LAT PHOTOGRAPHICKyle Busch celebrates his Sprint Cup win in Kentucky on Saturday night.
By AL PEARCE on 7/09/2011
Toyota driver Kyle Busch dominated Saturday night's inaugural Quaker State Sprint Cup 400 at Kentucky Speedway, but it wasn't as easy as it may have looked. Even though he led 125 of the 267 laps and ran among the top five for virtually the other 142, the Joe Gibbs Racing star had to survive two late-race restarts, the last with only three laps remaining.
But Busch was as flawless those final three laps as he'd been the rest of the night. He held the lead going into turn one of the last one, opened the lead somewhat down the backstretch and outran the onrushing David Reutimann, leaving Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski, David Ragan, Kurt Busch and Jeff Gordon to fight for leftovers.
It was Busch's third Cup win this year, his second win of the Kentucky weekend (he also won Thursday night's truck series race), his 22nd all-time Cup win and his 99th among NASCAR's top three series.
“This is right up there with the best of them,” he said of all his wins. “It was a fun night and a tough night, but the car was awesome. It was right there all night, and had been strong since we unloaded on Thursday. I just can't thank everybody enough for giving me such a good car.”
Busch started from the pole, but it was his brother, Kurt, who led the first 31 laps. Later, Kyle would take over and lead in segments of 1, 46, 58, 1 and 8 laps, and then the final 11. He took the lead for good when Reutimann made his final gas and tire stop, shortly before the next-to-last caution. By then, all but a handful of drivers had made their last stop, leaving Busch to regain the lead when Reutimann stopped.
Keselowski led three times for 79 laps but was shuffled back by the late restarts.
“We were better than where we finished,” he said. “The restarts are a crapshoot and they went against us at the end. We got stuck in the inside lane (less favorable) and couldn't get back to the front in time. But overall, it was an incredible night for our team.”
Kurt Busch led twice for 41 laps but wasn't a serious player after leading the first 31. The race's other 22 laps were divided among Reutimann (seven laps), Hamlin (five) Ragan (three), Landon Cassill (two) and Martin Truex Jr., Tony Stewart, Travis Kvapil, Kasey Kahne and J. J. Yeley (1 each).
Kevin Harvick, who entered the race as the series leader, finished 16th and dropped to third in points, behind Kyle Busch and Edwards.
RESULTS
1. Kyle Busch, Toyota, 267 laps at 137.314 mph; 2. David Reutimann, Toyota, 267; 3. Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 267; 4. Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 267; 5. Carl Edwards, Ford, 267; 6. Matt Kenseth, Ford, 267; 7. Brad Keselowski, Dodge, 267; 8. David Ragan, Ford, 267; 9. Kurt Busch, Dodge, 267; 10. Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 267;
11. Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 267; 12. Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 267; 13. Kasey Kahne, Toyota, 267; 14. Joey Logano, Toyota, 267; 15. Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 267; 16. Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 267; 17. Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 267; 18. Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 267; 19. Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 267; 20. Marcos Ambrose, Ford, 267;
21. Greg Biffle Ford, 267; 22. Mark Martin, Chevrolet, 267; 23. Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 267; 24. Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 267; 25. Casey Mears, Toyota, 266; 26. Bobby Labonte, Toyota, 266; 27. Brian Vickers, Toyota, 266; 28. A. J. Allmendinger, Ford, 265; 29. Travis Kvapil, Ford, 265; 30. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 265;
31. David Gilliland, Ford, 265; 32. Andy Lally, Chevrolet, 264; 33. Dave Blaney, Chevrolet, 264; 34. Mike Bliss, Ford, 264; 35. Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 259 (accident); 36. Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 198 (engine failure); 37. Scott Wimmer, Dodge, 90 (electrical); 38. Tony Raines, Ford, 38 (vibration); 39. Joe Nemechek, Toyota, 37 (no brakes); 40. J.J. Yeley, Chevrolet, 35 (transmission);
41. Michael McDowell, Toyota, 32 (electrical); 42. Scott Riggs, Chevrolet, 28 (no brakes); 43. Mike Skinner, Toyota, 17 (electrical);
TIME OF RACE: 2h 55m 08s
MARGIN OF VICTORY: 0.179s
PURSE: $4,925,697; winner’s share: $123,316
POLE STARTER: Kyle Busch (by practice results; qualifying rained out)
PROVISIONALS: None
DID NOT QUALIFY: David Stremme, David Starr, Michael Waltrip, Robby Gordon and T.J. Bell
STARTED AT REAR: Hamlin (engine change) and Blaney (transmission change)
LEAD CHANGES: 20 among 12 drivers
CAUTION PERIODS: 6 for 32 laps
TOP-10 POINTS: 1. Kyle Busch, 624; 2. Edwards, -4; 3. Harvick, -10; 4. Kurt Busch, -18; 5. Johnson, -19; 6. Kenseth, -22; 7. J. Gordon, -71; 8. Earnhardt Jr., -76; 9. Newman, -86; 10. Hamlin, -95
NEXT: Loudon, N.H., July 17, (1:30, TNT)
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