Kyle Busch has gotten off to s hot start this season and he continued his strong driving on Saturday, taking home the Nationwide Series race at Phoenix after leading over 140 laps on the day.
According to the Associated Press, Busch was able to overcome a pit road issue to dominate the race for 142 laps, winning for the first time in 24 Nationwide races. Busch finished 13th last season on the Sprint Cup and has not won on the Nationwide circuit for quite some time, last taking home a race on Sept. 9, 2011 at Richmond
"It was a phenomenal day for us to get back to Victory Lane, feel the taste of it again," said Busch. "I was almost nervous, feeling like it was my first win even though it was, I think, No. 52 in the series. It's nice to be back."
Busch stuck with Joe Gibbs Racing and the No. 18 Sprint Cup car this season and also is running for the team on the Nationwide Series. Busch had to overcome coming in too fast onto pit road and was able to rebound after a rough race at Daytona that saw him win the pole at Phoenix, enabling him to win the 200-lap race.
The win was Toyota's 75th Nationwide victory and Busch also reached a new milestone by making it past 11,000 laps for his career. He also won his 52nd career race in the series, adding to his record for victories.
"He's just gifted behind the wheel, so we're excited about that," JGR president J.D. Gibbs said. "Cup, Nationwide, truck, whatever he races, he's got a gift."
Sprint Cup defending champion Brad Keselowski came in second place, while Justin Allgaier was able to rebound from some car damage to come in third. Trevor Bayne and Elliott Sadler followed in the top finishers and although Matt Kenseth and Brian Vickers each led laps during the race, neither could overtake Busch.
"It was pretty phenomenal how fast his car was and what he was able to do with it," Keselowski said of Busch.
The Nationwide race went much smoother than last week's at Daytona, after Tony Stewart's win on Saturday was marred by a huge crash that saw Kyle Larson's car go airborne and send debris into the stands.
28 fans were injured in the crash, with 14 being brought to the hospital. Three fans have retained lawyers for a lawsuit, while others remain in the hospital recovering from injuries.
Busch took the race after leading the first 40 laps, but he had to rebound after his pit stop issue and was able to retake the lead later on. After a restart he pulled into fifth and then took the lead down the stretch.