Busch Outwits Whitt for Dover Truck Win

Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

DOVER, Del.—Victory in Friday's Lucas Oil 200 wasn't the only thing Kyle Busch gained at Dover International Speedway.

He also gained a healthy dose of respect for NASCAR Camping World Truck Series rookie and second-place finisher Cole Whitt.

Pulling away from Whitt's No. 60 Red Bull Chevrolet after a restart on Lap 198 of 200, Busch won the race under caution when Nelson Piquet Jr. and Timothy Peters wrecked on the final lap.

Busch picked up his third truck series victory in five starts this season. Busch won for the second time at Dover—becoming the first repeat winner here—and for the 27th time in the series.

Matt Crafton came home third and claimed the series points lead. Austin Dillon and Kevin Harvick ran fourth and fifth, respectively.

"Cole Whitt did a really nice job," Busch said in victory lane. "I think he's got something going on over there. The guys do a really nice job, and he's fast. He's quick week in and week out, and this is the first one he's really contended for—that I've been in, anyway."

After a long cycle of green-flag pit stops, Busch held a lead of nearly 12 seconds over Ron Hornaday Jr. when NASCAR called the fifth caution of the race for debris on the backstretch. Jason White and Whitt, who took two tires to Busch's four under the yellow, took the green flag side-by-side on Lap 161.

Whitt powered his No. 60 Chevrolet into the lead after the restart, with Busch in pursuit. Whitt opened an advantage of roughly one second before Justin Lofton's spin on the backstretch on Lap 178 brought out caution No. 6 and bunched the field for a restart on Lap 184.

Busch charged into the lead from the inside lane on the restart and held it for a lap before Craig Goess' wreck caused the seventh caution. Not surprisingly, Busch chose the bottom lane for the restart on Lap 192 and quickly pulled away.

"I snookered him (Whitt) on the second-to-last restart, and I got him a little bit there, but on that last restart, he was right with me. We ran down into Turn 1 side-by-side. I chose the bottom because I felt like, running through (Turns) 1 and 2 wide open, it was the faster way around."

But Parker Kligerman, who had run in the top 10 for most of the race, spun and tagged the outside wall under close racing with Whitt on Lap 193. The resulting caution forced the final restart on Lap 198.

Though his first win eluded him, Whitt had much to celebrate.

"Running second to Kyle—a good points day for us—it's like winning the points for us," Whitt said. "We'll take that and move on and go to Charlotte (May 20) and try to win one there."

Busch and Harvick, both on probation for an altercation at last Saturday's Sprint Cup race at Darlington, competed without incident on Friday. The drivers raced for the lead after a restart on Lap 81, with Busch getting the advantage, but a subsequent pit-road speeding penalty to Harvick separated them for the rest of the race.

Winning from Pole, Jimmie Johnson Wins All at Dover

Photo Credit: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images for NASCAR

Entering the AAA 400, Jimmie Johnson's 2010 season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup season has been a roller coaster ride. Five wins prior to the end of June, the four-time Sprint Cup champion and his #48 Hendrick Motorsports team were, at one point, in peril of even making the 2010 Chase for the Cup. Since the July race at Daytona, the #48 Chevrolet had recorded 6 finishes of 22nd or worse. Because of this winless streak starting just before his wife gave birth of his daughter Genevieve Marie, Jimmie Johnson had yet to win a Sprint Cup race as a father.

Collecting his 3rd pole of 2010 on Friday, Jimmie Johnson attacked the one-mile Dover International Speedway prior to the AAA 400 race. Taking the green flag on Sunday, the #48 Lowes Chevrolet led the first 13 laps of the event before fellow front-row starter AJ Allmendinger in the Richard Petty Motorsports #43 Ford assumed the lead at Dover. Between Allmendinger and Johnson, those two drivers would led 334 of the race's 400 laps.

As Allmendinger led the early going of the AAA 400 at Dover, 2008 Dover spring race winner Martin Truex Jr was again showing strength this season in the #56 NAPA Toyota after a 3rd place start. By lap 100, Truex had worked his way into the runner-up place passing Johnson's #48 Chevrolet. Also running well within the first one-quarter of the race event was Juan Pablo Montoya who was maintaining his 5th place starting spot.
A very clean event, the AAA 400 was slowed only 4 times by caution and just one of those cautions was because of an accident. On lap 53, an incident involving the #39 Chevy of Ryan Newman and David Reutimann's #00 Toyota resulted in the Toyota suffering more serious damage than Newman's Chevrolet. With two yellow flags for debris and one for a damaged light, the race's flew through 1/3 distance with Allmendinger hold a lead of more than 4 seconds over second place after lap 150.

