BROOKLYN, Mich., Aug. 17 (UPI) -- After a record 21 lead changes, veteran Michael Waltrip took the checkered flag Saturday at the NASCAR Busch Grand National series Cabela's 250.
Jeff Burton finished 3.901 seconds behind in second to record his sixth straight top-10 finish at the two-mile track Michigan Speedway. Jeff Green and Todd Bodine made it a top-four sweep for Winston Cup regulars.
Bodine made a run at Waltrip late in the race and even made contact, but Waltrip held his position for his first Busch series victory since 1999 at Lowe's Motor Speedway and ninth of his career.
"We almost won this race a couple of years ago," said Waltrip, who took home a winner's check of $34,650. "We did it by taking four tires early and two late. We liked what we did then and (crew chief) Bobby (Kennedy) did it perfectly today."
"I ran into Mikey off turn 2 and I didn't mean to," Bodine admitted. "I pushed him up a little bit and hit him a little bit in the bumper and wiggled the car. The next time around he body slammed me and ended up pushing the fender in. That's racing and he was doing what he had to do. He had a good race car and two tires at the end worked."
Waltrip led a total of 52 laps and averaged 135.644 miles per hour in his Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Early in the race, he was up front for short stints before longer periods between laps 87-100 and again at the end from 103-125.
Jason Keller, who led for 23 laps, was in the front running before his engine gave out on lap 103. He placed 35th and made up some ground to 56 points behind leader Greg Biffle, who retired after 18 laps with a failed engine on his Ford Taurus.
Bobby Hamilton Jr. was the first Busch series regular in fifth place.
Burton led for 17 laps, while Bodine did for 19 as both scored bonus points for leading.
Rookie of the Year points leader Scott Riggs finished sixth and was one of 10 drivers to have led during the race. Riggs is fourth in the overall standings, 287 points behind Biffle.
Scott Wimmer, Stacy Compton, Jimmy Spencer and rookie Kasey Kahne rounded out the top 10.
The 125-lap race had five cautions for 21 laps and was completed in less than two hours.
