Busch wins Xfinity, pole for Brickyard
Kyle Busch spent Saturday climbing in and out of brutally hot cars in Indianapolis.
All that work finally got him back to a pretty cool spot in victory lane — and some icecold water.
After claiming two poles Saturday afternoon, Busch returned to the track and led all but one lap to win his second straight NASCAR Xfinity Series victory at the track by 0.415 of a second over hard-charging Kevin Harvick. Paul Menard was third, 1.338 seconds off the pace.
“I’d like to hope so,” the 2015 Cup season champion said after being asked whether he can keep this up after earning his seventh Xfinity win this season and record-extending 83rd of his career. “I don’t know exactly how many (races) I have left, that’s changing every day. But, hopefully, with whatever we have left, we can have the same amount of success we’ve had here.”
Busch has been virtually unbeatable on Indy’s 2.5-mile oval all weekend.
He posted the fastest practice times in both the Xfinity and Sprint Cup Series on Friday, won the poles, captured the first of two heat races to establish the rest of the starting order and put himself in position for his second straight sweep of the two races in Indy.
No NASCAR driver has ever won both poles and both races here.
The only prize Busch didn’t get to claim Saturday was the $100,000 dash-for-cash prize, which he was ineligible for. That payout went to fifth-place finisher Justin Allgaier — who was the best of the non-Cup regulars. Allgaier said the thermometer in his car reached 137 degrees.
How dominant has Busch been?
The Joe Gibbs Racing star held off two former Brickyard 400 winners and one, Harvick, couldn’t even catch the leader after taking new tires during the final caution period, which extended the race to 63 laps.
The difference: Busch’s perfectly timed restarts.
“New tires for those guys were good for them, not so much for us,” Busch said after completing the final 36 laps without a stop. “On the restarts, the second-to-last one
was really good. The last one was OK.”
In Brickyard 400 qualifying, Busch posted a fast lap of 184.634 mph, just ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Carl Edwards at 184.547. Three-time Cup champion and two-time Brickyard winner Tony Stewart, who is retiring after the season, will start third in his final race at Indy after posting a speed of 184.328.
Five-time race winner Jeff Gordon, who is subbing for the injured Dale Earnhardt Jr., will start 21st in the 40-car field after failing to advance to the final round. Formula One: Series leader Nico Rosberg of Mercedes will start from pole position Sunday at the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest, ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull.
Qualifying on Saturday was hampered by heavy rainfall, which delayed the start by 20 minutes and also led to several interruptions and crashes, including by Felipe Massa of Williams and Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson.