Busch Series Redux; Kyle wins Nationwide at Gateway
by MattHaggard on Jul 19, 2009 6:35 AM EDT
8 comments
The Cup Series took the weekend off, leaving the Nationwide Series in full spotlight. And no driver over the past two seasons has thrived in the spotlight quite like Kyle Busch. The younger Busch held off Reed Sorenson in the closing laps to win the Dodge Dealers 250 at Gateway International Raceway on Saturday night.
The victory is Rowdy's sixth of the season and 11th NASCAR victory overall. The Las Vegas native had not dominated the race up until the final stretch as he capitalized on a failed pit road gamble by Kevin Harvick. Instead, Busch took the lead on lap 171 when Harvick ran out of fuel. Busch needed only to hold off Sorenson in a 19-lap sprint to the finish to take home his sixth Grand National trophy.
You can read more on the Dodge Dealers 250 after the jump!
"The breaks fell my way," Busch said post-race. "Kevin Harvick was really good, but he ran out of gas. We had a great car all weekend and track position means everything. It's great to win somewhere I haven't won before."
Harvick's night fell apart after running out of fuel. Harvick coasted to his spot on pit road and needed three laps to restart his engine. He finished the night 17th, two laps down. Carl Edwards, Mike Bliss and Brad Coleman would round out the top five.
Busch's victory increased his Nationwide points lead to 212 over Edwards. Brad Kaselowski, Jason Leffler and Joey Logano maintained positions three through five in the circuit.
TOP 10
1. Kyle Busch, Toyota
2. Reed Sorenson, Toyota
3. Carl Edwards, Ford
4. Mike Bliss, Chevrolet
5. Brad Coleman, Toyota
6. Stephen Leicht, Chevrolet
7. Michael Annett, Toyota
8. Brad Keselowski, Chevrolet
9. Jason Keller, Ford
10. Erik Darnell, Ford
Nationwide Series Point Standings
1. Kyle Busch 3121
2. Carl Edwards -212
3. Brad Keselowski -377
4. Jason Leffler -473
5. Joey Logano -726
6. Mike Bliss -832
7. Justin Allgaier -846
8. Steven Wallace -965
9. Jason Keller -970
10. Brendan Gaughan -971
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Kyle’s gonna run out of tracks he hasn’t won soon! I like that kid. I wish he’d focus more on Cup, though. Sometimes I wonder whether he burns himself out. Thanks for the recap—I decided to go out instead of watching this.
On a different note, I’m happy to see the activity pick up here!
"Don't fear idiocy. It's the new smartness!"--Coke Zero commercial
Between you and me, I decided to go out, too.
It was too great of a night not to. =)
As for Kyle burning himself out; I would say no. I live in Mobile, Al. and there are two semi-major short tracks here. Five Flag Pensacola Speedway runs on Friday and Mobile International on Saturday. The same guys that race on Friday run on Saturday each week. I raced before college and I wanted to be out there every weekend on each track.
There’s never enough race days when you are as young as Rowdy.
As for taking the time to write the recap — not a problem. I’ll get back to posting more often now that I know traffic is picking up.
Thanks for commenting. Comments and feedback are the motivation I need to keep spewing out material. I had stopped because I thought we were dead. Apparently, tales of RandR’s demise were greatly exaggerated.
by MattHaggard on Jul 19, 2009 10:44 AM EDT up reply actions
You make a good point about how young drivers are. I saw it myself in Central Florida. The drivers in their early twenties couldn’t race enough! Guess he may as well get all the races he’s able to in while he can. But I also look at Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards, who are so brilliant in Nationwide and (especially Harvick) having bad years in Cup. Of course, Harvick and Edwards are a bit older than Kyle.
Happy to give feedback. I joined SB Nation because I liked a blog for my favorite hockey team (Pensburgh, for the Pittsburgh Penguins). I have only watched hockey for about 3 years, but I’ve followed NASCAR since I was a toddler. Naturally, when I realized that Pensburgh was part of a whole network of sports blogs, I had to find and follow the NASCAR one, too!
"Don't fear idiocy. It's the new smartness!"--Coke Zero commercial
by GreenEyedLilo on Jul 19, 2009 5:31 PM EDT up reply actions
I Agree ...
about that young thing. Run it for as long as you can before age, and other responsibilities (ie. wife and kids) catch up to with you.
RnR was never in going to sign off these last few months, I’ve just had a lot of ‘issues’ (ie. almost cutting my finger off and not being able to type) to deal with around here, but things are on the mend and getting better so I’m able to get things going again.
One must remember that just because I couldn’t post here I was still doing things behind the scenes to firmly embed NASCAR Ranting and Raving’s status in the blogpsphere – I never stop working at that!
That…is a pretty big issue there. Makes sense. Glad you’re getting better.
"Don't fear idiocy. It's the new smartness!"--Coke Zero commercial
by GreenEyedLilo on Jul 19, 2009 10:48 PM EDT up reply actions
It's always something isn't it, Fearless Leader? =)
I hope you get settled soon. You’re going to miss a great Chase for the Championship if this keeps up!
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