Backstretch Motorsports

Tire problems plague Kyle Busch for second time

HAMPTON, Ga. — Matt Kenseth may not have had the dominant car in Saturday’s Nicorette 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but his No. 17 Ford was first to the finish line.

Benefitting from Kyle Busch’s blown tire, which took the dominant car out of contention, Kenseth held off Kevin Harvick by .159 seconds during a green-white-checkered-flag finish that took the race three laps beyond its scheduled distance. The win was Kenseth’s first of the year and 24th in the series.

Busch, who finished 24th, had led 153 of 170 laps when his right front tire exploded at the entry to Turn 1. Busch’s No. 20 Toyota slammed into the outside wall, ending his chance to lead the championship standings in all three of NASCAR’s top series entering Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500 Sprint Cup race.

“I knew Kyle opened the door for everybody,” Kenseth said. “There was no way anybody was going to beat him on speed. But he kind of opened the door, and we were able to get to the front and take advantage of it.”

Harvick, the 2006 champion, took the series lead by 25 points over 2007 champ Carl Edwards, who ran fourth. Jeff Burton was third and Bobby Labonte fifth. Brad Keselowski, Mike Bliss, Kasey Kahne, Jason Leffler and David Reutimann completed the top 10.

“I think we were better than the 17,” Harvick said, “but he was better than we were for a couple of laps.”

Harvick felt he lost the race in the pits on Lap 172, when a slow stop dropped him from first to sixth in the running order.

“We fell behind on that final pit stop and didn’t have enough time to recover from it,” Harvick said. “When you have opportunities like this, you’ve got to take advantage of them.”

The demise of Busch’s dominant car sparked the hopes of those who had been chasing him. After pit stops under the caution caused by Busch’s accident, David Ragan restarted in the lead with 20 laps left in the 195-lap event.

Ragan’s advantage was short-lived. On Lap 177, Burton surged into the lead, pulling the No. 17 Ford of Matt Kenseth with him. Burton, whose No. 29 Richard Childress Racing Chevy won the owners championship last year, held the lead until Kenseth claimed the top spot with a pass to the outside on Lap 186.

Three laps later, as Dale Earnhardt Jr. pulled to the inside of Eric McClure’s No. 24 Chevrolet, McClure spun and triggered a multicar crash that also destroyed the No. 41 Dodge of Bryan Clauson and crumpled the hood of Earnhardt’s No. 5 Chevy.

Kenseth led Harvick to a restart with three laps left, but debris from David Ragan’s car, which faltered approaching the line, brought a quick end to the green-flag condition. That set up the two-lap dash to the finish.

NASCAR Race Number 4
Unofficial Race Results for the Nicorette “300″ - Saturday, March 8, 2008
Atlanta Motor Speedway - Hampton, GA - 1.54 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 198 Laps - 304.92 Miles - Purse: $1,151,315

