,390 Running
30 38 24 Eric McClure Hefty Ford 145 73 $30,048 Running
31 37 28 Kenny Wallace US Border Patrol Chevrolet 143 70 $29,638 Running
32 40 52 Scott Gaylord Motel 6 Hesperia CA Chevrolet 143 67 $29,528 Running
33 33 01 Danny O’Quinn Jr. Team Too Pest Control Chevrolet 134 64 $22,950 Running
34 5 16 Greg Biffle CitiFinancial Ford 127 61 $23,190 Accident
35 28 87 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet 61 58 $22,730 Rearend
36 3 47 Michael McDowell # Pacific Packaging Group Toyota 50 55 $29,838 Accident
37 16 91 Terry Cook MSRP Motorsports Chevrolet 15 52 $28,973 Ignition
38 35 0 J.C. Stout sponsordavis.com Chevrolet 13 49 $22,395 Overheating
39 39 90 Johnny Chapman MSRP Motorsports Chevrolet 10 46 $28,808 Ignition
40 22 85 Casey Atwood 31-W Insulation Chevrolet 5 43 $22,305 Rearend
41 41 05 Justin Ashburn 31W Insulation Chevrolet 5 40 $28,713 Ignition
42 21 96 Dennis Setzer Dusty’s Collision Dodge 3 37 $22,165 Vibration
43 34 41 Derrike Cope Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 3 34 $22,127 Vibration
Race Comments: Before an estimated crowd of 15,000 - Kyle Busch won the Stater Bros. 300, his 22nd win in 140 NASCAR Nationwide Series races. It was the first time in NASCAR history that a driver won two races in the same day on the top-three national series. Prior to the green flag the following drivers dropped to the rear for the reasons indicated: #91 Cook (missing drivers meeting); #01 O’Quinn and #52 Scott (unapproved impound adjustment); #05 Ashburn (drivers meeting), #15 Annett (backup car).
Failed to Qualify: (4) #40 Scott Wimmer, #22 Johnny Bornemann III, #84 Mike Harmon, #02 Andy Postein
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 11 Mins, 13 Secs. Average Speed: 137.178 MPH Margin of Victory: 1.011 Seconds
Caution Flags: 4 for 23 laps: Laps: 53-61 (#47 accident turn 2 [66]); 92-95 (#32 spun turn 4 [11]); 97-101 (#38,88 accident turn 4 [99]); 130-134 (#16 accident turn 2 [1]).
Lead Changes: 6 among 3 drivers: C. Edwards 0; K. Busch 1-39; C. Edwards 40; Brad Keselowski 41-42; K. Busch 43-130; C. Edwards 131-134; K. Busch 135-150.
Top 10 Driver Points: 1) Kyle Busch - 360, 2) Carl Edwards - 340, 3) Kevin Harvick - 305, 4) David Ragan - 297, 5) Brian Vickers - 297, 6) David Reutimann - 273, 7) Joey Logano - 268, Brendan Gaughan - 256, 9 Jason Keller - 255, 10) Greg Biffle - 221
Coors Light Pole Award : Carl Edwards, #60 (179.695 mph) Featherlite “Most Improved Driver” : Steve Wallace, #66 (32 Places)
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race : Kyle Busch, #18 Mobil 1 Oil Command Performance : Brendan Gaughan, #62
Raybestos “Rookie of the Race” : Brendan Gaughan, #62 Sunoco Diamond Performance : Kyle Busch, #18
Next Race: Feb. 28, 2009 - Las Vegas Motor Speedway