FORT WORTH, Texas — After all the laps Kyle Busch has led in NASCAR’s Nationwide Series this season, he finally led the only one that really matters.
Busch won at Texas Motor Speedway in dominating fashion Saturday, leading 126 of the 200 laps and finishing more than a second ahead of Jeff Burton. With an average speed of 151.708 mph, it was fastest Nationwide race at the 1 1/2-mile, high-banked track.
“I never won here, and I proved that, I don’t know where Victory Lane is,” Busch said. “I got lost getting here.”
The caution flag came out with 10 laps left after Kyle Krisiloff crashed on the backstretch. Instead of pitting for new tires, Busch kept his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota on the track.
On the restart with seven laps to go, Busch stayed out front and stretched his gap ahead of Burton’s Chevrolet.
Clint Bowyer, the series points leader, had two fresh tires and gained two spots in the closing laps to finish third in another Chevrolet.
“He was just rolling,” Burton said of Busch. “The best car won today.”
Footnotes.
Former IRL champion Tony Kanaan won the pole in IndyCar’s new grueling three-session qualifying format at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in Florida.
Will Power took the outside spot on the front row and Justin Wilson was third, sharing the second row with Helio Castroneves.
• Robert Kubica of BMW Sauber edged Felipe Massa of Ferrari to take pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Sakhir.
Today’s races
NASCAR Sprint Cup
Samsung 500
Site: Fort Worth, Texas
TV: Fox, 11:30 a.m.
Track: Texas Motor Speedway (quad-oval, 1.5 miles, 24 degrees banking in turns).
Race distance: 501 miles, 334 laps.
Next race: Subway Fresh Fit 500, Saturday, Avondale, Ariz.
On the Net:
Indy Racing League
Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
Site: St. Petersburg, Fla.
TV: ESPN, 12:30 p.m.
Track: Streets of St. Petersburg (1.8 miles, 14 turns).
Race distance: 180 miles, 100 laps.
Next race: Indy Japan 300, April 19, Motegi
On the Net:
Formula One
Bahrain Grand Prix
Site: Sakhir, Bahrain
TV: Speed Channel, 5:30 a.m.
Track: Bahrain International Circuit (road course, 3.37 miles, 12 turns).
Race distance: 192.09 miles, 57 laps.Next race: Spanish Grand Prix, April 27, Barcelona
On the Net:
