Busch wins, is 2 for 2 on Texas weekend
Saturday, Nov. 07, 2009
Kyle Busch (18) races with Kevin Harvick (33) during the O'Reilly Challenge NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
Getty Images for NASCAR
FORT WORTH, TX - NOVEMBER 07: Matt Kenseth drives the #16 CitiFinancial Ford during the NASCAR Nationwide Series O'Reilly Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway on November 7, 2009 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Getty Images
FORT WORTH, TX - NOVEMBER 07: Jeremy Clements, driver of the #0 SponsorDavis.com Chevrolet, crashes into the wall after an incident on the track during the NASCAR Nationwide Series O'Reilly Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway on November 7, 2009 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
AP
Driver Kyle Busch (18) passes Kevin Harvick as they come out of turn four during the NASCAR Nationwide O'Reilly Challenge auto race at Texas Motor Speedway, on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009, in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/Ralph Lauer)
FORT WORTH, Texas – Kyle Busch won another Nationwide Series race. There’s nothing new there.
Busch won his fourth consecutive O’Reilly Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway. Nothing new there, either.
Yet there is still plenty of new ground for Busch to break.
A win in Sunday’s Sprint Cup race would make him the first driver in NASCAR to win in all three national series during same race weekend. He also won Friday’s Truck race at Texas.
And an even bigger prize sits on the horizon: Busch can clinch his first Nationwide title by finishing 15th or better next weekend at Phoenix, or 34th or better in each of the last two events.
The clinching scenario could change, however, as Busch’s car was found to have improperly attached weights during Friday’s qualifying day inspection. His team could face monetary and points penalties for the infraction this week.
“This car was flawless again today. We’ve had cars that have been flawless like this for the past four races here,” said Busch, who earned his eighth series win of the season and 18th in the past two years.
“This is a testament to this team. They do such an awesome job preparing these cars with all the extra hours at the shop.”
Busch’s win was dominant. Once he got the lead on Lap 11, he led all but 11 of the final 190 laps. The only other to lead more than five laps in the race was Matt Kenseth, who led the first 10 and finished fourth.
Casey Mears, substituting for Jeff Burton on Saturday, finished second. Jason Leffler was third and Brad Keselowski fifth. Carl Edwards, who now trails Busch by 272 points in the title race, ended up ninth.
Although he failed to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup this season, Busch said the performance by his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing team this season something to be proud of.
“It feels awesome. The way we’ve done it is with great race cars this year,” Busch said. “Every week we’re first, second, third, fifth – we’re contenders.
“Look at (Jimmie Johnson). That’s what they do. They make it look easy on the Cup side.”
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