Unfortunately, Allmendinger's hopes of victory were thrown off kilter by a mis-timed pit stop on lap 172 when the #43 car driver cited poor handling as the reason to arrive for early service. What made AJ Allmendinger's stop so ill-timed was the debris caution that would slow the field 17 laps later trapping the #43 Ford a lap down in 27th place. Taking advantage of the wave around to get back to the lead lap, Allmendinger and crew worked hard to regain position but would never challenge within the top-five again in the AAA 400. The #43 Ford would come home 10th in the final running order.

Just as Allmendinger's hopes for a Dover victory were ended, Martin Truex Jr would encounter problems shortly afterwards. On lap 208, Truex Jr's day went south when a loose wheel forced the #56 NAPA Toyota to pit road. As the car appears to stall leaving the pits, driver and crew determine a rear axle shaft has broken forcing the Michael Waltrip Racing car to the garage after a spectacular performance in the first half of the AAA 400. Martin Truex Jr would be sent back out on the track to eventually finish at Dover 17 laps down in 34th position.

Photo Credit: Chris Trotman/ Getty Images

Because of the downfall of Allmendinger and Truex Jr, Jimmie Johnson was effectively on easy street with a very fast #48 Chevrolet Impala parading the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway. The Busch brothers did provide an occasional change of scenery. Kurt Busch's #2 Dodge would led for 3 laps while the #18 Toyota of younger Kyle Busch led a 46 lap stint through lap 293 to 338.

At the end, there was no stopping a hungry Jimmie Johnson planting his #48 Chevy into victory lane at Dover. His 6th time winning on the 'Monster Mile', Johnson finished 2.6 seconds ahead of Jeff Burton on the track. In regards to placement within the Chase points, Johnson now finds himself in second place 35 points behind leader Denny Hamlin. Unable to lead a lap at Dover, Hamlin rolled across the line 9th.

As Johnson moved up 4 places in the Chase standings, drivers Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick lost positions on lackluster runs. Though Gordon finished 11th, several Chase contenders leapfrogged the #24 car driver at the end of the 400-mile event. Working harder again because of a weak qualifying spot, Harvick's efforts from 33rd to 15th were not enough to prevent a 3 spot dive.

Joey Logano and Paul Menard, two non-chase drivers, also enjoyed some very respectable finishes in the AAA 400 at Dover. The track where he made his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut just a little more than 2 years ago, Logano finished 4th in his #20 Home Depot Toyota. Menard, teammate to longtime race leader AJ Allmendinger with Richard Petty Motorsports, come home 7th leading the team's efforts.

Next for the NASCAR Sprint Cup tour is the Price Chopper 400 at Kansas Speedway with the green flag dropping on Sunday 1 P.M.



2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup
AAA 400
Dover International Speedway
Race Results

Top-10:

Pos #    | Car #     | Driver              | Sponsor/ Car Make

1)            48          Jimmie Johnson        Lowe's/KOBALT Tools Chevrolet
2)            31          Jeff Burton               Caterpillar Chevrolet
3)            20          Joey Logano             Home Depot Toyota
4)              2          Kurt Busch               Miller Lite Dodge
5)             99         Carl Edwards            Aflac Ford
6)             18          Kyle Busch               Interstate Batteries Toyota
7)              98         Paul Menard             Sylvania/Menards Ford
8)              39         Ryan Newman          Haas Automation Chevrolet
9)              11         Denny Hamlin            FedEx Express Toyota
10)            43         AJ Allmendinger         Insignia HDTV Ford


Other Notables:

11)            24          Jeff Gordon               DuPont/Law Enforcement Museum Chevrolet
12)              5          Mark Martin              Delphi/GoDaddy.com Chevrolet
14)           42          Juan Pablo Montoya  Target Chevrolet
15)           29           Kevin Harvick          Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet
18)           17           Matt Kenseth           Crown Royal Ford
19)           16           Greg Biffle                3M Ford
21) 14 Tony Stewart Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet
23) 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet
25) 33 Clint Bowyer BB&T Chevrolet
34) 56 Martin Truex Jr. NAPA Toyota

Dominant Kyle Busch Wins Nationwide Dover Event; Breaks Series Record

Photo Credit: Geoff Burke/ Getty Images for NASCAR

For the 11th time of the 2010 season, a NASCAR Nationwide Series was claimed by Toyota golden child Kyle Busch. Making the series into his own personal playground whenever his NASCAR Sprint Cup series obligations would allow, Busch's win at Dover International Speedway again showed how much of an unbeatable force the #18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota is for these particular races.

