Filed under: Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Nationwide Series, Sprint Cup, Joe Gibbs Racing, NASCAR
AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) -- Kyle Busch became the first driver in a national NASCAR race to win wire-to-wire in nearly eight years.It wasn't as easy as it looked, not with his car getting loose and Carl Edwards bearing down over the final few laps.
Busch dominated from the pole early and held off Edwards late, maintaining the lead the entire way in the Nationwide race Saturday to set up the chance for a perfect weekend at Phoenix International Raceway.
"It came down to the end of the race and Carl was alongside of me and we were racing really hard trying to beat each other, and I was like, 'Man, just beat him back to the start-finish line, man, just beat back to the start-finish line,"' Busch said. "I was just trying to hold on for as long as I could."
The Nationwide opener last weekend was a nail-biter, with Tony Stewart nipping Clint Bowyer by .007 seconds for the series' closest finish ever at Daytona. Busch had race No. 2 looking like a walkover until Edwards pulled beside him three times in the final 20 laps.
Busch never let him get around, though, fighting a car that had lost some handling after the final pit stop to lead all 200 laps around Phoenix's bumpy mile oval. He's the first green-to-checkers winner in any NASCAR series national race since Dale Earnhardt Jr. did it during a Nationwide race at Daytona in 2003.
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