Harvick Wins Regular Season but Hamlin Starts Chase First with Win at RIR

Hamlin Claims 6th Win of Season

RICHMOND, VA. (Sept. 11, 2010) -- Denny Hamlin won again at what he calls his "home track" on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series circuit Saturday night – the .75-mile Richmond International Raceway.

The Virginia native from Chesterfield fought off numerous challenges from Jimmy Johnson, Clint Bowyer and Kyle Busch to win the last event before NASCAR's 10-race version of a playoff begins next Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

The victory was Hamlin's second at his home-state track and his series-leading sixth of the season, which gives him the top seed for the playoff races.

Twelve drivers qualify for the playoffs and their points are recalculated beginning at New Hampshire. Each of the 12 drivers get 5,000 points plus 10 bonus points for each win this season. Hamlin's six wins put him atop the list with 5060 points. Jimmie Johnson, who finished third Saturday night, is seeded second with five wins, for 5050 points. Kyle Busch, runner-up Saturday night, will be seeded fourth. Regular-season points leader Kevin Harvick, who was ninth Saturday night, will be seeded third.
    
Rounding out the top 10 finishers Saturday night were Joey Logano, Marcos Ambrose, Bowyer, Juan Pablo Montoya, A J Allmendinger and Carl Edwards.

    
Drivers in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup include Hamlin, Johnson, Harvick, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, Jeff Burton, Matt Kenseth and Bowyer.
    
This was the 26th race of the 2010 season and most drivers were focused on winning because 10 of the top 12 spots in the series standings were decided before the green flag fell on the Air Guard 400 at Richmond.
    
Edwards drove away to a good lead while Montoya, Allmendinger and Bowyer raced hard for the second spot. Actually, Bowyer, who started the race 12th, needed only a 28th-place finish to clinch the 12th and final position in the Chase. Biffle, who was 11th in the standings starting the race, needed only a 42th-place finish to clinch a spot. Biffle was cruising around mid-pack in the early going.
    
After 25 of 400 laps, Edwards held a half-second lead over Montoya and Allmendinger with Bowyer and Johnson just behind. David Reutimann was next, followed by Logano, Brad Keselowski, Paul Menard and Stewart.
    
Reutimann brought out the first caution after a tap from Kurt Busch on the 57th lap turned him around. Reutimann remained on the lead lap and did no apparent damage to his Toyota.
    
Jason Leffler had to park his Toyota about this time and his withdrawal from the race clinched a spot in the Chase for Biffle.
    
On the restart at Lap 63, Edwards was out front with Johnson right behind him. Bowyer was next, followed by Stewart, Allmendinger, Montoya, Kenseth, Keselowski, Menard and Kurt Busch.
    
Bowyer took the lead shortly before the 100-lap mark with Edwards and Johnson in tow. Hamlin had worked his way to fourth place. Allmendinger was fifth.
    
Hamlin took the lead a few laps later and the top 10 included Bowyer, Johnson, Allmendinger, Kenseth, Montoya, Stewart, Edwards, Burton and Kyle Busch.
    
Terry Labonte brought out the second caution of the night on Lap 145 when a cut tire sent him into the wall.
    
Hamlin had the lead on the restart at Lap 152 but Johnson took over a couple laps later. Hamlin, Johnson and Bowyer swapped the lead like trading cards before a caution came out on Lap 226 for raindrops.
    
When the race restarted on lap 241, Hamlin was back out front.

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Harvick Holds Off Keselowski for Nationwide Win at Richmond

Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images

Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski put on a thrilling finish with Harvick holding on to the victory at Richmond

By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
(September 10, 2010)

RICHMOND, Va.—Polesitter Kevin Harvick held off Nationwide Series points leader Brad Keselowski during a 40-lap run to the finish to win Friday night's Virginia 529 College Savings 250 at Richmond International Raceway.

In the first race at Richmond and third overall with NASCAR's new Nationwide car, Harvick crossed the finish line .256 seconds ahead of Keselowski, who extended his championship lead to 373 points, over Carl Edwards, who ran 10th. Trevor Bayne finished third, tying his career best. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. came home fourth, followed by Reed Sorenson.

The victory was Harvick's third of the season and 37th of his career, third all-time in the series. The owner/driver for Kevin Harvick Inc. led 170 of the 250 laps and was elated with the progress his No. 33 team had made with the new car.

"This is the future of our company, so we put a lot of effort into this program, knowing that all the other cars were going to go away, and knowing that we had to be good with this car," said Harvick, who gets his new chassis from Richard Childress Racing and his power from Earnhardt-Childress engines.


"RCR's been a big part of this as well, with the engines, the chassis and the engineering. Everybody's been working together. It's easy when you get started in the right direction to keep it going that way."
Keselowski likewise was pleased with his No. 22 Dodge team's progress with the new car, which is being phased in this year—with plans for full-time use in 2011.

"I was just glad that we were able to work on the car and make it better," Keselowski said. "That's been one of our larger struggles all year with this particular chassis. So I'm glad that we were able to do that—just a real good show for the new car on the short tracks.

"I think that's something to be proud of for the series. I think we can continue to work and make things better, but this was a great start."

Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer, Paul Menard, Kyle Busch and Edwards completed the top 10. A snafu in the pits cost Busch a chance for a record 11th win this season. Under caution on Lap 205, the quick-fill nozzle on one of Busch's fuel cans broke off and remained attached to the car as Busch left pit road.

Penalized for taking equipment from the pits, Busch restarted 21st on Lap 211 and worked his way up to ninth before the race ended.

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Kyle Busch extends winning streak at Chicagoland (NCWTS recap)

Kyle Busch celebrates in victory lane
Friday at Chicagoland Speedway.
(Streeter Lecka/Getty Images for NASCAR)

By Lee Montgomery
Special to the Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

JOLIET, Ill. (August 27, 2010) —What can slow down Kyle Busch? Perhaps only the checkered flag.

Busch won his second consecutive NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race and his fourth national series race in a row by dominating the EnjoyIllinois.com 225 on Friday night at Chicagoland Speedway.

Busch swept all three NASCAR national series races at Bristol Motor Speedway last weekend and continued his winning ways at Chicagoland. He led three times for 121 laps for his fourth truck series win in nine starts in 2010.

Busch now has 17 wins across the Sprint Cup (three wins), Nationwide (10) and truck series this year.

The only drama for Busch came on pit road under two separate caution flags. On Lap 81, Busch’s gasman had trouble with the second gas can, and Busch lost four spots for the restart. But he charged to the lead on Lap 98 after another caution slowed the race.

On Lap 126, Busch changed four tires on his No. 18 Toyota, with several other drivers taking two. Busch restarted sixth but passed three cars on the first green-flag lap and got the lead on Lap 131.

Busch also survived a late-race thrust from Todd Bodine, who made an inside move on Busch with six laps to go but slipped and lost ground. Busch then held off Bodine on a green-white-checkered finish after Timothy Peters blew an engine. The race went four laps beyond the scheduled 150 on the 1.5-mile track.

