Sunday, July 28, 2013

Busch dominates at Indy, speeds to eighth Nationwide win

7-27-13-kyle busch-indy-nationwideINDIANAPOLIS — Kyle Busch has more Nationwide Series victories than anyone in history.
Yet Busch said No. 59 on Saturday stands out as a memorable one, as Busch won the second Indiana 250 race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
"Whether it's a Sprint Cup Series win, Nationwide win, Formula One, Moto GP or Grand Am, it's really cool to win here in Indianapolis," said Busch, who won his eighth Nationwide race of the year. "For as many race cars that have been on this surface, the yard of bricks is pretty cool."
For Busch, it also was cool for his wife Samantha, who grew up in St. John, Ind., and is a 2008 Purdue graduate, to also kiss the bricks.
"It was a great opportunity for her growing up in Indiana," said Busch, who visited the Purdue campus with his wife and friends Thursday. "I wish it (win) was (in the Brickyard 400). But hopefully we can back it up (Sunday) and get fresh with the bricks."
Busch, who captured his record 31st pole earlier Saturday, led 92 of the 100 laps in his Monster Energy Toyota Camry. Yet as dominant as he was, he got a scare late as Brian Scott passed him on a restart on the 95th lap. Busch regained the lead three laps later.
"I'm not sure if I got crowded a little bit by Joey (Logano) or I got loose and essentially slid on the race track and I was using Joey for all he was worth," Busch said. "Luckily I didn't crash. Brian Scott got by me, and I had to go to work and put my driver's cap on. It was tough. The air here is tough."
Scott, who finished a Nationwide career-best second, said when Busch and Logano got together, he was able to get past them for the lead.
GALLERY: KYLE BUSCH'S CAREER IN PHOTOS
Kyle Busch was born May 2, 1985. He became a full-time Sprint Cup driver in 2005.
Kyle Busch was born May 2, 1985. He became a full-time Sprint Cup driver in 2005.  Chris Graythen, Getty Images
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  • Kyle Busch was born May 2, 1985. He became a full-time Sprint Cup driver in 2005.
  • Busch competed in his first full Nationwide Series season in 2004 and finished second in points. He scored his first career Nationwide Series victory at Richmond on May 14, 2004.
  • Busch became the youngest driver to capture Rookie of the Year honors in 2004 in the Nationwide Series at 19.
  • Busch competed in his first full Sprint Cup season in 2005 and finished 20th in points.
  • Busch celebrates his victory in the Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway in 2005. This would be his second career Sprint Cup win.
  • Busch became the youngest Sprint Cup winner, besting Donald Thomas’ record by a mere four days.
  • Busch holds up a jersey sent from Joe Gibbs, owner of Joe Gibbs Racing and then coach of the Washington Redskins, during a news conference announcing that Busch would drive the No. 18 Cup car for JGR beginning in 2008.
  • Busch celebrates winning the the Crown Royal 400 Sprint Cup race on his birthday in 2009 at Richmond International Raceway. He was the second driver to achieve the feat.
  • Busch poses with wife, Samantha, on Feb. 18, 2012, after winning the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona.
  • Busch celebrates one of the four Sprint Cup wins in 2009.
  • Busch captured the 11th pole of his career at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 15, 2013. He also won one of the Budweiser Duels in Daytona.
  • Busch celebrates in victory lane with his mother, Gaye, after winning the Nationwide race at Darlington Raceway on May 10, 2013.
  • Busch still is looking for his first Sprint Cup title.
  • Busch makes a pit stop during the FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway. His pit crew won the 2011 Mechanix Wear Most Valuable Pit Crew Award.
  • Busch celebrates in victory lane after winning the Sprint Cup NRA 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 13, 2013.
"Then I was praying to put as big a gap as I could to get a cushion because I felt he (Busch) was a little bit faster than us," Scott said. "I feel we were faster than anyone else (but Busch). Then he was able to get by me because I was a little too cautious on corners because I was trying to get as low as I could to not get pinned."
Scott said he slowed too much going into Turn 1 and Busch got past him and regained control.
"It was a lot of fun leading here at Indianapolis at the end," Scott said. "I would do anything to rewind and go back because I think the outcome could have easily been in our (favor)."
Logano, who finished third, said he gave it his best shot on the restart.
"I knew I had to take the air off the side of (Busch's) car to beat him," Logano said. "Once I got the clean air, I thought I could have stayed in front of him."
Scott told Logano he thought so, too, but it didn't quite work out that way.
Brian Vickers won $100,000 as the highest eligible driver in four designated races. Pam Nabors, a fan who entered a promotional contest, won $100,000 with Vickers' victory. Her second cousin is Jim Nabors, who sings Back Home Again in Indianaeach year at the Indy 500.
