Kyle Busch figured out a way to win again in NASCAR’s Nationwide Series.
After two straight frustrating runner-up finishes in the second tier series, Busch passed Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Joey Logano near the end of the Camping World 200 on Saturday and held off the precocious 19-year-old to get the victory at New Hampshire International Speedway.
Logano, who started from the pole and led 108 of the 200 laps, beat Busch out of the pits by the length of a hood on the final pit stop by the two leaders. But Busch was able to stay with the leader and eventually drive past him with 36 laps left. USA Today
“It feels pretty awesome,” said Busch, the Nationwide points leader who had never won before at New Hampshire in the division. “This place is real, real tough on me for some reason. It kind of eludes me. To beat Joey, he’s got a lot of laps around here, that’s pretty special. That kid’s very talented.
“I didn’t think I really had an opportunity. We just kept adjusting on our car all day. Normally when we’re out front we don’t adjust on it. Today we didn’t have the winning car, we made the winning car.”
It was the fifth Nationwide victory of the season for Busch. Hartford Courant
Brad Keselowski finished third at the Magic Mile, followed by Mike Bliss, who stayed out on old tires during the third and final caution and led the field to a restart on Lap 162. Kevin Harvick came home fifth in his own No. 33 Chevrolet.
NASCAR Nationwide Series: New Hampshire Motor Speedway - Race Results
Busch collected his 26th career victory in the series, fifth-best of all time and one behind fourth place Jeff Burton. In posting his 13th top-10 in 16 starts this season, Busch extended his lead over sixth-place finisher Carl Edwards to 162 points in the series standings.
Logano, on the other hand, got a taste of the frustration that has haunted Busch, who had led 1,486 of the 2,787 laps he had completed in the first 15 races this season.
“I guess this is how Kyle feels lately—leading the most laps and not winning,” said Logano, who led a race-high 108 laps.
Logano said the handling on his car changed too much during the final run and it slowed him down enough for Busch to move ahead.
“We had a pretty good car [Saturday],” he said. “Just not good enough. It’s not like he beat us by a lot. [We were] just too tight at the end. NASCAR.com
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