Bodine ended up second, with Ron Hornaday Jr. third, Johnny Sauter fourth and rookie Justin Lofton fifth. Aric Almirola, Matt Crafton, Rick Crawford, Austin Dillon and David Starr completed the top 10.

The victory was Toyota’s 75th in the truck series since 2004, when it entered NASCAR competition. It also marks Busch's 20th victory in the truck series.



EnjoyIllinois.com 225 results:

1. Kyle Busch    
2. Todd Bodine    
3. Ron Hornaday    
4. Johnny Sauter    
5. Justin Lofton    
6. Aric Almirola    
7. Matt Crafton    
8. Rick Crawford
9. Austin Dillon 
10. David Starr
11. Jason White
12. James Buescher
13. Chris Fontaine    
14. Narain Karthikeyan
15. Ryan Sieg
16. Brad Sweet    
17. Tony Jackson Jr.    
18. Steve Park
19. Mario Gosselin
20. Johanna Long
21. Timothy Peters
22. Jennifer Jo Cobb
23. Mike Skinner
24. Norm Benning
25. Lance Fenton
26. Jerick Johnson
27. Ken Butler III
28. Ricky Carmichael
29. Jamie Dick
30. J C Stout    
31. Shelby Howard
32. Chris Jones
33. Mike Garvey    
34. Mike Harmon    
35. Brent Raymer
36. Tim Andrews

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Montoya Master The Glen: Sprint Cup Series Recap Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (Aug. 8, 2010) — Welcome, Juan Pablo Montoya, to the Chip Ganassi party.

Saving his best for the end of Sunday’s Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen, Montoya pulled away from Marcos Ambrose and Kurt Busch over the final 16 laps at Watkins Glen International and notched the second NASCAR Sprint Cup victory of his career.

Winless in 113 races since his first Cup victory at Sonoma in June 2007, Montoya added another success to the already magical year his Earnhardt Ganassi Racing team owner has enjoyed. Jamie McMurray, who finished sixth Sunday, won the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 this year, and Dario Franchitti added an Indianapolis 500 victory with Ganassi’s IndyCar organization.

Busch passed Ambrose at the start/finish line on Lap 89 of 90 to steal second place from Ambrose, who came home third. AJ Allmendinger, fresh from a contract extension with Richard Petty Motorsports, ran fourth, followed by polesitter Carl Edwards, who collected his sixth straight top-10 finish.

Montoya, however, had the field covered when it counted, leading 74 laps and crossing the stripe 4.735 seconds ahead of Busch.


After a disappointing run at Pocono a week earlier—during which Montoya chastised crew chief Brian Pattie and the team when the No. 42 Chevrolet lost positions on a late pit stop—Montoya, Pattie and Ganassi met Saturday at Watkins Glen to make sure they were headed in the same direction.

“I think yesterday we had a good talk with Chip,” Montoya said. “Last few weeks have been really frustrating for the whole team because we’ve been so close to victory. Seemed to keep slipping away.

“To come out here today and get the job done the way we did today, it was big. I feel more relieved than happy right now. It’s been a really hard road in a way. It’s been a lot of fun; it’s been frustrating.

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“(Saturday) it was all about making sure everybody is on the same page, everybody has to do their job, and we came out today and everybody executed. It’s something Brian keeps saying, ‘Keep saving the car, keep saving the car, keep saving the car.’ And it paid off.”

Ambrose, who had won Saturday’s Nationwide Series race and had realistic hopes for an unprecedented weekend double at The Glen, was Montoya’s equal until the final pit stop for both drivers under green on Lap 59.

“Something went wrong on the last pit stop,” lamented Ambrose, who had out-braked Montoya for the lead in Turn 1 on Lap 41 and held the top spot for five laps thereafter. “We lost the handle on the race car—maybe a different set of tires, slightly different spring rate in the tires.

“I had nothing for Montoya there towards the end. Congratulations to him—he drove a heck of a race. Just a lot of fun racing a guy with that much talent. He was swinging around the corners, jumping curbs, locking tires. It was just a really good battle, something I’ll take away from this weekend as a memory I’ll never forget.”

Montoya and Ambrose may have dominated the action at the front of the field, but what happened at the back tightened the race for the final spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Clint Bowyer broke a trailing-arm mount and spent three laps in the garage for repairs, a calamity that knocked him out of the top 12.

Bowyer finished 32nd and swapped positions in the standings with Mark Martin, who came home 19th. Now 12th, Martin is 10 points ahead of Bowyer with four races left before the Chase field is set Sept. 11 at Richmond.

Final Results Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen:

1. Juan Pablo Montoya
2. Kurt Busch
3. Marcos Ambrose
4. AJ Allmendinger
5. Carl Edwards
6. Jamie McMurray
7. Tony Stewart
8. Kyle Busch
9. Jeff Burton
10. Jeff Gordon
11. Kevin Harvick
12. Ryan Newman
13. Matt Kenseth
14. Sam Hornish Jr.
15. Martin Truex Jr.
16. Paul Menard
17. Kasey Kahne
18. Andy Lally
19. Mark Martin
20. Brad Keselowski
21. Patrick Carpentier
22. Max Papis
23. David Reutimann
24. Greg Biffle
25. David Ragan
26. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
27. David Gilliland
28. Jimmie Johnson
29. Elliott Sadler
30. Travis Kvapil
31. Kevin Conway
32. Clint Bowyer
33. Joey Logano
34. Regan Smith
35. Bobby Labonte
36. Robby Gordon
37. Denny Hamlin
38. Boris Said
39. Joe Nemechek
40. Ron Fellows
41. PJ Jones
42. Michael McDowell
43. Scott Speed

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Ambrose Captures Pole and Victory at Watkins Glen: Zippo 200 Recap (Nationwide)

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (Aug. 7, 2010)—Marcos Ambrose didn't drive like a man in limbo.

Though his future is uncertain, with his announced departure from JTG/Daugherty Racing for parts—or team—unknown, Ambrose drove immaculately Saturday afternoon in picking up his third straight NASCAR Nationwide Series victory at Watkins Glen International, winning the Zippo 200 from the pole.

During a 16-lap run to the finish, Ambrose pulled away to win by 2.834 seconds over Joey Logano, who, for once, was happy to settle for second place.

"It was a wonderful day for us," said Ambrose, who has not announced plans for next year, though the rumor mill says he's likely to land in a NASCAR Sprint Cup ride at Richard Petty Motorsports. "We've had our troubles at JTG this year, and we're parting ways at the end of the season, and this is a really fitting way to finish this thing off."


There's also unfinished business. Ambrose will start 11th in Sunday's Cup race at the Glen, hoping to become the first driver to sweep both races at the 2.45-mile road course.

"We've got another job to do (Sunday), so I won't have too many beers tonight," he said.