Leader
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Total Award Status Times Laps
1 10 17 Matt Kenseth Arby’s Ford 198 190 5 $56,000 Running 2 14
2 6 33 Kevin Harvick Camping World Chevrolet 198 175 5 $37,175 Running 4 5
3 1 29 Jeff Burton Holiday Inn Chevrolet 198 170 5 $28,850 Running 4 13
4 3 60 Carl Edwards Scotts Miracle-Gro Ford 198 165 5 $24,025 Running 1 1
5 27 21 Bobby Labonte Chevrolet 198 155 $21,400 Running
6 17 88 Brad Keselowski NAVY Chevrolet 198 150 $26,218 Running
7 11 22 Mike Bliss Supercuts Dodge 198 146 $25,628 Running
8 8 38 Jason Leffler Great Clips Toyota 198 147 5 $30,088 Running 1 1
9 7 9 Kasey Kahne Hellmann’s Dodge 198 138 $18,025 Running
10 5 99 David Reutimann Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota 198 134 $25,318 Running
11 20 59 Marcos Ambrose Kingsford with Hickory Ford 198 130 $23,818 Running
12 26 47 Kelly Bires Clorox Ford 198 127 $23,043 Running
13 13 16 Jamie McMurray citifinancial Ford 198 124 $16,575 Running
14 31 11 Jason Keller America’s Incredible Pizza Chevrolet 198 121 $21,693 Running
15 9 5 Dale Earnhardt Jr National Guard Chevrolet 198 118 $15,400 Running
16 12 6 David Ragan Discount Tire Ford 198 120 5 $15,275 Running 1 3
17 19 7 Mike Wallace GEICO Toyota 197 112 $21,768 Running
18 29 66 Steve Wallace Atreus Homes & Communities 197 109 $21,268 Running
19 4 2 Clint Bowyer BB&T Chevrolet 197 111 5 $14,725 Running 1 1
20 15 77 Cale Gale # Rheem Chevrolet 197 103 $21,893 Running
21 23 37 Greg Biffle Cub Cadet Ford 197 100 $14,750 Running
22 16 32 Brian Vickers ABF U-Pack Moving Toyota 197 97 $20,943 Running
23 14 25 Bobby Hamilton Jr Curly’s BBQ Ford 197 99 5 $21,268 Running 1 1
24 2 20 Kyle Busch Farm Bureau Insurance Toyota 197 101 10 $14,325 Running 5 153
25 32 36 Kenny Wallace Shark Energy Drink Dodge 197 93 5 $23,318 Running 1 3
26 25 1 Johnny Sauter Miccosukee Resorts Chevrolet 197 90 5 $14,225 Running 1 3
27 33 61 Kevin Lepage Ford 196 82 $14,175 Running
28 24 40 Dario Franchitti # Fastenal Dodge 193 79 $20,593 Running
29 18 41 Bryan Clauson # Polaroid Dodge 187 76 $21,543 Accident
30 28 64 David Stremme Atreus Homes & Communities 186 73 $14,250 Running
31 36 28 Brian Keselowski # Chevrolet 185 70 $20,613 Running
32 21 4 Robert Richardson Jr Phantom Chevrolet 185 67 $20,353 Running
33 30 24 Eric McClure Hefty Brand Chevrolet 178 64 $20,318 Accident
34 34 81 D.J. Kennington Mahindra Tractors/MC2 Energy Drink 177 61 $20,283 Running
35 22 27 Brad Coleman Cottonelle/Kroger Ford 168 58 $20,253 Running
36 37 05 Brett Rowe CertainTeed/31W Insulation Chevrolet 134 55 $20,218 Accident
37 38 52 Derrike Cope Chevrolet 41 52 $20,183 Rearend
38 40 90 Johnny Chapman MSRP Motorsports Chevrolet 27 49 $13,660 Electrical
39 41 91 Larry Gunselman MSRP Motorsports Chevrolet 23 46 $13,610 Transmission
40 42 84 Mike Harmon M150 Energy Drink/DAB Constructors 22 43 $13,550 Vibration
41 39 89 Morgan Shepherd Victory in Jesus Racing Dodge 18 40 $19,958 Handling
42 35 01 Kertus Davis RACEGIRL Chevrolet 10 37 $19,913 Accident
43 43 0 Dwayne Leik Lori Morgan, LLC Chevrolet 7 34 $19,839 Handling
Race Comments: Before an announced crowd of 25,000 - Matt Kenseth won the Nicorette 300 - his 15th NASCAR Nationwide Series victory. Prior to the green flag no cars dropped to the rear of the field.
Failed to Qualify: N/A
Time of Race: 02 Hrs, 19 Mins, 21 Secs. Average Speed: 131.29 MPH Margin of Victory: .159 Seconds
Caution Flags: 8 for 30 laps: Laps: 12-15 (#01 accident turn 4.); 30-32 (#40 spun frontstretch); 49-52 (#4, 28 accident turn 4.); 103-106 (#27 accident turn 3); 143-147 (#05 accident backstretch.); 172-175 (#20 accident turn 1); 190-192 (#5, 24, 41 accident backstretch [Red Flag 7 min 53 sec]); 194-196 (#6 accident turn 1).
Lead Changes: 22 among 11 drivers: J. Burton (Pole); K. Busch 1-29; J. Burton 30; K. Busch 31-52; K. Harvick 53; M. Kenseth 54; K. Harvick 55-56; K. Busch 57-86; K. Harvick 87; J. Burton 88; C. Bowyer 89; J. Sauter 90-92; J. Leffler 93; B. Hamilton Jr 94; K. Wallace 95-97; K. Busch 98-142; C. Edwards 143; K. Busch 144-170; K. Harvick 171; J. Burton 172; D. Ragan 173-175; J. Burton 176-185; M. Kenseth 186-198.
Top 10 Driver Points: (1) K. Harvick 605;(2) C. Edwards 580;(3) Ky. Busch 531;(4) D. Ragan 529;(5) C. Bowyer 507;(6) D. Reutimann 503;(7) T. Stewart 472;(8) M. Bliss 472;(9) M. Wallace 469;(10) K. Bires 445.
Featherlite “Most Improved Driver” : Jason Leffler, #38 (31 Places) Mahler Clevite : Matt Kenseth, #17
Raybestos “Rookie of the Race” : Bryan Clauson, #41 Sunoco Diamond Performance : Matt Kenseth, #17
WIX Filters “Lap Leader” : Kenny Wallace, #36 (1 Lap)
Next Race: Mar. 15, 2008 - Bristol Motor Speedway