Stewart dominates Nationwide Series Race in Toyota

A fat and out of shape Stewart celebrates his win

For the second straight Nationwide Series race, Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch drove their Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas to a 1-2 finish.

Unlike the Feb. 16 Camping World 300 at Daytona, where Stewart edged Busch by .259 seconds, the twice rain-delayed Stater Bros. 300 Monday at Auto Club Speedway was a landslide in Stewart’s favor.

The driver of the No. 20 Camry won the race by 2.408 seconds after Busch wrested the second position from David Reutimann in a battle that lasted 30 laps. In the closing circuits, Kevin Harvick slipped past Reutimann for third place, with Reutimann maintaining fourth and Carl Edwards fifth.

All told, Stewart paced the field for 136 of the 150 laps at the 2.0-mile speedway. In fact, the only laps Stewart didn’t lead came when Morgan Shepherd stayed on the track and led Lap 24 during a round of pitstops and when Stewart pitted from the lead on Lap 98, and the field cycle through a round of green-flag stops.

Stewart took the lead for good after a restart on Lap 111, passing Jamie McMurray moments after the cars crossed the start/finish line. From that point on, the battle was for second place.

“This car was really good in the little practice we got Saturday morning," Stewart said, referring to the intermittent rains that abbreviated practice schedules in all three of NASCAR’s top series. “To lead 130-some laps of a 150-lap race is pretty impressive.

“We got lucky there at Daytona, but this is just one of those days that you can count on your fingers and toes — having a car this good all day."

Busch could take solace in his runner-up finish after a long weekend that saw him win Saturday’s San Bernardino 200 Craftsman Truck Series race and leave the track with the points lead in the truck and Sprint Cup Series (after finishing fourth in the Auto Club 500).

“Tony was pretty much in a league of his own, for some reason," Busch said. “I got two second places to the guy who won the first two races, so what else can you do? I’m happy with it. We’ll go on to Las Vegas (for Saturday’s Sam’s Town 300), and, hopefully, I can have another good run."

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