Nationwide Series driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (6) leads the field to the start of the Nationwide NASCAR race at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol,...
(AP Photo/Wade Payne)
Nationwide Series driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (6) leads the field to the start of the Nationwide NASCAR race at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tn., Saturday March 19, 2011.
BRISTOL, Tenn. — Kyle Busch continued his march through NASCAR's record books with yet another victory at Bristol Motor Speedway.
His dominating win Saturday was the 46th of his career in the second-tier Nationwide Series, which puts him three back from tying Mark Martin's record. But in leading 266 of the 300 laps, he became the first driver in series history to lead more than 10,000 laps.
Busch has led a total of 10,035 laps in the Nationwide Series.
And at Bristol? His win Saturday was his 10th spanning all three of NASCAR's national series, and he's led a whopping 2,349 laps on the Tennessee bullring.
"Nobody gets around this place better than he does," crew chief Jason Ratcliffe said.
Busch has won the last four races at Bristol, dating back to August when he had a three-race weekend sweep. He's got four career Bristol wins in the elite Sprint Cup Series, three in Nationwide and three in the Truck Series.
The Nationwide win moved him closer in his pursuit of Martin's all-time mark. Martin grabbed a win two weeks ago in Las Vegas, but conceded that Busch would break the mark by this summer. Busch said Martin probably texted him immediately after the race in what's become good-natured ribbing between the two.
"Mark and I have a little fun egging it on," he said. "He told me after Las Vegas time is on my side, not his side."
Kasey Kahne finished second and was followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Elliott Sadler and Joey Logano. Kevin Harvick was sixth, Carl Edwards seventh and Jason Leffler, Brad Keselowski and Aric Almirola rounded out the top 10.
As Busch pulled away from the field, the real drama was back in traffic and even in the garage.