JOLIET, Ill. - Just when it appeared Kyle Busch couldn't be any stronger in a Nationwide Series race, he broke the record for most laps led on a 1.5-mile track in a Nationwide race in winning the Dollar General 300 race at Chicagoland Speedway on Saturday.
Starting from the pole, Busch went on to lead 195 of the event's 200 laps, eclipsing the record of 194 laps led the late Dale Earnhardt set at Charlotte in 1986.
"It was just a great day with a phenomenal race car," said Busch, who earned his 10th win in 20 Nationwide races this season, tied for second-most wins in a single season on NASCAR's junior circuit.
Busch holds the record for most Nationwide wins in a season, 13 in 2010.
Busch jumped out from the opening green flag and never looked back, widening his lead to seven-plus seconds at one point. No other drivers were able to mount a serious threat as Busch excelled in every aspect of the game, earning his fifth perfect driver rating of the season.
It was Busch's 61st career win in 264 career Nationwide Series starts, and his 123rd overall win across all three of NASCAR's top racing series.
Busch also won Friday's Camping World Truck Series race and will go for a second career weekend sweep in Sunday's opener of the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. Busch previously won races in all three series on the same weekend at Bristol (Tenn.) in August 2010.
Busch will start Sunday's Geico 400 from the 12th position. He was seventh-fastest in Saturday's morning practice, but dropped to 19th in the final practice later in the afternoon.
NASCAR Nationwide-Dollar General 300 powered by Coca-Cola Results
Saturday at Joliet, Ill.
Lap Length: 1.5 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
Car maker abbreviations: C=Chevrolet, D=Dodge, F=Ford, T=Toyota
1. (1) Ky. Busch, T, 200 laps, 150 rating, 0 points, $82,650.
2. (3) J. Logano, F, 200, 119.1, 0, $60,050.
3. (4) S. Hornish Jr., F, 200, 121, 41, $53,525.
4. (2) A. Dillon, C, 200, 114.1, 40, $47,475.
5. (6) D. Earnhardt Jr., C, 200, 102.3, 0, $31,975.
6. (10) B. Vickers, T, 200, 109.2, 38, $31,375.
7. (18) M. Kenseth, T, 200, 92.9, 0, $24,325.
8. (5) P. Kligerman, T, 200, 101, 36, $29,675.
9. (13) K. Harvick, C, 200, 100.4, 0, $22,135.
10. (9) N. Piquet Jr., C, 200, 82.8, 34, $29,500.
11. (8) A. Bowman, T, 200, 82.8, 33, $26,750.
12. (20) J. Allgaier, C, 200, 87.7, 32, $26,200.
13. (16) R. Smith, C, 200, 87.5, 31, $25,650.
14. (19) B. Scott, C, 200, 76.2, 30, $25,140.
15. (14) T. Bayne, F, 200, 77.3, 29, $25,780.
16. (17) K. Swindell, F, 200, 67.3, 28, $24,470.
17. (11) K. Wallace, T, 200, 71.2, 27, $18,185.
18. (15) M. Annett, F, 200, 67.4, 26, $23,925.
19. (7) E. Sadler, T, 199, 82.1, 25, $24,715.
20. (12) B. Sweet, C, 198, 76.6, 24, $24,180.
21. (27) C. Hackenbracht, T, 198, 54.6, 0, $23,395.
22. (29) L. Cassill, C, 198, 61.1, 22, $23,285.
23. (35) M. Bliss, T, 198, 56.2, 21, $23,150.
24. (21) J. Clements, C, 198, 58.1, 21, $23,040.
25. (25) E. McClure, T, 198, 55, 19, $23,380.
26. (22) J. Long, C, 197, 47.9, 18, $22,795.
27. (24) T. Pastrana, F, 196, 63.3, 17, $22,685.
28. (26) M. Wallace, C, 193, 46.3, 16, $22,565.
29. (37) J. Carlos Blum, F, 189, 33.5, 15, $22,415.
30. (23) J. Nemechek, T, electrical, 186, 43.8, 14, $22,605.
31. (36) M. Dufault, F, 183, 35.3, 13, $22,150.
32. (39) K. Larson, C, accident, 175, 83.6, 12, $22,040.
33. (38) R. Sorenson, C, 172, 39.3, 11, $21,925.
34. (32) B. Butler, T, accident, 146, 33.2, 10, $21,814.
35. (31) J. Gase, C, engine, 46, 36.5, 9, $21,689.
36. (30) K. Lepage, D, fuel pump, 30, 38.2, 8, $20,445.
37. (33) T. Berryhill, D, electrical, 21, 31.5, 7, $14,325.
38. (28) B. Koch, T, transmission, 7, 32.2, 6, $14,265.
39. (34) J. Yeley, C, rear gear, 4, 30.8, 0, $13,940.
40. (40) J. Green, T, vibration, 3, 29.7, 4, $13,830.
Race Statistics
Average Speed of Race Winner: 131.804 mph.
Time of Race: 2 hours, 16 minutes, 34 seconds.
Margin of Victory: 1.615 seconds.
Caution Flags: 6 for 27 laps.
Lead Changes: 4 among 4 drivers.
Lap Leaders: K.Busch 1-25; J.Clements 26; D.Earnhardt Jr. 27-28; J.Logano 29-30; K.Busch 31-200.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led, Laps Led): K.Busch, 2 times for 195 laps; J.Logano, 1 time for 2 laps; D.Earnhardt Jr., 1 time for 2 laps; J.Clements, 1 time for 1 lap.
Top 10 in Points: 1. S.Hornish Jr., 921; 2. A.Dillon, 904; 3. R.Smith, 885; 4. E.Sadler, 877; 5. B.Vickers, 865; 6. J.Allgaier, 860; 7. B.Scott, 849; 8. T.Bayne, 839; 9. K.Larson, 811; 10. P.Kligerman, 768.
NASCAR Driver Rating Formula
A maximum of 150 points can be attained in a race.
The formula combines the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish.
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