Ambrose passed eventual fifth-place finisher Kyle Busch for the lead on Lap 41, hanging Busch behind lapped traffic as the cars roared uphill through Turns 2-4. By the time Ambrose reached the Bus Stop chicane, he had pulled ahead of Busch and remained out front through a pair of caution periods in the final 30 laps.

Kevin Harvick finished third, followed by series points leader Brad Keselowski and Busch. Ron Fellows, Nelson Piquet Jr., Jacques Villeneuve, Steve Wallace and Michael McDowell completed the top 10.

Logano surprised himself with his strong performance on the road circuit.

"I was pretty pumped out about how the car ran today," Logano said. "Road courses and me never got along before. It's cool to see yourself improve every time you get to a place like this."

Part of that improvement was attributable to following Ambrose for much of the race. Before a 10-car wreck in Turn 2 caused a stoppage of more than 25 minutes, Logano kept pace with the race winner.

"Marcos is pretty good through the Bus Stop—just watching the line, the curbs he hits, the way he hits 'em, the speed he carries—I definitely learned a lot," Logano said. "I feel like I picked up the most through there and was able to be pretty good by the end of the race."

Note: Keselowski expanded his advantage in the series standings to 327 points over second-place Carl Edwards, who fell out of the race after 25 laps because of an engine failure and finished 33rd.

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Race Recap and Results: U.S. Cellular 250 – NNS Iowa

(July 31, 2010)
NEWTON, Iowa—Even when he doesn't get any practice, Kyle Busch still wins in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

Busch won his ninth NASCAR Nationwide race of 2010, his sixth in his last seven starts and 39th of his career by dominating the U.S. Cellular 250 in front of 55,988 fans at Iowa Speedway.

"I really like these cars," Busch said. "It's fun, man. I've really grown accustomed to these things and have learned how to drive them. You can really drive the Nationwide cars hard because they don't have a whole lot of horsepower, so you can really try to make up a lot by being able to get more out of the car, driver-wise."

Busch missed Saturday morning's rain-delayed practice, making it to Iowa from Pocono in time for qualifying. In his first laps in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, he earned the second position. Brad Coleman practiced Busch's car.



"It would've been better if I could've sat on the pole," Busch said. "Darn Trevor Bayne."

Bayne may have won the pole, but Busch's car was clearly dominant in the race, even without Busch practicing it. Busch led four times for 209 laps.

"It says a lot about the team, it says a lot about my confidence as a driver and my confidence in the team that they can prepare great racecars—and also (backup driver) Brad Coleman and what he does. I told (crew chief) Jason (Ratcliff) before the start of this thing, 'Man, if I win this thing, I just might not practice any more.' I think I screw it up more when I practice it."

Busch restarted sixth after a pit stop for four tires with 42 laps to go, passing four cars in one lap to move to second behind Kevin Harvick, who changed only right-side tires.

"We got five, six cars in between ourselves and Kyle, and that's really what we wanted to do," Harvick said. "We just didn't expect him to pass them all in one lap. That was our best chance, to try to get in front of him, and hopefully have him get caught up in traffic."

Busch passed Harvick with 24 laps to go and pulled away for the victory, spoiling Nationwide's Dash 4 Cash program. Since Busch was ineligible because he hasn't run all the Nationwide Series races this year, an eligible driver can win $75,000 if he wins at Texas Motor Speedway on Nov. 6.

Harvick ended up second, with Jason Leffler third, with points leader Brad Keselowski fourth and Bayne fifth. Sixth through 10th were Steve Wallace, Michael Annett, Justin Allgaier, Matt DiBenedetto and Carl Edwards.

Iowa's second NASCAR Nationwide race saw two red flags in the first 100 laps. The first red was for Reed Sorenson's wreck in Turn 1 on Lap 42, caused by a melted bead on the right-front tire. The second came 51 laps later, when Brian Keselowski nailed a prone Colin Braun in Turn 2.

Braun, who wrecked his primary car in qualifying, had spun off the corner before getting slammed by Keselowski. Three other cars were involved, but none of the drivers were hurt.

Bayne became the youngest driver in series history to win three consecutive poles as he claimed the top spot for the 250-lap race. Bayne is the fourth driver to accomplish the feat and the first in 18 years. The others were Sam Ard, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin and Michael Waltrip.

Brad Keselowski extended his series points lead over Edwards to 231 points.

(Release courtesy of Lee Montgomery – Sporting News Wire Service)

Final Results:

1. Kyle Busch
2. Kevin Harvick
3. Jason Leffler
4. Brad Keselowski
5. Trevor Bayne
6. Steve Wallace
7. Michael Annett
8. Justin Allgaier
9. Matt DiBenedetto
10. Carl Edwards
11. Josh Wise
12. Shelby Howard
13. Michael McDowell
14. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
15. Drew Herring
16. Paul Menard
17. Mike Bliss
18. Steve Arpin
19. Joe Nemechek
20. Jeremy Clements
21. Kenny Wallace
22. Blake Koch
23. Robert Richardson Jr.
24. John Wes Townley
25. John Borneman
26. Jason Keller
27. Tayler Malsam
28. Mike Wallace
29. Tony Raines
30. Brian Scott
31. Brendan Gaughan
32. Colin Braun
33. Brian Keselowski
34. Mark Green
35. Morgan Shepherd
36. Reed Sorenson
37. Kevin Lepage
38. Danny O’Quinn Jr.
39. Brad Baker
40. Tim Schendel
41. Chase Miller
42. Dennis Setzer
43. Jeff Green

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Harvick wins Daytona thriller (NSCS - Coke Zero 400)

DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. (July 3, 2010) - It was a wild one Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway – so wild you had to wonder whether there were going to be any cars running at the finish.
    
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings leader Kevin Harvick won the last race on the track’s current pavement after running up front all night. He managed to dodge the on-track fireworks that littered the Coke Zero 400 Presented by Coca-Cola from start to finish, a race that set a new event record with 18 different leaders and may spark conversation for years.


The 2.5-mile Daytona track is scheduled for repaving beginning immediately, but the old worn-out asphalt went out with a bang that left more than half the field beat-up and battered.  

The stage for a green-white-checkered finish was set with one lap to go when two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Sam Hornish Jr. lost control of his Dodge and clipped teammate Kurt Busch, causing a lot of damage to both cars.
    
Harvick’s teammate, Clint Bowyer, was leading on the restart but got tangled up down the backstretch and spun out of contention. It was a tough, tough break for Bowyer, who had appeared to be heading for his first Daytona victory.
 

Kasey Kahne finished second and Jeff Gordon third behind Harvick. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was fourth after running poorly most of the night. Jeff Burton was fifth after being involved in a multi-car crash that red-flagged the race for 19:34. More than 20 cars were involved in this accident, which had debris scattered for more than half-a-mile on the track. In fact, many of the frontrunners in the race were eliminated, including Juan Pablo Montoya, Tony Stewart, four-time champion Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Newman and others.
    
