Kyle Busch Crowned "King of the Road" With Victory at The Glen
Kyle Busch completed his road course dominance in 2008 with an incredible eighth win of the season in Sunday's running of the Centurion Boats at The Glen at Watkins Glen International. After leading the 43-car field to the green flag on Sunday, Busch led a race-high 52 laps and held off teammate Tony Stewart in the closing laps to pick up the victory. With today's amazing performance, Busch has deservedly been crowned the new king of road courses, sweeping both Infineon and Watkins Glen in the Sprint Cup Series and also winning a Nationwide Series race in Mexico City.
"I knew he was going to be hard to beat," Busch said of his teammate, Tony Stewart. "I was racing against the same stuff with Tony and Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota so I knew it was going to be hard to beat Tony. He's such a great friend and such a great teammate and I'm really going to hate to see him leave at the end of the year. He has been so fun to work with this year. I have to thank him, everyone at JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing), all of M&M's, Pedigree, Combos. I have to thank the fans because they are the ones that make us race. Everybody out there – I appreciate your support."
The road to victory was again a windy one for Busch and his No. 18 M&M's Team, made to look easy with a great race car, great communication and great race strategy. The weekend started off with rain showers that washed out practice and qualifying on Friday afternoon. The team got a scare on Saturday, fearing they might have to change engines when Busch missed a shift in practice, driving the tachometer to 11,000 rpm's. After a lengthy diagnosis, the team was able to keep the engine in place and retain their first-place starting spot.
With the win, Busch clinched the top spot in the 10-race Chase to the Sprint Cup Championship. He also set a new NASCAR record for three road-course wins in a season. Busch extended his current points lead to 242 over second place, and increased his win total to 16 for the season across NASCAR's top three divisions. Team NOS Member Kyle Busch continues to make NASCAR history with each win. "Victory lane with NOS never gets old!" said Kyle Busch. "This year is bigger than a dream. I'm overwhelmed with the outcome already. Each week is more and more exciting."
Keep up with Team NOS Member Kyle Busch at www.drinkNOS.com.
2008 Sprint Cup Victories
Kobalt Tools 500 - Atlanta Motor Speedway - 03/09/08
Aarons 499 - Talladega Super Speedway - 04/27/08
Dodge Challenger 500 - Darlington Raceway - 05/10/08
Best Buy 400 - Dover International Speedway - 06/01/08
Toyota/Save Mart 350 - Infineon Raceway - 06/22/08
Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola - Daytona International Speedway - 07/05/08
LifeLock.com 400 – Chicagoland Speedway – 07/12/08
Centurion Boats at The Glen - Watkins Glen International - 08/10/08
2008 Nationwide Victories
O'Reilly 300 - Texas Motor Speedway - 04/05/08
Bashas' Supermarkets 200 - Phoenix International Raceway - 04/11/08
Corona Mexico 300 presented by Banamex - Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez - 04/20/08
Carquest Auto Parts 300 - Lowe's Motor Speedway - 05/24/08
Dollar General 300 – Chicagoland Speedway – 07/11/08
Kroger 200 benefiting Riley Hospital for Children - O'Reilly Raceway Park - 07/26/08
2008 Craftsman Truck Victories
San Bernardino 200 - Auto Club Speedway - 02/23/08
American Commercial Lines 200 - Atlanta Motor Speedway - 03/07/08