(workingonmyredneck file photo)
“The Shrub”, Kyle Busch, won the Jeff Byrd 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway for his fifth win in a row at that racing facility. Busch’s mastery of the “Colosseum of Crash” is still in tact! The 25-year-old driver held off Carl Edwards and led 153 laps on Sunday to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Jeff Byrd 500.
Busch’s victory Sunday was his 20th in the Cup Series, his first of the season, his second consecutive at Thunder Valley and his fourth in the past five Sprint Cup races there. Busch capped his second consecutive weekend sweep at Bristol, having won Saturday’s Nationwide Series event.
Last August, Busch became the first driver to win three national series races at the same track on the same weekend when he claimed victories in the Truck, Nationwide and Cup series.
The issue wasn’t decided, however, until Busch pulled away from Edwards after a heated battle that followed a restart on Lap 464 of 500. Clint Bowyer’s blown engine on Lap 458 had necessitated the 10th caution of the race, which set up a 37-lap green-flag run to the finish.
Busch said winning the race off pit road on the final stop was the decisive factor.
“It was a great pit stop there on that last run down pit road,” Busch said. “They gave me a great job there so I get out and have track position I wanted and the lane I wanted to restart in [the outside].
“That gave me a little bit easier job, instead of having to pass some of those guys. It would have been interesting, for sure. Carl tried to make it interesting — he gave me a little bit of a shot there. But I kept it straight somehow this year, didn’t have any fallback from 2008 [when Edwards won after moving Busch].”
Edwards decided to bide his time, rather than try to bump Busch out of the way as the two raced in close quarters after the final restart. Edwards thought he would have an opportunity, and perhaps another caution, in the closing laps. He was wrong.
This is the unofficial results from the Jeff Byrd 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Can Kyle Busch unseat Mr. Five Time, Jimmie Johnson, this year? It appears that ol Kylie is off to a rapid start for 2011. Can anyone prune “The Shrub”?
What are your views?
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