When green dropped for the Dover 200 on the concrete one-mile, Kyle Busch's teammate Joey Logano's #20 Toyota led the 43-car field. Starting 2nd, the #18 Toyota Camry swept by the 20-year old Logano for the lead on turn 4 of lap 4. Busch would be completely free of the #20  exiting turn two. Little did many know at the early stage of the 200-lap affair at Dover, the lead change between Joe Gibbs Racing served as one of only three passes for the lead in the event.

Besides the attention that Kyle Busch was creating at the front, IndyCar star Danica Patrick drew eyeballs once again driving the #7 Godaddy.com Chevrolet for JR Motorsports. Though practice provided a glimmer of optimism when Patrick was 12th fastest. However, the Dover 200 continued to add to the difficult part-time rookie season for Danica Patrick qualifying 42rd out of 43 cars. Because of 150 MPH average laps and the close quarters of Dover International Speedway, the #7 Chevy was lapped quickly with crew chief Tony Eury Jr accepting admitting a good day for Patrick's first outing at the track would have her finish 3-4 laps down. Unfortunately, Patrick's day at Dover would result with bad luck when a tire failure tore apart her car's front-right fender. After an extended time behind the wall to repair the #7 Chevy, the JR Motorsport team succeeded in finishing the event but ended the Dover 200 92 laps behind.

As Patrick's car brought out the first caution of the event, few drivers had been able to even keep pace with the #18 car. Providing the only adversary to Kyle Busch through the event was the #60 Roush-Fenway Racing Ford of Carl Edwards. While never leading a lap on the day, Edward ran second to Busch for a considerable time at Dover. However, Busch only major challenge through the Dover 200 would suffer inconvenience into the second half of the event due to a pit stop mishap. Costing Carl Edwards a chance to effectively battle Busch to the end, the #60 finished 3rd at Dover.

With four cautions slowing the Dover 200, one yellow flag eventually transferred to a red flag for a major crash in turn four. On lap 136, the #88 of Elliott Sadler slid into the turn 4 wall appearing initially to be a single-car wreck. Unfortunately, as the #88 JR Motorsports Chevy coasted down the 26 degree banking, the #27 Baker Curb Racing Ford being driven by Drew Herring crashed into Sadler violently without a chance to avoid the #88 car. Both drivers were alright following the accident finishing 32nd and 33rd. Stopping the race for nearly 11 minutes, NASCAR resumed the race once the track had been cleaned of debris and fluids.

Photo Credit: Nick Laham/Getty Images

A less serious turn 3 wreck involving the #22 Dodge of Brad Keselowski and the #66 Toyota of Steve Wallace served as a chance for contenders to Kyle Busch to emerge but no one could catch the #18 Toyota. Winning more than 1/3rd of the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series races so far this season, Kyle Busch's  Dover 200 trophy was earned after leading 192 of the race's 200 laps. Along with dominating the one-mile concrete track, Busch surpassed the NASCAR Nationwide Serise record for most victories in a season. The previous record of 10 wins was earned by Sam Ard in 1983.

Reversing positions from the start, Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Joey Logano finished 2nd. Edwards, Reed Sorenson and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top-5 in the final running order. Other performance of note belong to some up and coming drivers in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Trevor Bayne finished 6th in this #99 Toyota while rookie of the year candidate Ricky Stenhouse Jr captured 11th in the Dover 200.

The next race for the NASCAR Nationwide Series will take place last week at Kansas Speedway on Saturday afternoon.

