Kyle Busch wins wild NASCAR Nationwide race
Kyle Busch |
Kyle Busch has won a lot of NASCAR Nationwide Series races but never at Talladega Superspeedway.
That changed Saturday as Busch survived an 11-caution wreckfest that ended under caution on a second green-white-checkered finish.
"Finally, I won a Nationwide race, so I've completed the sweep at Talladega," said Busch, who has one Cup win here that also came under caution.
Busch got a huge push from teammate Joey Logano on the final lap and was out front when Mike Wallace ended up on his roof to bring out the caution.
Wallace was running up front for the first time in a long time thanks to hooking up with Joe Nemechek, who also hasn't been up front at the end lately.
Nemechek finished third with Logano second.
"It was definitely intense in the car," said Nemechek, whose last Nationwide Series top 5 finish came in 2005 at Las Vegas. "My heart is still beating fast and my head is spinning."
For Nemechek, who has had to do some start-and-park races, his third was a victory for the old guard and small-budget teams.
"We're operating by the skin of our teeth," he said of the team's finances.
Brad Keselowski finished fourth, followed by Elliott Sadler, Trevor Bayne, Justin Allgaier, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Reed Sorenson and Aric Almirola.
The Big One in the race involved 21 cars — including Busch — with either major or minor damage. It came on the backstretch late in the race on Lap 89.
Jennifer Jo Cobb was among the Big One's victims.
"I always say that when you're at Daytona or Talladega you have a 50/50 chance of the car surviving," she said.
RESULTS
Pos |
Driver |
Car # |
Make |
Started |
Laps |
Led |
Points |
1 |
Kyle Busch |
18 |
Toyota |
22 |
124 |
4 |
0 |
2 |
Joey Logano |
20 |
Toyota |
7 |
124 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
Joe Nemechek |
87 |
Toyota |
20 |
124 |
4 |
42 |
4 |
Brad Keselowski |
22 |
Dodge |
16 |
124 |
14 |
0 |
5 |
Elliott Sadler |
2 |
Chevrolet |
1 |
124 |
8 |
40 |
6 |
Trevor Bayne |
16 |
Ford |
5 |
124 |
23 |
40 |
7 |
Justin Allgaier |
31 |
Chevrolet |
17 |
124 |
0 |
37 |
8 |
Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
7 |
Chevrolet |
3 |
124 |
16 |
0 |
9 |
Reed Sorenson |
32 |
Chevrolet |
13 |
124 |
6 |
36 |
10 |
Aric Almirola |
88 |
Chevrolet |
10 |
124 |
2 |
35 |
11 |
Brian Scott |
11 |
Toyota |
23 |
124 |
0 |
33 |
12 |
Scott Wimmer |
40 |
Chevrolet |
35 |
124 |
0 |
32 |
13 |
Sam Hornish Jr. |
12 |
Dodge |
12 |
124 |
2 |
32 |
14 |
Timmy Hill |
15 |
Ford |
34 |
124 |
0 |
30 |
15 |
Jason Leffler |
38 |
Chevrolet |
9 |
124 |
0 |
29 |
16 |
Blake Koch |
82 |
Dodge |
32 |
124 |
0 |
28 |
17 |
Carl Edwards |
60 |
Ford |
6 |
124 |
3 |
0 |
18 |
Mike Wallace |
01 |
Chevrolet |
27 |
124 |
6 |
27 |
19 |
Michael Annett |
62 |
Toyota |
8 |
122 |
0 |
25 |
20 |
Donnie Neuenberger |
81 |
Dodge |
31 |
121 |
0 |
24 |
21 |
Danny Efland |
52 |
Chevrolet |
36 |
121 |
0 |
23 |
22 |
Clint Bowyer |
33 |
Chevrolet |
2 |
120 |
2 |
0 |
23 |
James Buescher |
30 |
Chevrolet |
15 |
118 |
0 |
0 |
24 |
Jeremy Clements |
51 |
Chevrolet |
41 |
110 |
0 |
20 |
25 |
Kenny Wallace |
09 |
Toyota |
19 |
109 |
2 |
20 |
26 |
Eric McClure |
14 |
Chevrolet |
25 |
109 |
0 |
18 |
27 |
Derrike Cope |
28 |
Chevrolet |
38 |
104 |
1 |
18 |
28 |
Robert Richardson Jr. |
23 |
Dodge |
26 |
103 |
1 |
17 |
29 |
Dennis Setzer |
70 |
Chevrolet |
43 |
100 |
0 |
15 |
30 |
Morgan Shepherd |
89 |
Chevrolet |
40 |
98 |
0 |
14 |
31 |
Josh Wise |
39 |
Ford |
39 |
92 |
0 |
13 |
32 |
Steve Wallace |
66 |
Toyota |
18 |
88 |
0 |
12 |
33 |
Michael Waltrip |
99 |
Toyota |
24 |
87 |
0 |
0 |
34 |
Jamie McMurray |
1 |
Chevrolet |
4 |
87 |
20 |
0 |
35 |
Mike Bliss |
19 |
Chevrolet |
29 |
87 |
0 |
9 |
36 |
Tim George Jr. |
21 |
Chevrolet |
21 |
87 |
0 |
8 |
37 |
Jennifer Jo Cobb |
41 |
Ford |
33 |
87 |
0 |
7 |
38 |
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. |
6 |
Ford |
14 |
68 |
6 |
7 |
39 |
Kevin Harvick |
4 |
Chevrolet |
11 |
21 |
4 |
0 |
40 |
Mike Harmon |
74 |
Chevrolet |
28 |
11 |
0 |
4 |
41 |
Tim Andrews |
79 |
Ford |
42 |
4 |
0 |
3 |
42 |
Carl Long |
68 |
Ford |
37 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
43 |
Jeff Green |
44 |
Chevrolet |
30 |
1 |
0 |
1 |