Kyle Busch saved his best for last to win Saturday's Kansas Lottery 300 Nationwide Series race at Kansas Speedway.
Busch was not that much of a factor in the first half of this 300-mile event, which was plagued with nine caution, mostly for accidents. The driver of the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota took the lead for the first time on lap 125.
After a late-race round of pit stops under green, Kevin Harvick had inherited the lead. Harvick ran in front for a total of 47 laps, but with 20 laps to go, Busch pulled ahead of his fellow Sprint Cup Series competitor to take the top position for good.
Busch crossed the finish line 0.8 seconds ahead of Harvick for his Nationwide- leading sixth win of the season and the 69th of his career. It was the second time he won a race in the series at Kansas. His first victory here occurred in 2007.
The 400-mile Sprint Cup race at this 1.5-mile track is scheduled for Sunday. Busch, who is one of the 12 drivers remaining in the championship Chase, qualified seventh. Kansas has been one of Busch's worst tracks in NASCAR's premier series. He has scored only two top-10 finishes in 14 starts here.
Ryan Blaney, a regular in the Camping World Truck Series, finished third, driving the No. 22 Ford for Team Penske. Harvick was behind the wheel of the No. 5 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. He was attempting to win on a 1.5-mile track for the fourth time in the series this season.
Paul Menard placed fourth, and rookie Ty Dillon, the pole sitter, was fifth.
Chase Elliott's 10th-place finish coupled with a 22nd-place run for Regan Smith, his teammate at JR Motorsports, allowed Elliott to increase his lead in the Nationwide championship standings from 26 points to 38 over Smith. Four races remain (Charlotte, Texas, Phoenix and Homestead).
Smith had to start the race from the rear of the field in a backup car after crashing his primary vehicle in qualifying, which was held earlier in the day. Smith experienced a mechanical problem during the race, which put him eight laps behind.
[SportsNetwork.com]
