Backstretch Motorsports

Kyle Busch celebrates winning Saturday's O'Reilly 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Texas Motor Speedway (CIA Stock photo)

FORT WORTH, Texas — It’s high time Kyle Busch got a new nickname.

“Shrub” is no longer worthy of the younger Busch brother — so how about “The Dominator?”

Busch led a track-record 178 of 200 laps in winning Saturday’s O’Reilly 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Texas Motor Speedway by 1.447 seconds over fast-closing Tony Stewart.

In claiming his second Nationwide victory of the season and the 23rd of his career, Busch achieved several milestones. He became the first driver to win a Nationwide race at Texas from the pole and won a record third straight event in the series at the 1.5-mile intermediate speedway.

Third-place finisher Brad Keselowski was running second and gaining ground on Busch before NASCAR called the fourth and final caution of the race on Lap 188, after rookie John Wes Townley’s No. 09 Ford smacked the Turn 4 wall. Keselowski started from the rear of the field in a backup car after wrecking during Thurdsay’s qualifying session.

Busch pulled away after the restart with seven laps left, while Stewart, who had stopped for four tires under the caution, charged from seventh to second during the closing circuits. Busch won for the 12th time in his last 29 Nationwide starts, dating to last year’s spring race at Texas.

David Ragan finished fourth and Paul Menard came home fifth. Matt Kenseth, Mike Bliss, Jeff Burton, David Reutimann and rookie Justin Allgaier completed the top 10.

Busch said he was fighting a loose condition that worsened as the race progressed. That’s why Keselowski was able to gain ground late in the race, but the caution ended his chance for victory.

“If we didn’t get a caution like we did, it probably would have been a heck of a show,” said Busch, who pulled away after the last restart while Keselowski battled Joey Logano for the second position.

“I was just so loose today, and finally, there at the end, we got it tightened up. That was pretty cool… And, fortunately, the caution did fly there. Some guys came in and got tires. I saw Carl (Edwards) got banged up there, so it’s a good points day for us, but you’ve got to have that sometimes to get back to the winning ways.”

Busch trimmed Edwards’ series points lead to 38, thanks to a late-race wreck involving Edwards and Logano. With four laps remaining, Logano’s Toyota squeezed Edwards’ Ford into the outside wall as Edwards was trying to work his way toward the front.

Forced to pit because of a flat tire, Edwards finished 18th, two laps down. Logano stayed on the lead lap but dropped to 12th after the contact.

“We were driving to get everything we could,” Edwards said. “I had a run on the outside of him. I had my nose up there. I don’t think his spotter told him, or he just decided to block at the last moment, but it was too late — he came across the hood and got me into the wall and got himself into the wall.

“Six more inches, and it would have been fine.”

NASCAR Race Number 5
Unofficial Race Results for the O’reilly 300 - Saturday, April 4, 2009
Texas Motor Speedway - Fort Worth, TX - 1.5 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 200 Laps - 300 Miles - Purse: $1,524,562

Leader
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Winnings Status Times Laps Rating
1 1 18 Kyle Busch NOS Energy Drink Toyota 200 195 10 $76,345 Running 4 178 150.0
2 8 33 Tony Stewart Armor All Chevrolet 200 175 5 $54,575 Running 1 5 107.1
3 42 88 Brad Keselowski Hellmann’s Chevrolet 200 170 5 $48,843 Running 1 1 103.7
4 4 6 David Ragan Discount Tire Ford 200 160 $38,675 Running 111.7
5 3 98 Paul Menard Richmond/Menards Ford 200 155 $31,850 Running 100.1
6 2 16 Matt Kenseth CitiFinancial Ford 200 150 $29,775 Running 114.8
7 13 1 Mike Bliss Miccosukee Indian Gaming & Resort Chevrolet 200 146 $38,443 Running 90.4
8 5 29 Jeff Burton Holiday Inn Chevrolet 200 147 5 $25,425 Running 1 16 121.2
9 20 10 David Reutimann Beringer Vineyards Toyota 200 138 $25,135 Running 101.0
10 11 12 Justin Allgaier # Verizon FIOS Dodge 200 134 $32,043 Running 89.2
11 31 15 Michael Annett # Pilot Travel Centers Toyota 200 130 $31,493 Running 82.4
12 10 20 Joey Logano GameStop/Guitar Hero Metallica Toyota 200 127 $30,493 Running 105.3
13 12 38 Jason Leffler Great Clips Toyota 200 124 $30,643 Running 91.2
14 30 66 Steve Wallace US Fidelis Chevrolet 200 121 $29,883 Running 76.5
15 16 27 Jason Keller Cottonelle Ford 199 118 $30,348 Running 79.3
16 17 11 Scott Lagasse Jr. # America’s Incredible Pizza Company Toyota 199 115 $29,688 Running 78.9
17 15 47 Michael McDowell # Tom’s Snacks Toyota 199 112 $29,078 Running 77.8
18 6 60 Carl Edwards Scotts Ford 198 109 $23,225 Running 94.3
19 19 99 Michael Waltrip Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota 198 106 $22,115 Running 72.1
20 9 5 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Fastenal Chevrolet 197 103 $22,655 Running 86.9
21 38 28 Kenny Wallace U.S. Border Patrol Chevrolet 197 100 $28,563 Running 52.1
22 36 34 Tony Raines Long John Silver’s Chevrolet 197 97 $28,253 Running 59.4
23 40 61 Brandon Whitt Ford 196 94 $28,493 Running 55.0
24 35 23 Robert Richardson Jr. Mahindra Chevrolet 195 91 $27,983 Running 44.5
25 33 42 Kenny Hendrick Dodge 195 88 $27,998 Running 54.3
26 23 77 Peyton Sellers # SFP Chevrolet 195 85 $21,270 Running 52.2
27 41 05 Casey Atwood 31-W Insulation/MC2 Energy Drink Ford 195 82 $27,628 Running 42.9
28 39 89 Morgan Shepherd Eldora Speedway/Lagina Plumbing Chevrolet 195 79 $27,508 Running 33.7
29 26 01 Danny O’Quinn Jr. Cash-4-Gold Chevrolet 195 76 $20,865 Running 51.7
30 32 07 David Green PMCLife.com/Comfort Suites Toyota 194 73 $27,523 Running 40.5
31 14 81 Kevin Hamlin D.H. Griffin Dodge 194 70 $27,113 Running 52.4
32 27 70 Shelby Howard ForeTravel Motorcoach Chevrolet 194 67 $27,003 Running 55.1
33 37 52 Kevin Lepage Courtyard by Marriott Chevrolet 189 64 $26,893 Running 30.8
34 25 24 Eric McClure Hefty Ford 188 61 $26,783 Running 38.6
35 28 32 Burney Lamar Dollar General Stores Toyota 185 58 $26,673 Running 58.0
36 29 09 John Wes Townley # Zaxby’s Ford 182 55 $26,563 Accident 48.1
37 18 62 Brendan Gaughan # South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet 175 52 $26,448 Running 61.5
38 22 96 Brian Keselowski my123backup.com Dodge 133 49 $19,945 Handling 45.7
39 24 87 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet 56 46 $19,890 Rear End 49.7
40 43 0 J C Stout 1-800-527-1801 Chevrolet 41 43 $19,855 Vibration 32.9
41 21 02 Andy Ponstein Corriestottracing.com Chevrolet 18 40 $19,820 Electrical 33.4
42 7 91 Terry Cook MSRP Motorsports Chevrolet 7 37 $19,765 Vibration 38.0
43 34 90 Johnny Chapman MSRP Motorsports Chevrolet 5 34 $19,718 Vibration 26.8
Race Comments: Before an estimated crowd of 85,200, Kyle Busch won the O’Reilly 300, his 23rd NASCAR Nationwide Series victory. Prior to the green flag, the following drivers dropped to the rear of the field for the reason indicated: #28 Kenny Wallace (unapproved adjustments); #88 Brad Keselowski (backup car); #96 Brian Keselowski (driver change).
Failed to Qualify: (6) 40 Scott Wimmer, 43 Josh Wise, 26 Brian Keselowski, 49 Kertus Davis, 31 Kerry Earnhardt, 84 Mike Harmon.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 04 Mins, 55 Secs. Average Speed: 144.096 MPH Margin of Victory: 1.447 Seconds
Caution Flags: 4 for 18 laps: Laps: 68-71 (Debris [88]); 120-124 (Debris [1]); 161-164 (#62 spun frontstretch [15]); 189-193 (#09 accident turn 4 [66]).
Lead Changes: 6 among 4 drivers: K. Busch 1-56; Brad Keselowski 57; K. Busch 58-68; T. Stewart 69-73; K. Busch 74-89; J. Burton 90-105; K. Busch 106-200.
Top 10 Driver Points: (1) C. Edwards 799;(2) K. Busch 761;(3) D. Ragan 653;(4) J. Leffler 612;(5) J. Allgaier # 600;(6) K. Harvick 576;(7) Brad Keselowski 568;(8) B. Gaughan # 564;(9) J. Keller 540;(10) S. Lagasse Jr. # 538.
Coors Light Pole Award : Kyle Busch, #18 (188.252 mph) Featherlite “Most Improved Driver” : Mike Bliss, #1 (28 Places)
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race : Kyle Busch, #18 Mobil 1 Oil Command Performance : Mike Bliss, #1
Raybestos “Rookie of the Race” : Justin Allgaier, #12 Sunoco Diamond Performance : Kyle Busch, #18
WIX Filters Lap Leader Award : Not awarded, #
Next Race: Apr. 11, 2009 - Nashville Superspeedway