Kyle Busch dominates at Dover for eighth Nationwide win of season
DOVER, Del. - With a committee of crew chiefs - and in the face of some wishful thinking on the part of Mike Bliss - Joe Gibbs Racing's Kyle Busch won Saturday's Camping World RV Sales 200 Nationwide Series race at Dover International Speedway in dominating fashion.
Busch led 157 of 207 laps in a race that ended with a green-white-checkered-flag finish after JR Motorsports' Landon Cassill and Rusty Wallace Racing's Steve Wallace collided on lap 199 to bring out the seventh and final caution and send the event seven laps beyond its scheduled distance.
It was Busch's eighth Nationwide Series victory of the year, matching his total in the Sprint Cup Series, and the 19th of his career.
"Why the hell did he pick this race to run?" asked Phoenix Racing's Bliss, who crossed the finish line in second place, .866 seconds behind the winner. "I wish he had skipped this race. I'm pretty happy, but these guys (on the No. 1) Miccosukee Resorts Chevrolet team) deserve a win.
"We were really fast on long runs, but the short runs just weren't quite there."
With regular No. 18 Toyota crew chief Jason Ratcliff suspended indefinitely - the result of a rules infraction discovered at Michigan - Joel Wideman made the pit calls for Busch on Saturday, with Busch's Cup crew chief, Steve Addington, serving in an advisory capacity. Wideman was the third different crew chief in the last three races with the No. 18 car.
"It was a great effort by this whole team," said Busch, who drove the same chassis his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Denny Hamlin, powered to victory at Dover in May. "Joel Wideman - he did a great job calling the race. It wasn't easy for us, but it was a pretty flawless day. Just a phenomenal race car, and a lot of fun to drive."
JR Motorsports' Brad Keselowski finished third, followed by Richard Childress Racing's Scott Wimmer and Roush Fenway Racing's Carl Edwards. Hamlin (driving the No. 32 Braun Racing Toyota this week), Braun's Jason Leffler, Roush Fenway's Jamie McMurray, Roush Fenway's David Ragan and series leader Clint Bowyer (RCR) completed the top 10.
Bowyer's lead in the Nationwide standings took a hit, thanks to a collision on pit road with Edwards, his closest pursuer. Exiting pit road on lap 100, Bowyer's No. 2 Chevrolet was outside Edwards' No. 60 Ford when Michael Waltrip Racing's David Reutimann pulled out of his pit stall and forced Edwards wide.
Contact from Edwards' Ford knocked Bowyer into the outside pit wall, damaging both front fenders. But Bowyer remained on the lead lap and salvaged the 10th-place finish to keep his points loss to a minimum. Edwards gained 21 points on the series leader but remains 186 behind with six events remaining.