An earlier accident with less than 60 laps remaining knocked another contender out of the race. Kyle Busch was leading when he drifted up across the nose of Montoya, turning Busch's Toyota into the outside wall and ending his chances.
    
The fact that Earnhardt finished fourth was testament to the fact that many of the fast cars were damaged in the huge wreck.
    
Carl Edwards finished sixth, followed by Kurt Busch, whose Dodge looked like a candidate for the junkyard. Busch was involved in several of the accidents.
    
Rounding out the top 10 were Reed Sorensen, Mike Bliss and Scott Speed.
    
The cars roared to life after a 90-minute rain delay. Johnson, Harvick and Kyle Busch led before a 15-lap competition caution allowed crews to check tire wear. Two cars were already back in the garage, those of Dave Blaney and Max Pappis.
    
When racing resumed, Harvick and Biffle were up front, followed by the Busch brothers. Harvick and Kyle Busch barreled to the front a couple laps later. At 30 laps, Harvick still led with Busch in tow. Sadler was third, followed by Truex, Keselowski, Burton, Kurt Busch, Biffle, Johnson and Reutimann. Truex led briefly before Kyle Busch took over. Sadler then led but Kyle Busch made an unscheduled stop with a wheel problem.
 

Drivers were swapping the lead so fast it was hard to keep up with the changes. Kurt Busch led a few laps, then Harvick took over again with Hornish giving him the shove to the front.
    
By Lap 32, Busch was leading again. Reutimann had raced into second place. Hornish led Lap 42 before Sadler went back to the front. Drivers were racing every lap like it was the final lap and the crowd of close to 100,000 loved every minute of it. Johnson pitted on Lap 48 with a tire problem. Hornish had taken the lead at 50 laps from Sadler. Montoya had moved from 22nd to third and Kurt Busch was close behind. Gordon was next and Reutimann was sixth. Burton was next.
     
A debris caution fell on Lap 58. When the green flag waved again on Lap 63, it was Montoya out front followed by Gordon, Sorensen, Keselowski, Sadler, Hornish, McMurray, Reutimann, Truex and Newman, who was cracking the top 10 for the first time in the race.
    
AJ Allmendinger brought out another caution on Lap 67 when he spun off Turn 4 in the short chute and hit the inside wall.
    
On the 70th lap restart, Gordon led with Keselowski on the outside. One lap later, Keselowski took the lead with Gordon challenging and Gordon went by half-a-lap later. Montoya moved into second. A lap later, Montoya led and then Hamlin charged out front after starting in the back of the pack.
    
At the halfway point of 80 laps, Hornish led with a gaggle of chargers right behind. Kenseth had moved to second with Johnson third. Rounding out the top 12 were McMurray, Hamlin, Montoya, Gordon, Kyle Busch, Reutimann, Burton, Kurt Busch and Edwards.

Harvick's win marks his second of the season and back-to-back restrictor plate victories (he won at Talladega in April).   

Coke Zero 400 results:

1. Kevin Harvick    
2. Kasey Kahne    
3. Jeff Gordon    
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr.    
5. Jeff Burton    
6. Carl Edwards    
7. Kurt Busch    
8. Reed Sorenson    
9. Mike Bliss    
10. Scott Speed    
11. David Reutimann    
12. Robby Gordon    
13. Steve Park    
14. Kevin Conway
15. Matt Kenseth    
16. Bobby Labonte    
17. Clint Bowyer    
18. Paul Menard
19. J.J. Yeley
20. Greg Biffle
21. Sam Hornish Jr.
22. Elliott Sadler
23. Robert Richardson Jr.
24. Denny Hamlin    
25. Tony Stewart
26. Ryan Newman    
27. Juan Montoya    
28. Mark Martin    
29. Joey Logano    
30. Brad Keselowski    
31. Jimmie Johnson    
32. Marcos Ambrose    
33. Regan Smith    
34. Travis Kvapil    
35. Martin Truex Jr.    
36. A.J. Allmendinger
37. David Stremme    
38. David Ragan    
39. Jamie McMurray    
40. Kyle Busch
41. Joe Nemechek
42. Max Papis
43. Dave Blaney 

PHOTOS FROM NASCAR MEDIA 

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Johnson wins battle to the finish at New Hampshire (NSCS) - Lenox Industrial Tools 301)

LOUDON, N. H. – One of these days, people will stop doubting Jimmie Johnson.
 
The four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion can lose a race, or two, and folks automatically write him off as a contender.
 
Sunday, at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Johnson played second fiddle, as he sometimes does, for most of the LENOX Industrial Tools 301 before putting a payback bump-and-run on Kurt Busch.


Busch had nudged Johnson aside with seven laps remaining with a bumper-tag finesse usually associated with ballet, but this high-speed dance was sheer poetry in motion. Johnson repaid the favor with just a few laps to go, providing high-end drama to a race that had only four caution flags.
 
Tony Stewart slipped past Busch for second place on the last lap. Busch was third. Jeff Gordon was fourth and NASCAR Sprint Cup points leader Kevin Harvick finished fifth.
 
Rounding out the top 10 were Ryan Newman, Clint Bowyer, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Joey Logano and A. J. Allmendinger. Kyle Busch, one of the leaders and a contender all day, wound up 11th after colliding with Jeff Burton and spinning during one of the late restarts. Burton, who led 89 laps, was a definite factor before the spin. Kyle Busch led 46 laps.
 
Sunday’s victory was the 52nd of Johnson's career and his fifth of this season.
 
Pole winner Juan Pablo Montoya and fellow front-row starter Kasey Kahne led laps before problems sidelined both drivers late in the race. Kahne, who led a race-high 110 laps, lost an engine. Montoya, who led 36 laps, was wrecked by Reed Sorensen.
  
Montoya jumped off to a good start when the green flag fell, pulling ahead of second-place Kurt Busch by a little more than a second. The top 10 at Lap 25 were Montoya, Busch, Kahne, Newman, Bowyer, Johnson, Newman, Mark Martin, David Reutimann and Gordon.
 
Debris in Turn 3 brought out the first caution at Lap 35. Kahne beat everyone out of the pits, followed by Martin. Montoya quickly advanced from fifth place to second. Kahne pretty much controlled things during this part of the race. Kyle Busch had moved to second, dropping Montoya to third with Burton on his bumper and Gordon running fifth.  
  
Kyle passed Kahne for the lead shortly before the halfway mark.