Jimmie Johnson Prevails with NASCAR Sprint Cup Pole at Dover

Photo Credit: Nick Laham/Getty Images

After a frighteningly bad start to the 2010 Chase for the Sprint Cup at New Hampshire last weekend, Jimmie Johnson and his #48 Lowes-sponsored Hendrick Motorsports team conquered the "Monster Mile" in NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying for Dover International Speedway's AAA 400. Taking a late draw in the qualifying order, Johnson overcame a 19th fastest time in the Friday morning practice session to beat out AJ Allmendinger and Martin Truex Jr for the third 2010 pole for the #48 Chevrolet. Driver fastest in practice Ryan Newman could only muster a 14th place run during the time trial at Dover.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase leader Denny Hamlin starts 4th for Sunday's race, 2nd place challenger Kevin Harvick (elevated to the position after a 150 point NASCAR penalty dropped Clint Bowyer from 2nd to 12th) will be working his way up from another poor start 33rd on the field.

Scheduled for Sunday afternoon at about 1:00 P.M. the engines will start for the second race within the 2010 Chase for the Sprint Cup.


2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup
AAA 400
Dover International Speedway
Qualifying Results

Top-10:

Pos #  |  Car #   | Driver  | Sponsor/Car make

1)           48            Jimmie Johnson        Lowe's/KOBALT Tools Chevrolet (C)
2)           43            AJ Allmendinger       Insignia HDTV Ford
3)           56            Martin Truex Jr.       NAPA Toyota
4)           11            Denny Hamlin           FedEx Express Toyota (C)
5)           42            Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet
6)           16            Greg Biffle                3M Ford (C)
7)             1             Jamie McMurray     McDonald's Chevrolet
8)             2             Kurt Busch              Miller Lite Dodge (C)
9)            98            Paul Menard            Sylvania/Menards Ford
10)          99            Carl Edwards           Aflac Ford (C)

Other Notables:

11)          18 Kyle Busch Interstate Batteries Toyota (C)
14)          17            Matt Kenseth            Crown Royal Ford (C)
15)          24            Jeff Gordon               DuPont/Law Enforcement Museum Chevrolet (C)
16)           9             Kasey Kahne             Budweiser/Stanley Ford
24)          33            Clint Bowyer              BB&T Chevrolet (C)
25)          14             Tony Stewart            Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet (C)
31)          12             Brad Keselowski       No. 12 Penske Dodge Dodge
32)          88             Dale Earnhardt Jr.     National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet
33)          29             Kevin Harvick           Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet (C)
42) 5              Mark Martin Delphi/GoDaddy.com Chevrolet

(C) denotes Chase contender

Kyle Busch Propers After Johnson's Pit Road Blunder for Dover Win

Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

Entering the 12th race of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, the Autism Speaks 400 at Dover International Speedway started Sunday on the 1-mile concrete oval on a date prior to the two-week Charlotte extravaganza.

Swiping the lead from pole sitting #56 NAPA Toyota of Martin Truex Jr on the start, Kasey Kahne in the #9 Budweiser Ford led the opening 21 laps at Dover International Speedway. Kahne's 1st place would be challenged by his future Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson. Upon taking the lead, Johnson's early race pace in the #48 Chevrolet Impala echoed as a doomsday signal to the rest of the NASCAR Sprint Cup field.

The only car able to hold a candle to the #48 Hendrick Motorsport was unsurprisingly a member of the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team. Kyle Busch in the #18 M&M Toyota Camry would first take the lead of the race during pit stops made under the first yellow flag of the Autism Speaks 400. Holding the top position since the lap 58 restart under green, the long-run stamina of the #48 Lowes Chevrolet proved too much for Busch as Johnson blasted by the Toyota on lap 84.



Photo Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images

With only 5 cautions for 24 laps during the Autism Speaks 400 at Dover, drivers and teams who prepped for long runs possessed a competitive edge for the event. Vehicles dealing with handling issues such as the #88 Chevrolet of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Red Bull Racing's #83 car wheeled by Casey Mears had a long 400 mile race ahead of them. Of the 5 cautions, 4 were dedicated to single car incidents involving either the #47 Toyota of Marcus Ambrose or the #77 Dodge driven by Sam Hornish Jr. As Hornish brought out the first caution on lap 55, Ambrose brush with the turn 3 wall for the second caution 110 laps later.

