Backstretch Motorsports

By Reid Spencer

JOLIET, Ill. (July 11, 2008) — With a 10-second lead after a round of green-flag pit stops cycled through on Lap 155, Kyle Busch drove his No. 18 Toyota to a comfortable victory over Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin in Friday night’s Dollar General 300 at Chicagoland Speedway.

Busch’s fifth 2008 victory, the 16th of his career, gave JGR a series-record-tying 13 victories in a single season, matching in 20 races the 13 wins Richard Childress Racing recorded in all of 2007. Hamlin, who narrowed Busch’s margin to 3.120 seconds at the finish, was driving Todd Braun’s No. 32 Toyota on Friday.

“It’s definitely an awesome feeling to be here tonight,” Busch said in Victory Lane. “We weren’t that good early in the race, but we made some adjustments, and this car just came to life.”

In NASCAR’s top three series combined, Busch has 13 victories, six in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and two in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series to go with his five NASCAR Nationwide wins.

“It’s definitely been a phenomenal year,” Busch said. “It’s the kind of thing that doesn’t come along very often.”

Hamlin started the race from the rear of the field on an owner points provisional, because a mechanical problem during qualifying forced the team to make unauthorized repairs under impound. By the end of the race, Hamlin had perhaps the fastest car on the track.

“We really ran that 18 down on that last run,” Hamlin said. “He just got too far ahead, and we couldn’t overcome the track position.”

Brad Keselowski, second in the series standings, ran third and trimmed Clint Bowyer’s points lead to 183. Brian Vickers was fourth, followed by polesitter David Reutimann, Greg Biffle, Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Stewart and rookie Landon Cassill.

Note: Stewart started second in the No. 20 JGR Toyota that has won nine Nationwide races this season, but made a rare mistake with a missed shift at the start of the race. Kevin Harvick slammed into the back of Stewart’s car, damaging both machines and preventing them from contending for the victory. . . Busch has taken three different cars to Victory Lane this season: the No. 18 Toyota he drove Friday, the No. 20 Gibbs Toyota and Braun’s No. 32.