Lenox Industrial Tools 301 results:
1. Jimmie Johnson       
2. Tony Stewart   
3. Kurt Busch   
4. Jeff Gordon   
5. Kevin Harvick   
6. Ryan Newman   
7. Clint Bowyer   
8. Dale Earnhardt Jr.   
9. Joey Logano   
10. A.J. Allmendinger   
11. Kyle Busch   
12. Jeff Burton   
13. Marcos Ambrose   
14. Denny Hamlin   
15. David Reutimann   
16. Greg Biffle   
17. Matt Kenseth   
18. Jamie McMurray   
19. Elliott Sadler   
20. David Ragan   
21. Mark Martin       
22. Martin Truex Jr.   
23. Sam Hornish Jr.   
24. Reed Sorenson   
25. Carl Edwards   
26. Brad Keselowski   
27. Scott Speed   
28. Paul Menard   
29. Casey Mears   
30. Bobby Labonte
31. David Stremme       
32. Kevin Conway   
33. Regan Smith   
34. Juan Montoya   
35. David Gilliland   
36. Kasey Kahne   
37. Andy Lally   
38. J.J. Yeley   
39. Joe Nemechek   
40. Todd Bodine   
41. Michael McDowell   
42. Dave Blaney   
43. Max Papis

Text from NASCAR Media. Photo: Rusty Jarrett / Getty Images for NASCAR

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Busch vs. Busch: Infineon

Kyle Busch

Nationwide: Brad Coleman again was in the seat of No. 18. He finished sixth after qualifying fourth. He finished third, third and first in three of the four practices and led one time for seven laps.

Cup: Busch had a horrible weekend at Sonoma, one he probably wants to forget. After finishing ninth, 11th and 24th in practices, he started 27th. On the 11th lap, he was involved in an accident with Jamie McMurray, A.J. Allmendinger, Elliot Sadler and Clint Bowyer. While the others were able to get back on the track, Busch wasn't so lucky and went behind the wall for 33 laps. Upon returning, he received a penalty on lap 87 for pulling up to pit. The race finally ended and Busch finished 39th, 34 laps down. He lost the second spot in the standings, falling to third, being replaced by race winner Jimmie Johnson.




Kurt Busch

The elder Busch was on track to have a great race...



The remainder of this article can be read at examiner.com.

Article originally published at LV NASCAR Examiner and republished with permission of author.

Photo: Tom Pennington/Getty Images for NASCAR

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Toyota/Savemart 300 results

Jimmie Johnson was the recipient of Marcos Ambrose's costly mistake, winning his first road course race Sunday at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.

The following are the results from the Toyota/Savemart 300:

1. Jimmie Johnson    
2. Robby Gordon    
3. Kevin Harvick    
4. Kasey Kahne    
5. Jeff Gordon
6. Marcos Ambrose
7. Greg Biffle
8. Boris Said
9. Tony Stewart
10. Juan Montoya
11. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
12. Jan Magnussen
13. A.J. Allmendinger
14. Mark Martin
15. Jamie McMurray
16. Ryan Newman
17. Elliott Sadler
18. Scott Speed
19. David Gilliland
20. David Reutimann
21. Mattias Ekstrom
22. Paul Menard
23. Bobby Labonte
24. Travis Kvapil
25. David Ragan
26. J.J. Yeley
27. Jeff Burton
28. Kevin Conway
29. Carl Edwards
30. Matt Kenseth
31. Clint Bowyer
32. Kurt Busch
33. Joey Logano
34. Denny Hamlin
35. Brad Keselowski
36. Sam Hornish Jr.    
37. Dave Blaney
38. Regan Smith
39. Kyle Busch
40. Joe Nemechek
41. P.J. Jones
42. Martin Truex Jr.
43. Max Papis

PHOTO COURTESY OF NASCAR MEDIA

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Logano continues Kentucky dominance (NNS)

By Lee Montgomery
Special to the Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
(June 12, 2010)

SPARTA, Ky.—Joey Logano remained perfect in the NASCAR Nationwide Series at Kentucky Speedway, winning the Meijer 300 from the pole on Saturday night.

Logano had lost the lead on two restarts late in the race but was able to power back to the top spot each time.

The first was with 44 laps to go when Mike Bliss took the lead, but after an extended caution period, Logano got back out front on Lap 169 of 200.

The second came when Brendan Gaughan charged around the outside after a restart on Lap 175, but Gaughan slipped off Turn 4 a lap later, and Logano again regained the lead.

Logano then held off a late charge from Carl Edwards to win for the third time at Kentucky.

Logano, 20, has won the pole and the race every time he has raced at the 1.5-mile track. The victory in 2008 was his first in one of NASCAR’s national series.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series double-duty drivers swept the top three positions, as Edwards finished second and NASCAR Nationwide Series points leader Brad Keselowski was third. Edwards moved up one spot in the standings to second, and is 272 points behind Keselowski.

Gaughan finished fourth, with Reed Sorenson fifth. Rounding out the top 10 were Steve Wallace, Scott Wimmer, Justin Allgaier, Scott Riggs and Raybestos Rookie Colin Braun.

Meijer 300 race results:

1. Joey Logano   
2. Carl Edwards   
3. Brad Keselowski   
4. Brendan Gaughan   
5. Reed Sorenson   
6. Steve Wallace   
7. Scott Wimmer   
8. Justin Allgaier   
9. Scott Riggs
10. Colin Braun *   
11. Trevor Bayne   
12. Jeremy Clements   
13. Brad Coleman   
14. Brian Ickler   
15. Josh Wise   
16. Scott Lagasse Jr.
17. Shelby Howard   
18. Coleman Pressley   
19. Tony Raines   
20. Jeff Green   
21. Mike Wallace   
22. Kenny Wallace   
23. Jason Keller   
24. Mike Bliss   
25. Joe Nemechek   
26. Derrike Cope   
27. Sean Caisse   
28. Michael McDowell   
29. Eric McClure   
30. Robert Richardson Jr.   
31. Brian Scott *   
32. Paul Menard   
33. Jason Leffler   
34. Michael Annett   
35. Tayler Malsam   
36. Willie Allen   
37. Morgan Shepherd   
38. Kevin Lepage
39. Chase Miller   
40. Mark Green   
41. Danny O'Quinn Jr.   
42. Matt Carter   
43. Dennis Setzer

*Rookie

PHOTO: Grant Halverson / Getty Images

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Busch pounces on Johnson's mistake, gets second win of weekend

Confetti rains on Kyle Busch in Victory Lane after he wins the NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series Autism Speaks 400 at Dover International
Speedway on Sunday. (Jason Smith / Getty Images for NASCAR)

Busch wins 2 out of 3 events at Dover

Special to the Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

DOVER, Del. — Kyle Busch took advantage of a rare mistake by four-time Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson to pull away for an easy win Sunday in the Autism Speaks 400 presented by HERSHEY'S Milk & Milkshakes at Dover International Speedway.

It was his second win of the weekend. Busch also won the Heluva Good! 200 Nationwide Series race in dominating fashion.

Busch, 25, a champion in waiting, and Johnson, a proven one, waged quite a battle on the high-banked, 1-mile track, the lead see-sawing back and forth between the two each time the race resumed following five caution periods and assorted green-flag stops.

Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson battle
on track. (Todd Warshaw / Getty Images)

But when Johnson was flagged for speeding while exiting the pits during a round of green-flag stops on Lap 363 and forced to return to pit road to serve a drive-through penalty, the battle was effectively over.

