Kyle Busch Takes Bristol Checkered Flag

No. 54 makes it to Victory Lane after leading majority at Bristol

Bristol TN March 16, 2013; Kyle Busch took his second Nationwide victory of the year and his fifth as a Nationwide driver at Bristol. He snuck up to the top five from his starting position of 13th, taking the lead position from Bayne on Lap 76 and holding on to it until Brad Keselowski took advantage of a restart on Lap 168. He would move up to first again on Lap 237, and stay there until the end of the race.

Kyle Larson was Busch's biggest threat toward the end of the race, finishing second after a rough start to the year. Pole-sitter Justin Allgaier held on to his lead position for 62 laps until Trevor Bayne and Brian Scott beat him off pit road following the second caution of the race. Allgaier was sent to the back of the pack after a pit-road penalty, but slowly made his way toward the top of the leaderboard, finishing ninth.

Keselowski made his way to third early in the race, following closely behind Allgaier and Regan Smith until a restart launched Kevin Harvick into second. After he took the lead, Keselowski blew his front left tire on Lap 195, nearly taking out Kevin Harvick and Busch. Harvick managed to avoid a wreck, taking the lead with Busch following close behind.

The first big hit came on Lap 104, when Jamie Dick spun out and took a hit from Nelson Piquet Jr. as his car bounced off the barrier back onto the inside lane. That was the second caution caused by the No. 55, as a spinout in Turn 2 of Lap 59 brought out the yellow. Drivers saw another long caution on Lap 159, when Hal Martin and Jeffrey Earnhardt hit nose-to-nose, collecting Austin Dillon in the wreck.

Jeremy Clements, racing for his first time since he was suspended for making insensitive comments to a reporter, hit the wall on Lap 122, bringing out the caution flag and sending him to the garage.

Elliott Sadler also headed to the garage several laps after hitting the wall on a wide turn. He did not return to the track.

The top 10 at finish were Busch, Larson, Brian Vickers, Sam Hornish Jr., Harvick, Regan Smith, Chris Buescher, Parker Kligerman, Allgaier and Brian Scott. Brad Keselowski finished 15th, followed by Travis Pastrana in 16th. Busch will start tomorrow's Sprint Cup Series race in the pole position.