Kyle Busch Wins Second Straight Race at BMS

BRISTOL, Tenn. – The Sharpie 500 began with a stirring tribute to NASCAR’s ageless wonder. It ended with a victory bow by the sport’s resident bad boy.

Kyle Busch led the final 68 laps en route to recording his fourth Sprint Cup victory of the season late Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway. The gripping finish was met with a mixture of cheers and boos before an announced sellout crowd of more than 160,000.

“This is awesome,’” Busch said. “We didn’t have the best car, but we were good enough and I gave it all I could. We made a lot of adjustments, and it paid off.”

Pole-winner Mark Martin finished second, followed by Marcus Ambrose, Greg Biffle and Denny Hamlin.

The race came down to a five-lap dash to the finish.  Busch chose the outside lane on the double-file restart, and managed to hold off the charging Martin.

“Kyle gave me all the room in the world pass him, and I just couldn’t do it,” Martin said. “I would have liked to have won it, but we finally got a decent finish. Kyle raced me like good sport.”

Busch expressed his appreciation for the gentleman approach by Martin.

“It’s great having the chance with these guys like Mark,” Busch said. “And we thank the fans. There are a lot of mixed emotions, but there are a lot of good [reactions] and we love all of them.”

Martin, 50, was honored before the race with a parade lap and video montage celebrating his 1,000th start in a NASCAR series event.

Martin was passed on the opening lap by Biffle, who led for the next 65 laps. Finding a comfort zone on the bottom of the track, Martin regained the lead on lap 66 and proceeded to navigate past slower cars.

With fans cheering his every more, Martin drove in his usual professional manner. He avoided potential trouble spots and executed passes when the opportunity arose. To the glee of his supporters, Martin gradually closed in on Busch until the race’s ninth caution period on lap 480.

When the action resumed on lap 485, Busch quickly pulled away from the field with a textbook restart.

After Busch had opened a lead of four car lengths, the race was slowed yet again on lap 492 by a two-car incident involving Michael Waltrip, Clint Bowyer and Joey Logano.

With just eight laps left, the tension level rose to new heights thanks to a red flag and a rain shower that halted action for 11 minutes.

Martin openly expressed his frustration over the scanner, while the hearty fans performed the high-mile wave.

The overriding story line to Saturday’s drama centered on the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Entering the night, Martin held the final 12th and final spot with a 12-point margin over Brian Vickers. Clint Bowyer trailed Martin by a margin of 58, while Busch faced a 70-point deficit.

Busch, who won the Food City 500 in the spring at BMS, had led a series-best 803 laps since the track underwent a facelift in 2007 which created multiple racing grooves. That extra racing room was a factor from the outset Saturday, as drivers raced two and three-wide.

Fans were on their feet on lap 173 when Busch was hit by the car driven by his brother, Kurt. Kyle Busch, who was running second at the time behind Martin, expressed puzzlement over his scanner after the incident and began to relay problems on his left front fender.

Busch remained calm from that point on, on the radio and the track.

Fan favorite Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finished ninth.

“We were real tight on the last run,” Earnhardt said. “It’s a shame we had all those cautions. I think Mark could have won the race without that.”

Points leader Tony Stewart was forced to race without radio contact with his crew. That problem cost Stewart two laps, then Stewart encountered problems with the battery on the Office Depot Chevrolet with just under 50 laps left.

Carl Edwards, who won the Sharpie 500 the past two years, also went down a lap early.

The race was slowed by a total of 11 cautions for 76 laps. The first caution unfolded on lap 11, when rookie Joey Logano smacked the outside wall on Turn 1 and endured a lengthy wait in the pits.

With just 79 laps remaining, rain created the seventh caution of the race and forced a sudden brainstorming session by crew chiefs and drivers. Some drivers opted to take on four tires, while other drivers opted not to make any changes.

Jimmie Johnson, who led 91 laps, fell back to the 21st spot due to an error in his pits, while Busch grabbed the lead when the race resumed on lap 433.
Saturday marked the first race since the 2007 season for the Abingdon-based Morgan-McClure Motorsports team. Scott Wimmer started 26th in the MMM Chevrolet and finished 29th.

NOTES: The highly patriotic prerace introductions featured a novel touch, as drivers were allowed to select their own songs as they walked to the stage. The selections ranged from rap and rock to country. Some drivers adopted for comical approaches, including Elliott Sadler who performed a well-received initiation of famed pro wrestler Ric Flair. Clint Bowyer went with an Elvis Presley number, Scott Speed sauntered across the stage like a rap star, and Martin took time to thank his fans. …
Dave Blaney, who qualified fourth in the Prism Motorsports Toyota, managed to complete just eight laps. ...
It’s been a good week for Regan Smith, who learned Wednesday that this Denver-based Furniture Row Racing team will compete in all 36 Sprint Cup races next season. 

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