Kyle Busch drove it like he stole it over the final 13 laps at Auto Club Speedway, because that’s exactly what happened in Saturday’s Royal Purple 300 Nationwide Series race.
About the only thing he didn’t get was a grand larceny charge.
Thanks to a two-tire call with 13 laps left, Busch exited the pits with a five-second lead over runner-up Carl Edwards and won a race in a No. 18 Toyota that was, at best, a third-place car. NASCAR.com
“I’m just thankful that we’ve got a team and a driver that is willing to take some chances like that, and it was the only way of winning it,” Ratcliff said.
The pit strategy gave Busch a sizeable lead in the closing laps.
“I was good with it, and I thought that was a great way to win the race,” Busch said.
Edwards, the pole sitter, attempted to catch Busch during the final mile, but came up 0.7 seconds short.
Busch claimed his third Nationwide win of the season and the 46th of his career, which puts him three victories away from tying record-holder Mark Martin, who finished eighth in this race. MiamiHerald.com
FIN CAR DRIVER MAKE 1 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 2 60 Carl Edwards Ford 3 33 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 4 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ford 5 2 Elliott Sadler Chevrolet 6 16 Trevor Bayne Ford 7 20 Joey Logano Toyota 8 32 Mark Martin Chevrolet 9 88 Aric Almirola Chevrolet 10 22 Brad Keselowski Dodge 11 38 Jason Leffler Chevrolet 12 31 Justin Allgaier Chevrolet 13 11 Brian Scott Toyota 14 30 Reed Sorenson Chevrolet 15 9 Kenny Wallace Toyota 16 7 Josh Wise Chevrolet 17 99 Ryan Truex * Toyota 18 62 Michael Annett Toyota 19 19 Mike Bliss Chevrolet 20 27 J.R. Fitzpatrick Ford 21 14 Eric McClure Chevrolet 22 87 Kevin Conway Toyota 23 89 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet 24 1 Mike Wallace Chevrolet 25 39 Charles Lewandoski * Ford 26 52 Tony Raines Chevrolet 27 66 Steve Wallace Toyota 28 24 Kevin Lepage Ford 29 23 Robert Richardson Jr. Dodge 30 79 Tim Andrews Ford 31 28 Derrike Cope Chevrolet 32 15 Timmy Hill * Ford 33 81 Blake Koch * Dodge 34 40 Scott Wimmer Chevrolet 35 51 Jeremy Clements Chevrolet 36 70 Dennis Setzer Dodge 37 44 Jeff Green Chevrolet 38 141 Jennifer Jo Cobb * Ford 39 97 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet 40 103 Alex Kennedy Dodge 41 168 Carl Long Chevrolet 42 55 Brett Rowe Chevrolet 43 174 Mike Harmon Chevrolet
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