Kyle Busch hit the trifecta at Bristol Motor Speedway and once again made history in NASCAR on Saturday.
Busch became the first driver in NASCAR to win all three of its national touring series races in the same week, as he drove into Bristol’s victory lane in three of the last four nights.
After winning the Camping World Truck race on Wednesday and the Nationwide event on Friday, Busch put on a dominating performance in the IRWIN Tools Night Race by leading 282 of 500 laps and holding off David Reutimann at the finish by 0.68 seconds to sweep the week at the 0.533-mile, high-banked Tennessee track.
His victory was the third of the season and the 19th of his Sprint Cup career. He also won a Cup race at Bristol for the fourth time. MiamiHerald.com
“I’ve been trying to do this since I got to NASCAR,” said Busch, who has tried for a three-race sweep five times in his career.
“I love Bristol and I love winning. And to do it for the first time ever in NASCAR, to sweep the weekend, man, that’s pretty awesome.”
Busch also won the Nationwide race Friday night, and the Trucks race Wednesday night to become the first driver to complete the sweep since NASCAR expanded to three national series in 1995.
“He’s pretty good,” Joe Gibbs Racing president J.D. Gibbs said. “To do all three of those back-to-back was a big deal.”
David Reutimann rallied from a bout with food poisoning to finish second in a Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing, his first top-15 finish since winning at Chicago last month.
“I feel really, really good about the finish, but I’m not feeling so hot right now,” Reutimann said after the race. “I’m ready to go to sleep at some point. Maybe now.” The Associated Press
McMurray came home third, followed by Clint Bowyer and Kasey Kahne. Jeff Gordon finished 11th and became the second driver to clinch a spot in the Chase.
It was a statement race for Bowyer, who separated himself from Mark Martin in the battle for the final berth in the Chase. Bowyer overcame a pit road speeding penalty to finish in the top five, while Martin struggled to a 23rd-place result in a car that didn’t handle to his liking.
With two races left before the Chase field is set Sept. 11 at Richmond, Bowyer, 12th in the standings, leads McMurray, who supplanted Martin in 13th place, by 100 points. Martin is 14th, 101 points back.
McMurray passed Busch for the lead on Lap 389 but surrendered it when both drivers came to the pits under green on Lap 400.
“It’s pretty remarkable what he’s been able to do this weekend, especially with owning his own truck team—I know that’s been fairly stressful for him,” McMurray said. “And, obviously, the Nationwide, it’s—I don’t know—it’s amazing how many races they can win in that car.
“But then to be able to come out [Saturday] and win again, he obviously has a really good feel for this place, and he just had a really good weekend. He’s been close to doing that before, so that’s really impressive what Kyle has been able to do.” NASCAR.com
Click Here to Read More:
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol - Race Results
| 
|