By the time Johnson returned to the track, he was one lap down. And Busch was long gone.

“We snookered him on that one,” Busch told his crew as he streaked past the finish line. “He saw us coming, and he sped.”

Pitting closer to the entrance to pit road, Johnson had completed his stop and was making his way back onto the track when Busch shot out of his pit box alongside him.

Johnson said he didn’t speed up to beat Busch back onto the track but was penalized for speeding before reaching Busch’s pit stall.

“Yeah, I guess I got busted in the segment just leaving, or after, our pit box, the very next one,” Johnson said. “So what I can take from this is that I got a much better launch out of my pit box than I
did on other pit stops and then was speeding in that given area.

“At the end (of pit road), I wasn’t busted. I knew Kyle had me beat when I saw the jack drop for him and he was easing away from me. And I kind of gave up at that point on racing him off of pit road because I knew we needed to be single file on the apron.”

Jeff Burton finished second by 7.551 seconds. Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin and David Reutimann completed the top five.

Jeff Burton finished second and Matt Kenseth in third. Both drivers
lead laps,Burton for one, Kenseth for 15. (Nick Laham / Getty Images)

There were eight race leaders, but once Kasey Kahne faltered—bitten by a broken gear-shifter early in the race—the battle for the win was between Busch and Johnson.

“I think the race off pit road really won it for us,” Busch said, noting that he didn’t know if Johnson sped in an attempt to beat him back onto the track, “but that’s what I’m going with.

“I wouldn’t say that we psyched Jimmie out. I mean, he’s won four championships so he’s pretty much been through all the head games in this world.

“But … it kind of turned our way today. Unfortunately for those guys … they got busted for speeding and we weren’t able to beat them outright and race them around to the end of the race the last 30 laps.

“But I feel like our car was at least good enough where we could at least challenge them for it, and I’m going to go out on a limb and say that we could have beat him today, with or without the penalty. But he had a fast racecar all day. It was a fun battle there racing him through the last … 100 laps or so.”

Kyle Busch crosses the finish line to get his second win of the
weekend at Dover and second NASCAR Sprint Cup win
of the season.(Todd Warshaw / Getty Images)

Busch led six times for 131 laps, and the win moved him to second in the point standings. He trails points leader Kevin Harvick, who finished seventh, by 69 points.

Johnson led eight times for 225 laps. His 16th-place finish, however, dropped him two spots to fourth, in the standings.

Austism Speaks 400 presented by Hershey's Milk & Milkshakes results:

1. Kyle Busch   
2. Jeff Burton   
3. Matt Kenseth   
4. Denny Hamlin   
5. David Reutimann   
6. Greg Biffle
7. Kevin Harvick   
8. Carl Edwards   
9. Tony Stewart   
10. Joey Logano   
11. Jeff Gordon   
12. Martin Truex Jr.   
13. Ryan Newman   
14. A.J. Allmendinger   
15. Mark Martin   
16. Jimmie Johnson   
17. Clint Bowyer   
18. Brad Keselowski   
19. Kurt Busch   
20. Kasey Kahne   
21. Paul Menard   
22. Casey Mears   
23. Scott Speed   
24. Regan Smith   
25. David Gilliland   
26. David Ragan   
27. David Stremme   
28. Elliott Sadler   
29. Travis Kvapil   
30. Dale Earnhardt Jr.   
31. Robby Gordon   
32. Jamie McMurray   
33. Kevin Conway *   
34. Sam Hornish Jr.   
35. Juan Montoya   
36. Marcos Ambrose   
37. J.J. Yeley   
38. Joe Nemechek
39. Bobby Labonte
40. Mike Bliss   
41. Dave Blaney   
42. Michael McDowell   
43. Johnny Sauter

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Busch’s Heluva Good! performance earns him Nationwide win

  Kyle Busch takes his traditional bow after winning the Nationwide Series
Heluva Good! 200 at Dover International Speedway on Saturday.

By Lee Montgomery
Special to Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

DOVER, Del.—Kyle Busch’s dominant victory in Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series Heluva Good! 200 at Dover International Speedway was punctuated by a late-race dust-up between Denny Hamlin and Clint Bowyer – one that sent Bowyer to the garage and the NASCAR Nationwide Series hauler.

Busch scored his fourth series victory of the season and 34th of his career by leading all but 14 of 205 laps as the race ended with a green-white-checkered finish. He never was truly challenged and pulled away from the field on the final restart.

Toyotas driven by Kyle Busch, who started from the pole, 
and Denny Hamlin lead the field to the green flag to start 
the Heluva Good! 200. (Todd Warshaw / Getty Images)

"This is just another product of Joe Gibbs Racing and all the guys that work so hard," said Busch, who won from the pole at Dover. "Everybody at the shop does a great job for us. The preparation was there. When we unloaded, we unloaded good. We just tweaked on it. That's what it takes."

As Busch celebrated in Victory Lane, Bowyer was waiting in the Nationwide hauler to meet with NASCAR officials. On the next-to-last restart, Hamlin punted Bowyer out of second place as the green flag waved. The fracas triggered a nine-car accident and an 11-minute, 43-second red flag.

Following a restart on lap 200, Denny Hamlin gets into Clint Bowyer
to ignite a chain-reaction that caught up nine cars and
brought out the red flag.  (Nick Laham / Getty Images) 

After the red was lifted, Bowyer drove from pit road and slammed into the side of Hamlin's car, causing it to spin. NASCAR immediately parked Bowyer and sent him to the garage.

"(Our team has) had a frustrating year, bringing home a lot of torn-up racecars," said Bowyer, who replaced John Wes Townley in Richard Childress Racing's No. 21 six races ago. "It is what it is. I don't have a beef with Denny. We'll be fine. I got one taken from me. Just a little payback."

Hamlin has been involved in NASCAR Nationwide controversy at Dover before, getting together with Brad Keselowski last year. But this time, his reaction was more calm.


"It just didn't have the speed that those guys did, but we tried to make something happen on the restart and got the 21 and the 38 (of Kasey Kahne) there," Hamlin said of his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. "A lot of times when that happens you kind of expect retaliation."

Race winner Kyle Busch gives a thumbs up to fans and crew members on pit
road after his Heluva Good! 200 win. (Jeff Zelevansky / Getty Images for NASCAR)

Ryan Newman drove through the crash and finished second to Busch, with Jamie McMurray third.

Reed Sorenson was fourth, followed by Braun Racing teammate Jason Leffler.

Kevin Harvick was sixth. Brad Keselowski finished seventh to hold on to the points lead by 11 over Busch. Greg Biffle was eighth, with rookies Brian Scott and Colin Braun rounding out the top 10.

