Getty Images Despite suffering a pit road speeding penalty in the early going, pole sitter Kyle Busch raced back up to the front and took the checkered flag in today’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Phoenix.
En route to his 52nd career NNS victory (tops all-time in NASCAR’s No. 2 series), “Rowdy” also became the NNS’ all-time lap leader on Saturday. His 142 laps led brings his grand total in the series to 11,135 circuits paced.
Busch was leading the way up to a caution for a Dexter Stacey spin on Lap 39, and was hit with the penalty one lap later. That knocked him back to 22nd on the subsequent restart, but Busch charged up the pylon until he re-took the point on Lap 89.
Busch went on to beat Brad Keselowski to the stripe by almost two seconds, with third place going to Justin Allgaier, and Trevor Bayne and Elliott Sadler rounding out the top five.
It was Busch’s first NNS victory since September of 2011 at Richmond’s 3/4-mile bullring.
“I was almost nervous, feeling like it was my first win, although it’s win No. 52 in the series,” he said. “It’s nice to be back.”
He’ll now shift his attention to Sunday’s main event for the Sprint Cup Series on the Phoenix mile. Busch was second-fastest in final Sprint Cup practice on Saturday afternoon and will start fourth for the Subway Fresh Fit 500k (Sun., 3 pm ET).
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AP
Will Power’s four-lap average of 228.844 miles per hour is still on top of the Pole Day charts at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but the Andretti Autosport armada is making its presence felt as well. In the previous hour, defending IZOD IndyCar Series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay and Colombian rookie Carlos Munoz posted averages good enough…
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Reuters
Simona de Silvestro has always taken the high road in regards to her lost 2012 campaign, in which she was saddled with the horribly uncompetitive Lotus engine. Where other drivers may have griped about the situation, the Swiss competitor handled it with class and focused on learning as many lessons as she could from the…
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Team Penske currently has the provisional front row for the 97th Indianapolis 500, with Will Power sitting on the pole as 3 p.m. ET rolled by at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. His teammate, Helio Castroneves, managed to knock Penske rookie A.J. Allmendinger off the provisional pole with a four-lap average of 227.975 miles per hour.…
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AP
This year’s Indianapolis 500 isn’t the first time IZOD IndyCar Series driver Graham Rahal has teamed up with his father, 1986 Indy winner Bobby Rahal, to take on “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” In 2010, Graham finished 12th for the Rahal Letterman Lanigan team at Indy. But 2013 will mark the first “500″ for Graham…
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AP
At the stroke of 2 p.m. ET, Indianapolis 500 rookie A.J. Allmendinger (pictured) was on the provisional pole for the 97th running of The Greatest Spectacle in Racing after posting a four-lap average of 227.761 miles per hour in the No. 2 IZOD Chevrolet. Afterwards, the former Champ Car standout was decidedly emotional about the…
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With rain delaying the start of Indianapolis 500 Pole Day time trials, INDYCAR Race Director Beaux Barfield told NBC Sports Network’s Kevin Lee that the qualifying format for today will be altered. Single-car qualifying has now been extended to 6 p.m. ET. Following a 30-minute break, the top nine qualifiers will be inverted for the…
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Taking notice of newer stadiums’ bigger amenities, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is targeting ways to improve the at-track experience for fans coming to this month’s Indianapolis 500 and its other events as well. Part of that effort has included the removal of almost 10 percent of the Brickyard’s seating capacity, most of that number coming…
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Conor Daly confident despite accident on Thursday (VIDEO)
May 18, 2013, 12:42 PM EDT
AP
Indianapolis 500 rookie Conor Daly spoke to NBC Sports Network’s Will Buxton after his accident on Thursday. Daly was primed to get back out on Friday in his rebuilt No. 41 ABC Supply A.J. Foyt Racing Honda, but rain stopped the session before he had a chance. Still, Daly was upbeat on Saturday – he…
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When Marcus Smith unveiled a second $1 million bonus for the driver that can win all five segments of tonight’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, he passed along a notion from his father. “My dad, [Speedway Motorsports Inc. CEO] Bruton Smith, says that three things motivate people – love, fear and money,” he said back in…
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In addition to being broadcast on the NBC Sports Network, this weekend’s time trials for the 97th Indianapolis 500 will also be streamed live online and on mobile devices through NBC Sports Live Extra. Coverage on both NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra begins today at 11 a.m. ET and will continue through the afternoon.…
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Reuters
The final pre-qualifying practice is in the books for this year’s Indianapolis 500. There were faster speeds, more tows, and a new name atop the timesheets heading into Pole Day qualifying on NBC Sports Network and NBC Sports Live Extra, beginning at 11 a.m. ET. Will Power recorded the morning’s, and the month’s, fastest lap…
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They may have made a quiet start to the 2013 Formula One season, but Martin Whitmarsh is very proud of McLaren’s excellent record around the streets of Monaco, with F1 returning to the principality next weekend. “Vodafone McLaren Mercedes has a fabulous record in Monte Carlo. We’ve taken 15 wins – more than any other…
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UPDATE (10:35 a.m. ET): Katherine Legge will have a chance to qualify for this year’s Indianapolis 500 after all. She’ll take the reins of the third entry under the Sam Schmidt Motorsports stable, the second with the Schmidt Peterson designation along with rookie Tristan Vautier in the No. 55 car. Simon Pagenaud is in the…
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Former Scuderia Toro Rosso driver Jaime Alguersuari has admitted that he does not understand the drama surrounding Pirelli’s 2013 tire compounds. The Spanish driver last raced in Formula One in 2011, but he was dropped by the Italian team in favor of Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne, and he has not been linked to any…
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Jenson Button is hopeful that McLaren can make some progress at next weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix after a disappointing start to the season. The 2009 world champion has recorded a best finish of 5th at the Chinese Grand Prix in 2013, with the pace of the McLaren MP4-28 preventing him and teammate Sergio Perez from…
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Christian Horner has reiterated that Red Bull will not be making a decision about its driver line up until the summer break, despite speculation linking many drivers to Mark Webber’s seat at the team. Webber has appeared to be on his way out of Red Bull ever since the multi 21 fiasco at the Malaysian…
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Reuters
As the Formula One circus makes its annual visit to Monaco next weekend, the number of distractions is at an all-time high: supermodels, yachts, film stars and billionaires become something of the norm. He may be at the back of the grid, but Marussia driver Max Chilton is sure of keeping himself grounded despite his new-found…
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Time will tell if Danica Patrick‘s career in stock car racing will be worthy enough to make her a NASCAR Hall of Fame driver. But the popular Sprint Cup rookie has already made her way into the Charlotte, N.C. museum as part of an exhibit that honors her for being the first woman to win…
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This year’s Indianapolis 500 will be the first since 1987 that will have two drivers — Dario Franchitti of Target Chip Ganassi Racing and Helio Castroneves of Team Penske — try to become four-time winners of the world’s greatest race. But one of those competitors, Franchitti, insists that the chance to make history isn’t causing…
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With the name of the late short track legend Dick Trickle above the door of his No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford, Carl Edwards claimed the pole for tomorrow night’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Edwards, who won the 2011 All-Star Race, topped the time sheets with a speed of 145.556 miles…
