Sun Apr 20 18:20:18 2008

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Busch wins third straight Nationwide race

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Mexico City, Mexico (Sports Network) - Kyle Busch won the last two Nationwide events on ovals, but he is pretty good on road courses too, winning Sunday's Corona Mexico 200 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. The No.20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota crossed the finish line 0.738 seconds ahead of Marcos Ambrose.

The victory was Busch's third of the season, first in Mexico and 14th of his Nationwide Series career.

"It's a pretty phenomenal job by these Joe Gibbs Racing guys," said Busch.

Scott Pruett, Carl Edwards and Patrick Carpentier completed the top-five.

Nineteen-year-old Colin Braun won the pole and led the first lap, but veteran road racers Scott Pruett beat Braun down the front straight and into the first corner on lap two to take the lead.

Pruett kept expanding the lead until the first caution flag on lap three.

Meanwhile, Mexican driver Adrian Fernandez, who had to start from the back of the field because David Green qualified his car, was already up to 26th after three green-flag laps.

Following a red-flag for cleanup of a Kertus Davis accident, it was still Pruett showing the way with Braun staying put in second place.

The first round of pit stops began as early as lap 11, but Pruett stayed out until lap 17. After the first round of stops had cycled through, Scott Wimmer owned the lead, while Pruett was way down in 11th place behind Braun, Edwards and Busch. And Fernandez was up to 16th.

Busch, Edwards, Braun and Pruett began to work their way back up the charts. Busch was up to second by lap 30. The No.20 Joe Gibbs Racing machine powered down the front straight and beat Wimmer into the first turn on lap 34 to take the lead. Meanwhile Edwards was up to third, Braun fourth and Pruett sixth.

A number of teams pitted on lap 35 following a caution flag. The teams couldn't reach the checkered flag yet, but were gambling that enough caution flag laps would happen over the final half of the race so that they could make it. They would need an estimated 12 laps for the strategy to work.

Wimmer was the leader of those who pitted and took the fuel strategy gamble returning to the track in 18th place.

Michel Jourdain Jr. brought out another red flag, on lap 40, when he left fluid all over the track following a restart. After they restarted Pruett used the opportunity for new tires and to top off the fuel tank. That made it possible that he could now reach the total distance without another stop. He restarted in 17th place. Busch, Edwards and Braun continued on.

Then on lap 47 Busch gave up the lead for tires and fuel. Bowyer and Sam Hornish Jr. followed Busch down pit road. Braun pulled off on the next lap leaving Edwards as the only car not to pit.

Was he trying to stretch his fuel for the final 45 laps? And would it matter since all the cars behind him had newer tires and more fuel?

The answer came on lap 49 when Edwards gave up the lead for new tires and fuel, but he returned to the track mired in 25th place.

The race restarted on lap 50 with Pruett leading Ruben Pardo and Wimmer. Pardo stumbled as the green flag dropped and Wimmer got around him for second place. Then Pardo re-took the position.

But Pruett was out front and a great open-wheel driver. He had never won a NASCAR event and he was determined to make up for last year (when Juan Pablo Montoya knocked him out of the way en route to the victory).

Busch was charging through the field and by lap 59 was up to third. He went underneath Pardo for second on lap 60, but it was a long way to go to catch Pruett, who had "checked out." Pruett's lead was more than six seconds at lap 61.

Then a debris caution flag slowed the field and brought Busch right on Pruett's rear bumper with 17 laps to go. The green flag dropped with 15 laps remaining.

For the next three laps they were nose-to-tail and sometimes even side-by- side, but Pruett fought him off and with 10 laps remaining built the lead to about six lengths (0.588 seconds).

Then on the next lap Busch caught him and passed him in Turns five and six. Five laps to go and the lead was one second. Pruett's tires had gone away and Marcos Ambrose got around him for second place.

But no one was going to catch Busch on this day and in his second visit to Mexico City, he made an one additional sightseeing tour - to Victory Lane.

"Our tires were a little bit too used up there at the end," said Pruett. "We got what we could out of it,"

The next race in the series is set for Saturday, April 26th at the Talladega Superspeedway.