Carl Edwards was pressing inside in turn three in a furious attempt to overtake Busch during the last lap of the Kroger 200.
But Busch also carried another nugget of knowledge: If he maintained his momentum, another Nationwide Series victory was his.
On Saturday night, Busch repelled Edwards’ final two-lap rally and edged him by .198 seconds to win at O’Reilly Raceway Park in a green-white-checkered finish that went one lap beyond the scheduled distance. Busch earned his eighth victory in 16 starts on the Nationwide Series this season. Indianapolis Star
“It’s always there, especially at a short track and especially here at ORP,” Busch said. “You’re so vulnerable running around the top side like you do, that people can dive bomb you on the bottom and slide up into you.
“I knew it was there. But if I could just keep enough momentum rolling I felt like anytime he laid a bumper to me he’d get sideways too.”
Aric Almirola finished third in the No. 88 J.R. Motorsports Chevrolet. Polesitter Trevor Bayne and Georgian Reed Sorenson rounded out the top five. FOXNews
FIN CAR DRIVER MAKE 1 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 2 60 Carl Edwards Ford 3 88 Aric Almirola Chevrolet 4 99 Trevor Bayne Toyota 5 32 Reed Sorenson Toyota 6 62 Brendan Gaughan Toyota 7 12 Justin Allgaier Dodge 8 22 Brad Keselowski Dodge 9 98 Paul Menard Ford 10 66 Steve Wallace Toyota 11 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. * Ford 12 16 Colin Braun * Ford 13 40 Mike Bliss Chevrolet 14 70 Shelby Howard Chevrolet 15 23 Robert Richardson Jr. Chevrolet 16 7 Josh Wise Chevrolet 17 11 Brian Scott * Toyota 18 15 Michael Annett Toyota 19 34 Tony Raines Chevrolet 20 81 Michael McDowell Dodge 21 5 David Starr Chevrolet 22 1 Mike Wallace Chevrolet 23 21 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet 24 87 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet 25 27 Johnny Sauter Ford 26 24 Eric McClure Ford 27 9 Kevin Hamlin Ford 28 33 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet 29 31 J C Stout Chevrolet 30 38 Jason Leffler Toyota 31 20 Matt DiBenedetto Toyota 32 35 Jason Keller Chevrolet 33 43 Kevin Swindell Ford 34 26 Brian Keselowski Dodge 35 28 Kenny Wallace Chevrolet 36 10 Derrick Griffin Toyota 37 91 Chase Miller Chevrolet 38 90 Danny O'Quinn Jr. Chevrolet 39 49 Mark Green Chevrolet 40 136 Jeff Green Chevrolet 41 52 Chris Lawson Chevrolet 42 89 Johnny Chapman Chevrolet 43 92 Dennis Setzer Dodge
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