Burton busch-whacks Busch to win in Vegas

Jeff Burton wrecked Kyle Busch coming to the finish line to win the Sam's Town 300 on Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Photo by CIA Stock Photo shows Busch spinning as Burton takes the win after wrecking him

Busch had been dominant for much of the race, and took the lead – which looked like the race’s final lead change – with seven laps to go.

But Burton had different plans.

Burton kept gaining on the younger Busch, inching his way closer to the No. 5 Delphi Chevrolet’s back bumper. The only question left: did Burton have enough laps to pull off the comeback?

The answer was yes, just enough.

Burton nosed ahead of Busch just before the finish line, and Busch lost much more than the race in the process.

Because both cars had been battling so hard at the end, Busch lost control and slammed into the wall as he crossed the finish line.

Busch had led a race-high 81 laps, but it was Burton who led the most important one. Burton’s No. 29 Holiday Inn Chevrolet led a total of 37 laps.

This is Burton’s third win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He also won at LVMS in 2000 and 2002. And with the win – which was Burton’s 23rd Busch Series victory – he moved into fifth place all by himself on the all-time Busch Series wins list.

For practically the entire race, it was home, sweet home for Kyle and his brother Kurt. They finished one-two in the laps led standings, with Kurt leading 42.

A race-record 12 caution flags flew on this day, with the track’s new banking (increased from 12-degrees to 20-degrees in the corners), faster speeds and harder tires giving some drivers trouble. Marquee names such as Matt Kenseth, Clint Bowyer, Greg Biffle and Casey Mears suffered DNFs.

At the mid-point, it looked like Tony Stewart might be one of the drivers who would be watching the end of the race from his hauler. Stewart battled overheating problems, and while pitting at one point, water sprayed from his hood like a geyser. Incredibly, Stewart battled back to become a factor, finishing third. Kurt Busch and David Stremme rounded out the top five.

Fin Car Driver Team Lap Status
1 29 Jeff Burton Holiday Inn Chevrolet 200 Running
2 5 Kyle Busch Delphi Chevrolet 200 Running
3 33 Tony Stewart Old Spice Chevrolet 200 Running
4 12 Kurt Busch Penske Truck Rental Dodge 200 Running
5 22 David Stremme SuperCuts Dodge 200 Running
6 60 Carl Edwards Dish Network Ford 200 Running
7 21 Kevin Harvick AutoZone Chevrolet 200 Running
8 77 Bobby Labonte Dollar General Chevrolet 200 Running
9 88 Shane Huffman U.S. NAVY Chevrolet 200 Running
10 59 Marcos Ambrose # Kingsford/Bush's Baked Beans 200 Running
11 47 Jon Wood Clorox/American Red Cross Ford 200 Running
12 20 Denny Hamlin Rockwell Automation Chevrolet 200 Running
13 7 Mike Wallace GEICO Chevrolet 200 Running
14 35 Bobby Hamilton Jr. McDonald's Ford 200 Running
15 27 Ward Burton Scott Extra Soft/Smith's Ford 200 Running
16 87 Joe Nemechek brunton vineyards/vino 198 Running
17 66 Steve Wallace WizeTrade Dodge 198 Running
18 90 Stephen Leicht citifinancial Ford 198 Running
19 1 J.J. Yeley Miccosukee Resorts Chevrolet 198 Running
20 42 Juan Pablo Montoya # Texaco/Havoline Dodge 196 Running
21 34 Jay Sauter DealTaker.com Chevrolet 196 Running
22 70 Justin Diercks # Foretravel/Biomet Chevrolet 196 Running
23 28 Jeff Green DaytonaBrands.com Chevrolet 195 Running
24 6 David Ragan # Discount Tire Ford 195 Running
25 10 Dave Blaney Camping World Toyota 194 Running
26 0 Eric McClure Hefty/RACEGIRL Chevrolet 194 Running
27 14 Kyle Krisiloff # Clabber Girl Ford 192 Running
28 9 Kasey Kahne Wisk Dodge 189 Accident
29 37 Jamie McMurray Yard-Man Ford 189 Accident
30 41 Reed Sorenson Wrigley's Juicy Fruit Dodge 189 Accident
31 99 David Reutimann Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota 180 Running
32 25 David Gilliland freecreditreport.com Ford 175 Running
33 4 Regan Smith Ginn Resorts Chevrolet 172 Accident
34 23 Brad Keselowski # Oklahoma Centennial Chevrolet 171 Running
35 18 Brad Coleman # Z-Line Designs Chevrolet 147 Running
36 15 Paul Menard Menards/Johns Manville 132 Accident
37 38 Jason Leffler Great Clips Toyota 123 Accident
38 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford 116 Accident
39 36 Brent Sherman BIG LOTS Chevrolet 63 Accident
40 17 Matt Kenseth Arby's Ford 12 Accident
41 2 Clint Bowyer BB&T Chevrolet 12 Accident
42 24 Casey Mears National Guard/41st Infantry 12 Accident
43 85 Brett Rowe Dollhouse Fashion Gallery 3 Accident