NASCAR

Sprint Cup

CUP: Kyle Busch Scores Triple At Bristol

Kyle Busch won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series IRWIN Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway...

Mike Hembree | Posted August 21, 2010 Bristol, TN

Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 Doublemint Toyota, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series IRWIN Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. (Photo: Getty Images)

There were two classes of race-car drivers at Bristol Motor Speedway this week.

LINK> UNOFFICIAL RESULTS: IRWIN TOOLS NIGHT RACE - BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY
PDF > UNOFFICIAL DRIVER POINTS: IRWIN TOOLS NIGHT RACE - BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY
PHOTOS > KYLE BUSCH SWEEPS BRISTOL - BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Kyle Busch was in one group. Everybody else was in the other.

Busch completed a stunningly successful week at the high-banked half-mile Saturday night by coasting to victory in the Irwin Tools Night Race, one of the season’s spotlighted events.

The win made Busch the first driver in NASCAR history to triumph in all three major series in the same week. He won Wednesday night in the Camping World Truck Series in a truck built in his own shop and Friday night in the Nationwide Series in a Joe Gibbs Racing car.

“I love Bristol,” Busch said. “I love winning. To do it for the first time – to sweep a weekend, that’s pretty awesome. I’ve been trying to do this since I got to NASCAR. Fortunately, tonight I was able to be the first one to do it.”

Busch won in the Sprint Cup for the first time since mid-May at Dover, Del. and jumped five positions in the point standings to third with only two races remaining before the start of the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Busch won Friday night’s Nationwide race after a late-race altercation with Brad Keselowski, who spotlighted Busch in pre-race driver introductions when he announced to the assembled throng: “I’m Brad Keselowski, and Kyle Busch is an ass.”

That immediately sparked visions of retaliation by one or both drivers during the race, but they were close to each other only when Busch was lapping Keselowski, and there was no blatant aggression in either direction.

Following Busch to the finish line were David Reutimann, Jamie McMurray, Clint Bowyer and Kasey Kahne.

On a night when several key drivers struggled with numerous issues, Busch was in the equivalent of a runaway train.

After he chased down pole winner Jimmie Johnson, who dominated the opening portion of the race, Busch ran away from the rest of the field and stayed in front until McMurray and Reutimann asserted their strength in the second half of the race and pushed to the front.

Point leader Kevin Harvick wrestled with handling issues virtually all night and was never a threat at the front.

Denny Hamlin had driveshaft problems and lost 25 laps while sitting in the garage for repairs.

Kyle Busch won his third race in a row by finishing first in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series IRWIN Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. (Photo: Getty Images)

Johnson, the four-time champion trying to position himself for the beginning of the Chase, ran into trouble when he was wrecked by Juan Pablo Montoya on lap 262. Montoya bumped Johnson’s right rear and sent him into the wall.

The finish scrambled the point standings with the Richmond regular season finale looming.

While Busch powered to third, Johnson dropped to ninth. Bowyer kept the 12th and final Chase position, while McMurray’s strong run moved him to the 13th position in front of Mark Martin. McMurray trails Bowyer by 100 points with two races to go before the cutoff.

PHOTOS> SATURDAY - BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY
LINK> UNOFFICIAL RESULTS: IRWIN TOOLS NIGHT RACE - BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY
PDF > UNOFFICIAL DRIVER POINTS: IRWIN TOOLS NIGHT RACE - BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY
PHOTOS > KYLE BUSCH SWEEPS BRISTOL - BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 28 years. He has written several books on NASCAR, including "NASCAR: The Definitive History of America's Sport" and "Then Tony Said To Junior: The Best NASCAR Stories Ever Told". He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.

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Mike Hembree

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