07/28/08
After a mid-week rule change aimed at trimming back horsepower for all Toyota teams in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, Kyle Busch and his No. 18 Z-Line Designs team were set on proving a point. Busch led a race-record 197 of the 200 total laps en route to another dominating win in Saturday night’s Kroger 200 at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis.
The win was the fifth of the season for the No. 18 team, and it was also the 14th win of the season for Joe Gibbs Racing, breaking the Nationwide Series record for most wins by a single organization. The previous record was set last year by Richard Childress Racing via drivers Kevin Harvick (six wins), Jeff Burton (five wins) and Clint Bowyer (two wins).
The win was also a continuation of a record-breaking season for Busch, as it was the Las Vegas native’s 15th victory of the season across NASCAR’s top three series – Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Craftsman Truck. It broke a tie with Kevin Harvick (14 total wins in 2006) for the most victories overall in a season since the addition of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
After starting second, Busch took the early lead on the first corner of the first lap from rookie polesitter Colin Braun and never looked back. The win helped Busch, who’s running a part-time Nationwide Series schedule, maintain seventh in the driver standings. It moved the No. 18 car, which is also running a partial schedule this season, up two spots to 26th in the owner standings.
There were seven caution periods for 35 laps, with 11 drivers failing to finish the 200-lap race.
Busch’s victory was the 17th of his Nationwide Series career and his sixth this season. Braun finished second to earn his career-best result, while Mike Bliss, Scott Wimmer and Josh Wise secured the rest of the top-five. Rookies Cale Gale, Landon Cassill and Joey Logano, along with David Ragan and Steven Wallace, comprised the remainder of the top-10.
The next event on the Nationwide Series schedule is the August 2 Napa Auto Parts 200 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve road course in Montreal.