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NASCAR: Kyle Busch Completes Sweep of NASCAR Races at Bristol

8-22-2010

by Lewis Franck

The Joe Gibbs Racing team supplied the brooms. Kyle Busch provided the muscle as he completed a three-race sweep at Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend.

For the first time in NASCAR history a driver won the Truck Series, the Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup series in one weekend.

"I've been trying to do this since I got to NASCAR," said Busch who previously attempted this feat by racing in the three series in one weekend.

The key to the victory occurred with about 100 laps to go, at the .533 mile high-banked oval, on green flag pit stops. Busch beat Daytona 500 winner, Jamie McMurray into and out of the pits on a late race pit stop and, eventually, blew past David Reutimann into the record books.

McMurray, who ended up third, said: “We came in, and I was very self-conscious not to get caught speeding entering pit road.”

Busch further explained: “I was able to out brake him and get to his outside and get to pit road, get slowed down, and we had a really good pit stop.”

That was the key to Busch’s victory, but, he still had to get to and pass Reutimann who was having the second-best race of the year.

“It's just me trying to stay ahead of him and getting back to the gas a little early. We got together, but we were just racing. It's no big deal,” second-place Reutimann explained.

“Reutimann was fast, and he was good," said Busch. “And I'm not going to say why I beat him because then he'll fix it, but it has to do with behind the wheel.”

With the victory Busch moved into third in the points standings. More importantly he’s now got some momentum going into the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

In another development Jimmie Johnson’s drive for five got spun out, much like Johnson himself, by Juan Pablo Montoya. Johnson, who started on the pole, explained: “We were on the straightaway there for a little bit and all the sudden I got hooked with force, it wasn't like we bumped and banged and I squeezed him.

“But we were on the straightaway and everything was fine and then around I went so I don’t think it was something intentional and I don’t think he was trying to dump me but I will just have to look at things and see. I really felt like I left him the room."

Montoya apologized on his Twitter account: “Felt pretty bad about (w)recking Jimmie but I guess that's how racing goes sometimes.”

Clint Bowyer, who finished fourth, is now comfortably in 12th place in the points (100 points ahead of Mark Martin and 101 ahead of McMurray) with two races to go before the points reset.

He commented on Busch’s accomplishment with an ironic grin: “Love him or hate him, the little turd did pretty good! Three races in a row...that's quite a feat to accomplish."