Heluva Good! 200 results:

1. Kyle Busch
2. Ryan Newman    
3. Jamie McMurray    
4. Reed Sorenson    
5. Jason Leffler    
6. Kevin Harvick    
7. Brad Keselowski    
8. Greg Biffle    
9. Brian Scott *    
10. Colin Braun *    
11. Carl Edwards    
12. Denny Hamlin    
13. Brendan Gaughan    
14. Steve Wallace    
15. Michael Annett    
16. Justin Allgaier    
17. Tony Raines    
18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. *    
19. Scott Lagasse Jr.    
20. Landon Cassill    
21. Kenny Wallace    
22. Mike Bliss    
23. Willie Allen    
24. Eric McClure    
25. Clint Bowyer    
26. Joe Nemechek    
27. Kasey Kahne    
28. Paul Menard    
29. Trevor Bayne    
30. Michael McDowell    
31. Mark Green    
32. Chad McCumbee    
33. Jason Keller    
34. Mike Wallace    
35. Robert Richardson Jr.    
36. Josh Wise    
37. Morgan Shepherd    
38. Kevin Lepage    
39. Johnny Chapman    
40. Chase Miller    
41. Kevin Hamlin    
42. Brian Keselowski
43. David Gilliland

*Rookie

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Almirola gets win of his own in Truck Series race at Dover

Aric Almirola celebrates his first NASCAR Camping 

World Truck Series win in Victory Lane at Dover. 

(Geoff Burke / Getty Images for NASCAR)

By Lee Montgomery

Special to Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
 

DOVER, Del. - This time, Aric Almirola was able to celebrate.

Almirola took advantage of Kyle Busch's empty fuel tank to win the Dover 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race Friday and get his second official victory in one of NASCAR's national series.

The other victory was in name only, as Almirola started Joe Gibbs Racing's Busch Series car at Milwaukee in 2007 but was pulled for Sprint Cup driver Denny Hamlin during the race. Though Almirola was credited with the victory, he had left the track long before Hamlin took the checkered flag.

At Dover International Speedway on Friday, though, Almirola had some fun with a smoky burnout, a reverse victory lap and a wild victory lane celebration.

"Put it this way, that trophy's not at my house on a mantle," Almirola said of the Milwaukee race. "This one will be—tonight. … It's a dream come true. Track position is so tough here, you have to have a phenomenal truck to do what we did today. I'm not going to take any credit for that. It's a lot of fun when you have a really good truck here. … We fought hard today, and it was a good day."

Almirola had fallen two laps down because of a flat tire but rallied to get back in contention. He was one of several drivers to pit for fuel and tires under caution with 54 laps to go.

Kyle Busch won the pole for the Dover 200.
(Jason Smith / Getty Images for NASCAR)

Busch wasn't one of them, though, as his Kyle Busch Motorsports truck had stopped 30 laps earlier. On the penultimate restart, Busch didn't come up to speed with apparent vapor-lock trouble and slipped back to third. The yellow waved for Austin Dillon's blown engine, giving Busch a chance to reclaim the lead he had held for 172 laps.

But as the field was getting the green, Busch's Toyota headed to pit lane.

"Ran out of gas," a frustrated Busch said as he sped out of the track. He finished 16th, with fuel pump issues listed as his reason out.

James Buescher came back from a spin to finish second, passing Justin Lofton on the last lap. Both posted their best career finishes in the truck series. Ricky Carmichael also had his best career finish in fourth, giving Turner Motorsports second and fourth. Todd Bodine sputtered on the final restart but finished fifth.

The win also gives Almirola the series points lead. He has a 27-point cushion ahead of Bodine.

Dover 200 results:

1. Aric Almirola
2. James Buescher
3. Justin Lofton *    
4. Ricky Carmichael    
5. Todd Bodine    
6. David Starr    
7. Matt Crafton    
8. Mike Skinner    
9. Ryan Sieg    
10. Johnny Benson    
11. Carl Long    
12. Ron Hornaday    
13. Stacy Compton    
14. Jason White    
15. Johnny Sauter    
16. Kyle Busch    
17. Chris Fontaine    
18. Mario Gosselin
19. Donny Lia
20. Tayler Malsam    
21. Austin Dillon *    
22. Jennifer Jo Cobb *    
23. Norm Benning    
24. Elliott Sadler    
25. Timothy Peters    
26. Chris Jones    
27. Terry Jones    
28. Brett Butler *
29. Max Papis    
30. Johnny Chapman    
31. Brent Raymer    
32. Tim Andrews    
33. Shane Sieg    
34. Mike Harmon    
35. Donnie Neuenberger
36. Chris Lafferty

*Rookie

PHOTOS FROM NASCAR MEDIA

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Denny Hamlin Wins At Darlington

Denny Hamlin became the first driver in 17 years to sweep at Darlington Raceway. He began by winning the NASCAR Nationwide race Friday night, and by winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Saturday night after some mistakes made by Jeff Burton and Jeff Gordon at the end of the race.

Hamlin lead 104 of the 367 laps Saturday night, but he knew that he had to stay around Jeff Gordon all night.

David Reutimann's spin brought out the last caution of the night, causing Gordon to make a pit stop on pit road and trying to not go a lap down. Jeff Burton also had to make a stop on pit road. That allowed Hamlin to take the lead in the final laps of the race. Burton had to make another stop in the pits and serve a penalty by running over an air hose. He then lost a lot of track position.

Then Hamlin got a very good restart against teammate Kyle Busch for the final laps of the race. This restart allowed Hamlin to sail to his third victory of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Jamie McMurray got a great finish of 2nd place. This win ties Hamlin with Jimmie Johnson for most races won this season.

Results: Showtime Southern 500

1. Denny Hamlin

2. Jamie McMurray

3. Kurt Busch

4. Jeff Gordon

5. Juan Pablo Montoya

6. Kevin Harvick

7. Kyle Busch

8. Jeff Burton

9. Ryan Newman

10. Brian Vickers

11. David Reutimann

12. Brad Keselowski

13. Matt Kenseth

14. David Ragan

15. Carl Edwards

16. Mark Martin

17. Regan Smith

18. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

19. Martin Truex Jr.

20. Kasey Kahne

21. Elliott Sadler

22. Greg Biffle

23. Tony Stewart

24. David Stremme

25. Marcos Ambrose

26. Travis Kvapil

27. Joey Logano

28. Scott Speed

29. Max Papis

30. Paul Menard

31. Sam Hornish Jr.

32. Clint Bowyer

33. Kevin Conway

34. Bobby Labonte

35. David Gilliland

36. Jimmie Johnson

37. A.J. Allmendinger

38. Robby Gordon

39. Todd Bodine

40. Michael McDowell

41. J.J. Yeley

42. Dave Blaney

43. Reed Sorenson

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Hamlin holds off Busch for Darlington win

By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

DARLINGTON, S.C. (May 7, 2010) —Talk about a glutton for punishment.

Less than six weeks removed from ACL surgery on his left knee, Denny Hamlin opted for a weekend double at the track he considers one of the most grueling on the NASCAR circuit.