Finding trouble moving into the top 20 after a 27th place start, Dale Earnhardt Jr's problems in the #88 Chevrolet approached an unusual turn for the worse when the Hendrick Motorsport driver reported issues turning left his race car. After 6 laps of inspection by the #88 pit crew, Dale Earnhardt Jr returned to the 1 mile race track. Following the extended stay on pit road, there was no report for a reason why Earnhardt Jr's #88 car experienced steering problem.

Leading 225 of 362 laps entering into the final round of race pit stops, Jimmie Johnson had just snatched the lead from Kyle Busch once again 7 laps prior to his stop for tires and fuel. Pitting alongside with 2nd place Kyle Busch, the Hendrick Motorsport and Joe Gibbs Racing crews were in a potential showdown for the race win at Dover. With Busch having already attended pit road for an outstanding stop from his Joe Gibbs Racing crew, Johnson's #48 Chevrolet was dropped off the jack in a near side-by-side drag race with the #18 Toyota. While Jimmie Johnson prevailed over Kyle Busch initially, NASCAR quickly identified the #48 car sped leaving pit road. With Johnson required to serve a drive-through penalty, Kyle Busch went uncontested for the final 35 laps to win the 2010 Autism Speaks 400 at Dover International Speedway. Kyle Busch's 2nd victory of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver is sitting 3rd in the overall series points.

Richard Childress Racing's #31 Chevrolet of Jeff Burton finished 2nd at Dover for his 3rd consecutive top-10 result. Matt Kenseth in the #17 Ford rode a long road from 21th place start to can the 3rd place finisher of the Autism Speaks 400. Denny Hamlin and David Reutimann completed the top-5 in the finishing order at Dover International Speedway.

Serving a costly pit road penalty, Jimmie Johnson would be forced to finish 16th losing more points in the Sprint Cup championship points to leader Kevin Harvick. Losing the race to Kyle Busch, Johnson would also lose his 2nd place spot in points to the driver of the #18 Toyota.

Turning to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the two weeks, the upcoming race is the Sprint All-Star Race on Saturday night of May 22nd, the next points race for the NASCAR Sprint Cup series will be the Coke 600 on Sunday May 30th.


2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup
Autism Speaks 400
Race Results

Pos # | Car # | Driver | Sponsor/Car Make

1) 18 Kyle Busch M&M's Toyota
2)      31 Jeff Burton Caterpillar Chevrolet
3)      17 Matt Kenseth Crown Royal Black Ford
4)      11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Freight Toyota
5)      00 David Reutimann Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota
6)      16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford 
7)      29 Kevin Harvick Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet
8)      99 Carl Edwards Aflac Ford
9)      14 Tony Stewart Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet
10)     20 Joey Logano Home Depot Toyota 
11) 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevrolet
12) 56 Martin Truex Jr. NAPA Toyota
13) 39 Ryan Newman U.S. Army Chevrolet
14) 43 A J Allmendinger Richard Petty Hall of Fame Ford
15) 5 Mark Martin GoDaddy.com Chevrolet 
16) 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's Chevrolet
17) 33 Clint Bowyer Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet
18) 12 Brad Keselowski No. 12 Penske Dodge Dodge
19) 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge
20) 9 Kasey Kahne Budweiser Ford
21) 98 Paul Menard Zecol/Menards Ford
22) 83 Casey Mears Red Bull Toyota
23) 82 Scott Speed Red Bull Toyota 
24) 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet
25) 38 David Gilliland Taco Bell Ford 395 88 
26) 6 David Ragan UPS Ford
27) 26 David Stremme Air National Guard Ford 
28) 19 Elliott Sadler Stanley Ford
29) 34 Travis Kvapil Long John Silver's-Baja Fish Taco Ford
30) 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet
31) 7 Robby Gordon BAMVIP/James Otto/Whitney Duncan Toyota
32) 1 Jamie McMurray Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Chevrolet
33) 37 Kevin Conway # Extenze Ford 
34) 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Mobil 1 Dodge
35) 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet
36) 47 Marcos Ambrose A&P/MDA Toyota
37) 46 J J Yeley Whitney Motorsports Dodge
38) 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota
39) 71 Bobby Labonte TRG Motorsports Chevrolet
40) 09 Mike Bliss Phoenix Construction/Graceway Chevrolet 
41) 66 Dave Blaney PRISM Motorsports Toyota
42) 55 Michael McDowell PRISM Motorsports Toyota
43) 36 Johnny Sauter Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet