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Rain can't keep Kyle Busch from another win
AP Photo/Chuck Burton
Kyle Busch celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series Dollar General 300 auto race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Saturday, Oct. 11, 2008.
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Published: October 11, 2008
Updated: 10/11/2008 12:41 pm
CONCORD - Kyle Busch dominated the rain-delayed Dollar General Store 300 Friday night at Lowe's Motor Speedway, giving him 20 victories this season in NASCAR's three top series.
Busch led 137 of 200 laps in the Nationwide Series race, which lasted four hours because of rain, a spectacular accident involving four drivers and 13 caution flags. Busch has won nine Nationwide, eight Sprint Cup and three Craftsman Truck races in 2008.
Jeff Burton was second and Brian Vickers third in the race, which ended at 12:20 a.m. Series points leader Clint Bowyer finished fourth, one spot ahead of Carl Edwards, who's second in the standings.
"We've had a lot of phenomenal racecars this year," Busch said. "It's just been one of those phenomenal seasons for us on the Nationwide side. You've just got to enjoy it while you can."
Showers brought out two red flags, forcing cars off the track and delaying the race for more than an hour. The second delay lasted 59 minutes as crews covered their cars and track personnel dried the 1½-mile surface.
Rain has plagued race teams all week. Wednesday's World of Outlaws event at The Dirt Track and Thursday's Sprint Cup qualifying were called off because of inclement weather.
Jeff Green's No. 31 Chevrolet went airborne on Lap 127 and smashed into the wall near the start-finish line. The former series champion was treated and released at the Lowe's infield care center. Justin Allgaier's No. 12 Dodge caught on fire after hitting the wall in the incident, which also involved No. 99 David Reutimann and No. 66 Steve Wallace. Allgaier jumped to safety when flames ignited under his hood.
Friday's prelude to tonight's Bank of America 500 showdown included six drivers from the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship: Busch, points leader Jimmie Johnson, Edwards, Burton, Bowyer and Kevin Harvick.
Johnson, who qualified 10th in the No. 5 Chevrolet, came in 33rd after wrecking on Lap 117. Harvick was sixth.
Busch, driving the No. 18 Toyota, started 16th in the field of 42. He led 30 laps before the long rain delay. Rookie Joey Logano was ahead for 32 laps..
When racing resumed, Busch continued his dominance, and Logano fell far behind after making contact with the wall on Lap 106. After caution flags, Busch repeatedly pulled ahead of the field with ease, leading by more than three seconds over Burton from Lap 125 to Lap 165. Logano finished 14th.
Bowyer, in the No. 2 Toyota through 31 races, saw his lead over Edwards stay at 196 points.
Jaime McMurray, making his eighth Nationwide appearance of the season, won the pole at 184.508 mph in the No. 17 Ford and led the first 15 laps before falling behind. He finished ninth.
Rookie Bryan Clauson brought out the first caution on Lap 2 when he smashed his No. 40 Dodge into the first turn wall. Clauson's chances of making his Cup debut were dashed Thursday night when qualifying was cancelled..
Only four races remain in the Nationwide season. Next stop: Oct. 25 in Tennessee for the Memphis 250. It was the last for Burton, who has decided to focus on the Chase for the rest of the season.
"To their credit, they've been doing a great job, and Kyle's been driving the hell out of it," Burton said of Busch and his Joe Gibbs Racing team effort this year.
Notes:
• Owner James Finch's Phoenix Racing team ran its 500th race Friday with Mike Bliss at the driver's seat. Bliss, whose only Nationwide win came at Lowe's Motor Speedway in 2004, finished 19th. Phoenix Racing has 11 career wins.
• Unilever will be a primary sponsor for Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Nationwide team in 2009. Unilever, a multi-national company that owns more than 400 food and home-health brands, will be the primary sponsor of the No. 5 Chevrolet for 10 races. Earnhardt Jr., veteran Mark Martin and newcomer Landon Cassill will share the driving duties.
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