Busch keeps JGR’s Fontana streak going
FONTANA, CA - FEBRUARY 20: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 Z-Line Designs Toyota, celebrates on the track with the checkered flag after winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series Stater Bros. 300 at Auto Club Speedway on February 20, 2010 in Fontana, California. (Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Considering Joe Gibbs Racing entries had won the last four Nationwide Series races at Auto Club Speedway, it was no surprise that, yet again, JGR would be celebrating in victory lane following Saturday’s Stater Brothers 300. The identity of the driver, however, was maybe a little bit of a surprise.
It may sound odd to consider Kyle Busch in victory lane following a Nationwide Series race a surprise. After all, he’s the reigning Nationwide Series champion. On the other hand, he wasn’t the JGR driver that was dominant throughout the race. Instead, it was JGR driver Joey Logano who was at the point for 130 laps of the 150-lap event.
After claiming both front row starting spots for the Gibbs organization -- Logano on the pole and Busch starting second -- the two drivers were near the front all evening, except for a short time around the midway of the race when several cars stayed out under caution when both Logano and Busch came down pit road.
Busch did lead a few laps early on in rare moments when Logano wasn't at the point. Things got testy, though, when Brendan Gaughan spun late in the race to create a green-white-checker finish situation.
In the final two-lap shootout to end the race, Biffle got by Logano on the restart to assume the lead. Logano then got shuffled back just slightly as Biffle, Busch, and Brad Keselowski fought it out for the win. Busch would get by Biffle on the final lap to claim his third win in the last four Nationwide events at Auto Club Speedway and give JGR its fifth-straight Nationwide win in Fontana.
Biffle finished in the runner-up position, and Keselowski claimed third. Logano, on the other hand, spun and wound up with an 11th-place finish. Meanwhile, Carl Edwards, a three-time Nationwide winner at ACS, finished fourth, and Steve Wallace rounded out the top-five.
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