Sat Apr 12 00:37:22 2008

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Busch pit crew key to second straight Nationwide win

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Phoenix, AZ (Sports Network) - Kyle Busch's pit crew got him out first on the final pit stop and the Joe Gibbs Racing star took it from there winning Friday night's Bashas' Supermarkets 200 Nationwide Series race at the Phoenix International Raceway. The No.18 Toyota driver took the checkered flag 0.241 seconds ahead of Carl Edwards.

The victory was Busch's second of the season and 13th of his Nationwide career.

Busch won the pole, but his car started out too loose once the race got underway and Brad Keselowski grabbed the lead midway through the first lap. He led six laps before Busch got the handle of his car and drove it underneath the youngster for the lead on lap seven.

Slowly, Keselowski began to fall through the top-10. First Denny Hamlin got past him. Then Kevin Harvick passed him as did Jeff Burton, Clint Bowyer and Edwards - all NASCAR stars.

Up front, Busch's lead was almost three seconds on Hamlin after 33 laps when the first caution flag of the day appeared. The first pit stop cost Busch two positions as Burton and Harvick beat him out.

He didn't stay there long. Busch jumped outside of Harvick in Turn 2 of the first green-flag lap and got Burton on the outside of Turn 4 to regain the lead.

A debris caution flag on lap 63 wiped out another Busch two-second lead. He stayed out, but most of the other leaders came in for fuel and tires. By lap 74, Edwards caught and passed Busch showing just how much new tires were worth.

Harvick and Keselowski brought out the next caution flag on lap 79 when the veteran got into the left-rear corner of the Keselowski to send him spinning. When they went back to green, Hamlin worked the outside line to get around Edwards for the lead.

Burton slammed the outside wall in Turn 2 damaging the right-side and ending his chances for a win. But the yellow didn't come out and the leaders kept on digging. Hamlin and Edwards exchanged the lead a couple more times before the field reached the mid-point of the race with Hamlin in the lead.

Steven Wallace brought out a caution flag with 96 laps remaining which was a huge break for Busch now very low on fuel after bypassing the last pit opportunity.

Finally with new tires, Busch charged to the front where he and Edwards fought it out. By lap 111, Busch completed the pass of Edwards. But the No.60 Roush Fenway Racing Ford didn't go away. Using the bottom of the track to his advantage, Edwards stayed right on Busch's rear bumper.

But Edwards just couldn't keep up with Busch's pace, he was too loose, and by lap 140 the margin was one second. Then Busch ran into lapped traffic and it slowed him up just enough for Edwards to stay near, while hoping for a caution flag to adjust his Ford for the final run to the checkered flag. The two leaders were four seconds ahead of third-place Hamlin, so without a yellow, it appeared to be a two-man race.

Forty-two laps to go and Edwards slid to the bottom of the track and past Busch for the 13th lead change of the evening - a record for this race. Suddenly, Edwards was a lot better than Busch and with 35 laps to go the margin was 1.444 seconds. Thirty laps remaining and the gap was 2.168 seconds.

Then a debris caution with 23 laps to go set up the final stop drama. All the leaders pitted and Busch's crew got him out in front of Edwards with Hamlin in third place and Harvick fourth. They all got four tires, so no car had and advantage over the other as they prepared for the 14-lap shootout. But a couple of caution flags on restarts left the race with just five laps to determine a winner.

Busch got off to a great restart, opening up a two-length lead, but Edwards fought back and with four laps to go stuck his nose in front of Busch. The No.18 didn't let up and using the outside line took back the lead just as one final caution flag waved. The spin meant a green-white-checker finish.

Again Busch got the jump on Edwards and he held it all the way to the checkered flag for his second consecutive win.

"Our car was good on the two lap jumps, but he had us there from five to 15 laps," said Busch. Luckily, we kept getting those cautions."

"It's too bad somebody had to lose a race like that," said Edwards. "That's fun out there. Kyle did a great job."

Hamlin, Harvick and David Ragan completed the top-five. Bowyer, the points leader, finished eighth and had his lead over Edwards cut to 24 points (1,189 - 1.165).

The next race in the Nationwide Series is set for Sunday, April 20th in Mexico City, Mexico.