So far, so good. Staying out on old tires while other contenders came to the pits under caution on Lap 123, Hamlin, in the No. 20 Z-line Toyota, held off teammate Kyle Busch, in the No. 18 Z-line Toyota, who also stayed out, to win Friday night's Royal Purple 200 Nationwide Series race at Darlington Raceway.

Hamlin led the final 63 of 147 laps in winning his 10th race in the series in his second start of the year. On Saturday night, he'll start eighth in the Showtime Southern 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.

"Great race car," Hamlin said in Victory Lane. "Congratulations to (crew chief) Kevin Kidd. This is his first win with Joe Gibbs Racing after taking over for Dave Rogers. When you have a car that drives as good as this one did today, it makes your job a whole lot easier."

Busch had a strong car but couldn't pass Hamlin on a succession of restarts late in the race. Busch pulled even with Hamlin to the inside entering Turn 1 on a restart with five laps to go, but Hamlin had momentum around the outside and gradually inched away to win by .625 seconds.

"If you don't get out first after the last pit stop, you're stuck," Busch said. "You just can't pass out there. It's just so aero-sensitive. You fight for track position here. That's all you can do. Tires don't mean a whole lot, but track position does."

All told, Hamlin led 111 laps and Busch 17. Jamie McMurray finished third, followed by Kasey Kahne and Jason Leffler. Carl Edwards, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, Brian Vickers and Paul Menard completed the top 10.

Hamlin's Friday schedule included a two-and-a-half-hour Nationwide practice session, starting at 8:30 a.m. ET, followed by two 90-minute Cup practices, qualifying in both series and, finally, the race.

"I knew it was going to be a challenge," Hamlin said. "I knew it was going to be a very, very long day. I tried to conserve as much energy as possible. I didn't run a ton of laps in Nationwide (practice). I didn't run a ton of laps in Cup.

"I was just trying to conserve some energy for (Friday night) and then for (Saturday). Having all day to rest tomorrow will help."

Keselowski holds a 55-point lead over Busch in the NASCAR Nationwide Series standings.

Results for Friday’s Royal Purple 200:

1. Denny Hamlin    
2. Kyle Busch    
3. Jamie McMurray    
4. Kasey Kahne    
5. Jason Leffler    
6. Carl Edwards    
7. Brad Keselowski    
8. Kevin Harvick    
9. Brian Vickers    
10. Paul Menard    
11. Michael Annett    
12. Steve Wallace    
13. Mike Wallace    
14. Stanton Barrett    
15. Coleman Pressley    
16. Trevor Bayne    
17. Justin Allgaier    
18. Tony Raines    
19. Michael McDowell    
20. Kenny Wallace    
21. Jason Keller    
22. Mark Green        
23. Joe Nemechek    
24. Brian Keselowski    
25. Brian Scott *    
26. Danny Efland    
27. Eric McClure    
28. Chad McCumbee    
29. Steve Arpin    
30. Matt Kenseth    
31. James Buescher *    
32. Mike Bliss     Chevrolet   
33. Brendan Gaughan    
34. Josh Wise    
35. Greg Biffle    
36. Scott Lagasse Jr.       
37. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. *    
38. Kevin Lepage    
39. Clint Bowyer    
40. Danny O'Quinn Jr.    
41. David Gilliland    
42. Derrike Cope    
43. Dennis Setzer    

* Denotes Rookie

TEXT AND PHOTOS FROM NASCAR MEDIA

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Sauter slips & sides to win at Kansas

By Jim Pedley
Special to the Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (May 2, 2010) -- What simply had to be the two best saves of the Camping World Truck Series season occurred at exactly the same time and within inches of each other Sunday afternoon at Kansas Speedway.

When the two trucks involved finally got pointed back in the proper direction, it was the one driven by Johnny Sauter that had the lead and would go on to win the O’Reilly Auto Parts 250.

Johnny Sauter celebrates his second career NASCAR Camping World Truck
Series victory on Sunday at Kansas Speedway. (Jonathan Ferrey / Getty Images)

The other truck involved, that of Ron Hornaday Jr., finished second but left its driver buzzing like a radio with a bad tube.

“You can’t tell me that Kansas didn’t like that one,” Hornaday, not generally known to be all that excited about a second-place finish, shouted as he entered the postrace interview room.

Sauter, wearing a very large and sticky smear of birthday cake on his fire suit, was equally excited. As well he should be.

“I bet it looked pretty cool on TV,” said Sauter, who turned 32 on Saturday.

With 13 laps to go, Sauter had the lead heading down the backstretch, but Hornaday pulled even on his low side. Hornaday’s truck suddenly hooked right—right into Sauter. Both spun simultaneously. With smoke pouring from the wheel wells of both trucks, they turned 60 degrees sideways.

Ron Hornaday Jr. (No. 33) makes contact with Johnny Sauter and
both slide in Turn 4 with 10 laps to go. (Rick Dole / Getty Images)

The two drivers, who have a history of roughing each other up on the track and in the pits afterward, cranked the steering wheels and both executed highlight-clip saves.

“He got into me,” Sauter said. “I couldn’t help but sit there and think as I was trying to save it … that darn Hornaday got me again within a month’s time. But it all worked out. That was good. That was good for the fans.”

The victory was the first of the year for Sauter and moved him from 14th to fifth in the points standings.

Sauter said he felt good about his truck before it even arrived at Kansas. It was the same truck he used to win his first truck race last September in Las Vegas and finish 11th at Nashville the last time out.

Rain and hail caused a 1 hour, 30 minute delay in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 250
at Kansas Speedway on Sunday. (Jonathan Ferrey / Getty Images)

Todd Bodine finished third and moved into second in the standings, 22 points behind Timothy Peters, who finished 23rd, six laps back.

Notes: Brian Ickler finished fourth and now has two top-five finishes in both of his starts for Kyle Busch Motorsports. … Rookie Austin Dillon had his best finish, sixth. … The race was stopped after 114 laps for more than 90 minutes by rain and hail.

O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 results:

1. Johnny Sauter
2. Ron Hornaday   
3. Todd Bodine    
4. Brian Ickler    
5. Johnny Benson    
6. Austin Dillon*    
7. Aric Almirola    
8. Mike Skinner    
9. Ken Schrader    
10. David Starr    
11. Jason White    
12. Ricky Carmichael    
13. Justin Lofton*    
14. Jack Smith     Ford   
15. Tony Jackson Jr.    
16. James Buescher    
17. Mario Gosselin        
18. Terry Jones    
19. Ryan Sieg    
20. Jamie Dick
21. Brent Raymer    
22. Tayler Malsam    
23. Timothy Peters    
24. Norm Benning    
25. Matt Crafton
26. Brett Butler*
27. Carl Long        
28. Jennifer Jo Cobb*    
29. Jesse Smith    
30. Chris Eggleston*    
31. Rick Crawford    
32. Brian Rose    
33. Mike Harmon    
34. Shane Sieg    
35. Wes Burton    
36. Narain Karthikeyan    

*Rookie

TEXT FROM NASCAR MEDIA

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