HAMPTON, Ga. - With a big hand from his pit crew, Kyle Busch locked up his spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship with his fourth victory of the year Sunday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Busch emerged with the lead after a rapid-fire series of caution flags near the end, and he held off hard-charging Joey Logano to win by 0.740 seconds.
"My boys on pit road," Busch said. "They're amazing. I would do anything for them."
Martin Truex Jr., racing with a broken right wrist, was third on the 1.54-mile trioval, followed by Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman.
The rest of the top 10: Jeff Gordon, Juan Pablo Montoya, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick and Brian Vickers.
Kyle Busch was among four more drivers locking up their spot in the Chase heading to Richmond next weekend, where the 12-car field will be set for the playoff. He was joined by Harvick, Carl Edwards and Kasey Kahne.
Points leader Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer and Matt Kenseth had already claimed playoff berths before Atlanta.
That means the final five will be determined at Richmond.
Busch earned his 16th win of the year in NASCAR's top three series. He has nine victories in Nationwide and three in trucks.
Logano had the fastest car on the track at the end of the race, but ran out of time to run down Busch.
"It's just frustrating," Logano said. "But in the grand scheme of things, it's a big points day for us to get into the Chase going to Richmond. This helps us a lot. A win would've helped a lot more."
Sprint Cup: AdvoCare 500
Hampton, Ga.
Lap Length: 1.54 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
Car maker abbreviations: C=Chevrolet, F=Ford, T=Toyota
1. (9) Ky. Busch, T, 325 laps, 47 points.
2. (11) J. Logano, F, 325, 44.
3. (7) M. Truex Jr., T, 325, 41.
4. (32) Ku. Busch, C, 325, 40.
5. (17) R. Newman, C, 325, 40.
6. (5) J. Gordon, C, 325, 39.
7. (3) J. Pablo Montoya, C, 325, 38.
8. (8) D. Earnhardt Jr., C, 325, 36.
9. (30) K. Harvick, C, 325, 35.
10. (22) B. Vickers, T, 325, 0.
11. (15) J. McMurray, C, 325, 33.
12. (6) M. Kenseth, T, 325, 32.
13. (20) M. Ambrose, F, 325, 31.
14. (13) A J Allmendinger, T, 325, 30.
15. (24) G. Biffle, F, 325, 29.
16. (1) R. Stenhouse Jr., F, 325, 28.
17. (31) D. Gilliland, F, 325, 27.
18. (2) C. Edwards, F, 324, 27.
19. (26) A. Dillon, C, 324, 0.
20. (29) A. Almirola, F, 323, 24.
21. (21) D. Patrick, C, 323, 23.
22. (19) C. Mears, F, 323, 23.
23. (14) D. Ragan, F, 323, 22.
24. (16) P. Menard, C, 322, 20.
25. (27) M. Martin, C, 322, 19.
26. (36) D. Blaney, C, 322, 18.
27. (37) T. Kvapil, T, 322, 17.
28. (10) J. Johnson, C, 321, 16.
29. (25) D. Stremme, T, 321, 15.
30. (42) J. Yeley, C, 321, 15.
31. (41) T. Hill, F, 321, 13.
32. (34) D. Reutimann, T, 320, 12.
33. (38) M. Bliss, C, 319, 0.
34. (28) J. Burton, C, 319, 10.
35. (23) Bra. Keselowski, F, engine, 307, 10.
36. (18) K. Kahne, C, 292, 8.
37. (39) L. Cassill, C, engine, 249, 0.
38. (4) D. Hamlin, T, engine, 231, 6.
39. (12) C. Bowyer, T, engine, 192, 6.
40. (40) J. Nemechek, T, vibration, 114, 0.
41. (33) J. Wise, F, vibration, 94, 0.
42. (43) M. McDowell, F, vibration, 92, 3.
43. (35) S. Speed, F, vibration, 22, 1.
Race Statistics
Average Speed of Race Winner: 135.136 mph.
Time of Race: 3 hours, 42 minutes, 16 seconds.
Margin of Victory: 0.740 seconds.
Caution Flags: 9 for 47 laps.
Lead Changes: 28 among 13 drivers.
Lap Leaders: J.Montoya 1-24; J.Logano 25-26; D.Ragan 27; M.McDowell 28; J.Montoya 29-39; C.Edwards 40-58; J.Yeley 59-60; C.Mears 61; J.Gordon 62-77; J.Montoya 78; L.Cassill 79; C.Edwards 80-121; R.Newman 122-123; J.Logano 124-138; C.Bowyer 139-166; J.Logano 167-172; C.Bowyer 173-192; J.Logano 193-195; C.Edwards 196-200; J.Gordon 201; C.Edwards 202-203; J.Logano 204-212; B.Keselowski 213-243; J.Logano 244-251; R.Newman 252; J.Montoya 253-254; J.Logano 255-289; Ky.Busch 290-325.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led, Laps Led): J.Logano, 7 times for 78 laps; C.Edwards, 4 times for 68 laps; C.Bowyer, 2 times for 48 laps; J.Montoya, 4 times for 38 laps; Ky.Busch, 1 time for 36 laps; B.Keselowski, 1 time for 31 laps; J.Gordon, 2 times for 17 laps; R.Newman, 2 times for 3 laps; J.Yeley, 1 time for 2 laps; C.Mears, 1 time for 1 lap; D.Ragan, 1 time for 1 lap; L.Cassill, 1 time for 1 lap; M.McDowell, 1 time for 1 lap.
Top 12 in Points: 1. J.Johnson, 837; 2. C.Bowyer, 809; 3. K.Harvick, 795; 4. C.Edwards, 795; 5. Ky.Busch, 786; 6. M.Kenseth, 768; 7. D.Earnhardt Jr., 750; 8. J.Logano, 729; 9. G.Biffle, 727; 10. Ku.Busch, 719; 11. J.Gordon, 713; 12. K.Kahne, 709.
Original Print Headline: Kyle Busch wins to lock up Chase
Other - Motorsports
Matt Kenseth restored order to a chaotic week for NASCAR with a steely victory over teammate Kyle Busch in the opening race for the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
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.