Sam Hornish Jr., the Nationwide points leader entering the race, went out of the race early with engine problems. Hornish completed 64 laps, finishing 34th. Austin Dillon took over the Nationwide points lead. Busch doesn't contend for the points title as he chooses to compete in Sprint Cup point standings.
Mark Ambrogi writes for The Indianapolis Star, a Gannett affiliate.
*****
Complete Indiana 250 results:
1. (1) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 100 laps, 150 rating, 0 points, $69,625.
2. (11) Brian Scott, Chevrolet, 100, 110.4, 43, $58,444.
3. (13) Joey Logano, Ford, 100, 107.4, 0, $40,050.
4. (6) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 100, 109.7, 41, $41,453.
5. (15) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 100, 105.8, 0, $31,575.
6. (10) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 100, 98.3, 0, $28,000.
7. (9) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 100, 118.4, 0, $26,575.
8. (18) Kevin Swindell, Ford, 100, 82.4, 36, $33,128.
9. (19) Michael Annett, Ford, 100, 85.8, 35, $31,628.
10. (39) Travis Pastrana, Ford, 100, 75.2, 34, $31,603.
11. (17) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 100, 76.1, 33, $29,953.
12. (7) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 100, 87.1, 32, $29,703.
13. (4) Elliott Sadler, Toyota, 100, 87.6, 31, $30,428.
14. (8) Nelson Piquet Jr., Chevrolet, 100, 78.9, 30, $29,078.
15. (38) Alex Bowman, Toyota, 100, 62.4, 29, $29,828.
16. (3) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 100, 105.3, 29, $30,953.
17. (22) Cole Whitt, Toyota, 100, 71.1, 27, $28,553.
18. (5) Parker Kligerman, Toyota, 100, 83, 26, $28,403.
19. (16) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 100, 82.5, 25, $28,203.
20. (23) Kyle Fowler, Ford, 100, 53.6, 24, $28,753.
21. (20) David Starr, Chevrolet, 100, 60.2, 0, $27,928.
22. (30) Mike Wallace, Chevrolet, 100, 59.5, 22, $27,803.
23. (24) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, 100, 62.3, 21, $27,653.
24. (25) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 99, 57.4, 0, $21,100.
25. (29) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 99, 45.2, 19, $27,953.
26. (12) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 99, 73.8, 0, $20,975.
27. (26) Johanna Long, Chevrolet, 98, 50.2, 17, $27,253.
28. (28) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, 98, 41.8, 16, $27,178.
29. (27) Tanner Berryhill, Toyota, 98, 38, 15, $20,650.
30. (37) Robert Richardson Jr., Chevrolet, 98, 42.5, 14, $27,303.
31. (36) Eric McClure, Toyota, 95, 35.3, 13, $26,903.
32. (35) Ken Butler, Toyota, transmission, 90, 33.1, 12, $26,778.
33. (14) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 81, 38.9, 11, $26,718.
34. (2) Sam Hornish Jr., Ford, overheating, 64, 92.8, 10, $26,683.
35. (31) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, overheating, 59, 38.2, 9, $26,617.
36. (21) Mike Bliss, Toyota, engine, 41, 57.3, 8, $25,008.
37. (34) J.J. Yeley, Chevrolet, electrical, 7, 34.1, 0, $18,545.
38. (40) David Green, Toyota, transmission, 6, 31.3, 6, $18,461.
39. (32) Josh Wise, Chevrolet, rear gear, 6, 31.5, 5, $18,300.
40. (33) Jeff Green, Toyota, vibration, 4, 30.3, 4, $18,190.
Race Statistics
Average Speed of Race Winner: 134.610 mph. Time of Race: 1 hour, 51 minutes, 26 seconds. Margin of Victory: 2.141 seconds. Caution Flags: 4 for 18 laps. Lead Changes: 6 among 4 drivers.
Lap Leaders: K.Busch 1-29; T.Bayne 30-31; K.Busch 32-64; B.Vickers 65-67; K.Busch 68-94; B.Scott 95-97; K.Busch 98-100.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led, Laps Led): K.Busch, 4 times for 92 laps; B.Scott, 1 time for 3 laps; B.Vickers, 1 time for 3 laps; T.Bayne, 1 time for 2 laps.
Nationwide Series points: 1. A.Dillon, 656; 2. R.Smith, 650; 3. E.Sadler, 643; 4. S.Hornish Jr., 642; 5. B.Vickers, 628; 6. J.Allgaier, 621; 7. K.Larson, 612; 8. B.Scott, 610; 9. T.Bayne, 592; 10. P.Kligerman, 589.
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