DOVER, Del. — Kyle Busch made it eight victories this season in the Nationwide Series on Saturday, leading 157 laps and absolutely dominating to win in a green-white-checkered flag finish at Dover International Speedway.
“It was a pretty flawless day for us,” Busch said. “We made it look easy.”
Busch won in the same No. 18 Toyota that his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Denny Hamlin, drove to Victory Lane in May. Starting from the pole, Busch was never really challenged and pulled ahead by a couple of car lengths on the final restart late in an overtime race that stretched to 207 laps.
Mike Bliss finished second. Brad Keselowski was third.
Bliss hasn’t won this season and wished he could have a shot at victory without Busch in the field.
“Why’d he pick this race to run?” said Bliss, chuckling.
Scott Wimmer and Carl Edwards rounded out the top five.
Points leader Clint Bowyer was involved in a pit-road accident at the halfway mark and severely damaged his No. 2 Chevrolet. But he rallied to finish 10th and maintained his lead over Edwards.
Skinner takes truck race.
Mike Skinner raced to his first Craftsman Truck Series victory of the year and 25th overall, beating Erik Darnell by two- hundredths of a second in the Qwik Liner Las Vegas 350.
The 51-year-old Skinner, the 1995 series champion and 2005 Las Vegas winner, took the lead from Darnell on a green- white-checker restart.
Hight leads funny car field.
Robert Hight moved within one point of funny car leaders Cruz Pedregon and Jack Beckman in the standings after qualifying his Auto Club of Texas Ford Mustang in the top spot in 4.063 seconds at 301.81 mph at Ennis, Texas.
In top fuel, Larry Dixon held on to earn his fourth No. 1 qualifier of the year, the 31st of his career.
Jeg Coughlin (pro stock) and Eddie Krawiec (pro stock motorcycle) were other top qualifiers.
Gordon takes Dover pole.
Jeff Gordon is looking for small victories.
Winning the pole at Dover International Speedway was a nice one to get.
The four-time Cup champion took the top spot with a lap of 157.061 mph Friday, a sorely needed lift as he tries to snap his season-long winless drought.
Gordon is 11th in the points race, 99 points behind co-leaders Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson.
The Associated Press
Today’s races
NASCAR SPRINT CUP
Camping World RV 400
Site:Dover, Del.
TV: ABC, 11 a.m.
Track: Dover Downs International Speedway (oval, 1 mile, 24 degrees banking in turns).
Race distance: 400 miles, 400 laps.
Next race: Kansas 400, Sept. 28, Kansas City, Kan.
On the Net:
NHRA
O’Reilly Fall Nationals
Site:Ennis, Texas.
TV: ESPN2, 5 p.m. tape.
Track: Texas Motorplex.
Next event: O’Reilly Mid-South Nationals, Sept. 28, Memphis, Tenn.
On the Net:
