NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
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CUP: Kyle Busch Passes Johnson For MIS Victory
Kyle Busch won his fourth NASCAR Sprint Cup race of the season...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted August 21, 2011   Brooklyn, MI
Kyle Busch ran down Jimmie Johnson in the closing laps and then survived a green-white-checkered finish to win Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

Busch, the NASCAR Sprint Cup points leader, passed Johnson just beyond the start-finish line on Lap 187 and held on to capture his fourth victory of the season in his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. It was Busch’s 23rd triumph in 245 career NASCAR Sprint Cup starts and it made him the first four-time Cup winner this year.

Johnson brought the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in second, while Michigan native Brad Keselowski earned his third top-three finishes in as many weeks for his No. 2 Penske Racing Dodge. Mark Martin and Ryan Newman completed the top five.

“It’s so awesome to finally win here in Michigan,” said Busch. “And to get Toyota here in Victory Lane here in Michigan, it feels good being so close to Detroit and everything.”

Busch’s teammate, Denny Hamlin, switched to TRD, U.S.A. motors this week and Busch gave his guys in the Joe Gibbs Racing engine shop a shout out for his race-winning powerplant.

“The guys at the JGR engine room gave me a great motor today, great power, great fuel mileage.”

Runner-up Johnson knew he was a sitting duck as the laps wound down and Busch was coming. “Once I was up front in clean air, the balance of the car was a bit too loose,” said Johnson. “I got away from Kyle, but I was loose and knew he has coming at some point.”

Roush Fenway Racing teammates Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth started from the pole and led the first lap with two-time MIS winner Denny Hamlin sliding into third. And for the first quarter of the race, it was all Biffle, as he dominated the early going, leading 46 of the first 50 laps.

Bobby Labonte spun by himself in Turn 2 on Lap 53, bringing out a caution and sending the leaders down pit road. Martin took just two tires and won the race off pit road, but as soon as the green flew on Lap 58, Biffle passed him and went back out front.

By Lap 85, Kyle Busch was up to second, about 4.5 seconds behind Biffle. But when green-flag stops took place between laps 86 and 90, Busch eliminated all of that gap and began pressing for the lead.

Busch put his Toyota into the lead on Lap 100, only to see another debris caution three laps later. Kasey Kahne came out in the lead over Kenseth, Gordon and Martin.

Under caution, Busch and Biffle took four tires and restarted 17th and 11th, respectively, while Kenseth and Gordon took tires and the top two spots on the Lap 109 restart.

On Lap 115, Gordon passed Kenseth at the start-finish line to take his first lead of the race. Gordon pitted under green on Lap 140, with Kenseth coming out ahead of him and Kyle Busch right behind.

On Lap 145, Gordon passed Kenseth, again making the move at the start-finish line to take the lead. Four laps later, Busch took second from Kenseth.

Busch blew past Gordon on the backstretch on Lap 164, but Gordon went right past him again and back into the lead.

Johnson pitted on Lap 166 and the next lap, Dave Blaney stalled on track to bring out a yellow. The leaders pitted for the final time, but Johnson stayed out and took the lead over Kenseth, Gordon, Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski.

Johnson broke clear on the restart, taking a big lead over Kenseth, Busch and Gordon, the three of them dicing furiously for second.

Busch quickly pulled away, passed Johnson and appeared headed for an easy victory when his brother Kurt Busch hit the wall to bring out a caution flag on Lap 198 and set up a green-white-checkered finish.

Under caution, the top seven cars stayed out. On the restart, Busch held on to claim victory and stretch his points lead.

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100.
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