winning three weeks ago at his home track of Las Vegas Motor Speedway. “Ultimately, it doesn’t really matter where you start here. You have to bide your time and take it easy when you have a car that’s good. It was a very satisfying day today. We had a great run there. We really enjoyed it. The Mars family is happy today. Bringing home the Snickers brand to victory lane was cool.”
Busch was leading when he made his final pit stop of the day under caution on lap 445. The Snickers crew was flawless and got Busch out in his familiar spot at the front of the field.
He never looked back and went on to score his 14th career Sprint Cup win, his second of 2009 and his second at Bristol. It also marked the first time Busch won at a track twice in Sprint Cup, as he earned his first Bristol victory in the March 2007 Food City 500.
Busch led 75 percent of the 503 laps available Sunday’s race, meaning that in five of his 14 career Sprint Cup victories, he has led more than 50 percent of the laps. It also marked the second time Busch has taken the Snickers brand to victory lane, as he scored the brand’s maiden win in March 2008 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga.
“It was great to have the Snickers team at the racetrack today and we were having fun with their new ad campaign all day,” Busch said. “Winning here at Bristol is a huge help in getting people talking about it. I’m glad we could take them to ‘Choctane Lane.’”
Busch’s JGR teammate, Denny Hamlin, finished .391 of a second behind Busch to mark the first top-two sweep for the organization since Busch and former JGR driver Tony Stewart finished first and second, respectively, in August 2008 at the Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International road course.
Busch’s other JGR teammate, rookie Joey Logano, finished 38th after experiencing engine problems and completing only 490 laps.
Three-time and reigning Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson finished third, while Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne rounded out the top-five. Pole-winner Mark Martin, Ryan Newman, Jeff Burton, Columbia-native Juan Pablo Montoya and Australia-native Marcos Ambrose comprised the remainder of the top-10.
There were nine caution periods for 58 laps, with six drivers failing to finish the 503-lap race, which was extended three laps past its scheduled distance in a green-white-checkered finish.
With five of 36 races in the books, Busch moved up three spots to fourth in the championship points and leads the JGR trio with 709 points, 85 markers behind series leader Gordon. Hamlin’s second-place effort moved him up six spots to eighth in the standings with 631 points, 163 points arrears Gordon. Logano has 370 points and occupies the 34th spot, 424 points out of first.
The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the March 29 Goody’s Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The race begins at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FOX beginning with its pre-race show at 1:30 p.m.
BACK TO KYLE BUSCH NEWS >> |