NASCAR Race Number 20
Unofficial Race Results for the Dollar General 300 Powered By Coca-Cola
- Friday, July 11, 2008
Chicagoland Speedway - Joliet, IL - 1.5 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 200 Laps - 300 Miles - Purse: $1,567,739
Leader
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Total Award Status Times Laps
1 10 18 Kyle Busch Z-Line Designs Toyota 200 195 10 $84,845 Running 2 101
2 41 32 Denny Hamlin Hass Avocados from Mexico Toyota 200 170 $63,175 Running
3 13 88 Brad Keselowski U.S. NAVY Chevrolet 200 170 5 $59,318 Running 1 4
4 8 10 Brian Vickers Dollar General Stores Toyota 200 160 $38,275 Running
5 1 99 David Reutimann Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota 200 160 5 $37,200 Running 3 83
6 27 16 Greg Biffle CitiFinancial Ford 200 155 5 $30,450 Running 1 1
7 9 2 Clint Bowyer RVs.com/Camping World Chevrolet 200 151 5 $28,500 Running 1 1
8 7 29 Jeff Burton Holiday Inn Chevrolet 200 147 5 $27,450 Running 3 10
9 2 20 Tony Stewart Old Spice Toyota 200 138 $28,210 Running
10 5 5 Landon Cassill # National Guard Chevrolet 200 134 $34,593 Running
11 21 1 Mike Bliss Miccosukee Resorts Chevrolet 200 130 $34,618 Running
12 22 47 Kelly Bires Clorox Ford 200 127 $30,918 Running
13 3 6 David Ragan Discount Tire Ford 200 124 $25,700 Running
14 33 11 Jason Keller America’s Incredible Pizza Company 200 121 $29,858 Running
15 24 59 Marcos Ambrose Kingsford Match Light Ford 199 118 $30,073 Running
16 12 60 Carl Edwards World Financial Group Ford 199 115 $24,020 Running
17 19 17 Matt Kenseth Valvoline Ford 199 112 $22,435 Running
18 4 33 Kevin Harvick Camping World RV Sales Chevrolet 199 109 $22,925 Running
19 14 25 Bobby Hamilton Jr. Eckrich Ford 199 106 $28,433 Running
20 17 7 Mike Wallace GEICO Toyota 198 103 $29,223 Running
21 16 9 Elliott Sadler Auto Value Part Stores Dodge 198 100 $21,645 Running
22 30 70 Mark Green ForeTravel/BIOMET Chevrolet 198 97 $30,003 Running
23 18 64 David Stremme Atreus Home & Communities 197 94 $28,268 Running
24 20 66 Steve Wallace Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches 196 91 $27,758 Running
25 34 22 Josh Wise Supercuts Dodge 196 88 $27,798 Running
26 6 40 Dario Franchitti # Fastenal Dodge 196 85 $27,513 Running
27 11 38 Jason Leffler Great Clips/comcast Toyota 195 82 $27,403 Running
28 37 28 Kenny Wallace U.S. Border Patrol Chevrolet 195 79 $27,283 Running
29 31 55 Robby Gordon Menards/MAPEI Dodge 194 76 $20,665 Running
30 15 27 Brad Coleman Pull-Ups/Jewel-Osco Ford 194 73 $27,273 Running
31 39 81 D.J. Kennington Mahindra Tractor/NPPL Dodge 192 70 $26,888 Running
32 36 24 Eric McClure Hefty Chevrolet 190 67 $26,778 Running
33 42 01 Danny Efland SponsorDavis.com/Weber Grill 189 64 $26,668 Running
34 40 52 Kevin Lepage Dale Jr’s Whiskey River/Paradise Bay 109 61 $26,558 Engine
35 28 30 Stanton Barrett Interush Chevrolet 57 58 $26,448 Engine
36 23 05 Burney Lamar 31W Insulation/CertainTeed Ford 47 55 $26,338 Transmission
37 43 90 Johnny Chapman MSRP Motorsports Chevrolet 34 52 $26,228 Overheating
38 35 4 Derrike Cope JVC Chevrolet 31 49 $26,168 Overheating
39 26 02 Andy Ponstein StottClassicRacing.com Chevrolet 30 46 $19,590 Engine
40 29 31 Kenny Hendrick Interush Chevrolet 30 43 $19,480 Vibration
41 38 61 Brandon Whitt Ford 20 40 $25,838 Driveshaft
42 32 49 Kertus Davis Chevrolet 9 37 $19,190 Rear End
43 25 0 Larry Gunselman SponsorDavis.com/Staybridge Suites 7 34 $19,064 Vibration
Race Comments: Before an estimated crowd of 75,000, Kyle Busch won the Dollar General 300 powered by Coca-Cola, his 16th NASCAR Nationwide Series victory. Prior to the green flag the following driver(s) dropped to the rear for the reason(s) indicated: #32 Hamlin (engine change); #52 Lepage (driver change).
Failed to Qualify: (7) 50 Jeremy Clements, 23 Robert Richardson Jr., 43 Kevin Lepage, 92 Brian Keselowski #, 89 Morgan Shepherd, 36 Chad Blount, 91 Justin Hobgood.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 04 Mins, 37 Secs. Average Speed: 144.443 MPH Margin of Victory: 3.120 Seconds
Caution Flags: 3 for 15 laps: Laps: 56-61 (#38 spun frontstretch); 63-67 (#17 spun frontstretch); 90-93 (Debris).
Lead Changes: 10 among 6 drivers: D. Reutimann 1-53; J. Burton 54-58; D. Reutimann 59-87; J. Burton 88-90; B. Keselowski 91-94; K. Busch 95-148; D. Reutimann 149; G. Biffle 150; C. Bowyer 151; J. Burton 152-153; K. Busch 154-200.
Top 10 Driver Points: (1) C. Bowyer 2,965;(2) Br. Keselowski 2,782;(3) D. Reutimann 2,748;(4) C. Edwards 2,711;(5) K. Busch 2,633;(6) D. Ragan 2,613;(7) M. Bliss 2,603;(8) M. Wallace 2,376;(9) D. Stremme 2,325;(10) J. Keller 2,278.
Coors Light Pole Award : David Reutimann, #99 (176.436 mph) Featherlite “Most Improved Driver” : Mark Green, #70 (8 Places)
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race : Kyle Busch, #18 Mobil 1 Oil Command Performance : Mike Bliss, #1
Raybestos “Rookie of the Race” : Landon Cassill, #5 Sunoco Diamond Performance : Kyle Busch, #18
WIX Filters “Lap Leader” : Brad Keselowski, #88 (4 Laps)
Next Race: Jul. 19, 2008 - Gateway International Raceway