NASCAR Cup Series

Busch makes it three straight

Published Mar. 26, 2011 9:08 p.m. ET

foxsports

Kyle Busch used pit strategy to take a late lead and held off Carl Edwards and Kevin Harvick to win his third straight NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Auto Club Speedway on Saturday.

Edwards and Harvick traded the lead for most of the 150-lap race around the wide 2-mile oval before deciding to get four tires on their final stop with less than 20 laps left.

Busch came in after and opted for two tires, putting him nearly a straightaway ahead after leaving pit road. He had just enough speed to survive a final-lap bump into the wall, winning for the fifth time in his past six races at Fontana.

Busch, who won the Nationwide and Sprint Cup races at Bristol last week, has won three of five Nationwide races this year and has 46 career victories in the series, two behind Mark Martin's all-time Nationwide mark. Busch's team, Joe Gibbs Racing, has won seven straight races at Auto Club Speedway — five by Busch and one each by Tony Stewart and Joey Logano.

Busch led just a handful of laps and figured he had little better than a fourth — or fifth-place car, but was good enough to hang around the leaders.

It came down to the final pit stop under green-flag conditions, and Busch stayed out when Edwards then Harvick came into the pits, finally coming in with 13 laps left.

Crew chief Jason Ratcliff initially called for four tires, then changed his mind, setting up the will-he-make-it finish. Busch clipped the wall coming out of Turn 2, killing some of his momentum, but he had just enough left to nip Edwards, who was surprised after the race that Busch was able to hold him and Harvick off with just two tires.

Harvick finished third and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was fourth.

Jennifer Jo Cobb had a rough day after a dramatic week at Bristol.

The Nationwide Series rookie refused to race last week at Bristol because team owner Rick Russell told her he wanted to start then park the car, stirring up a she-said, he-said controversy. Driving for Rick Ware Racing at Fontana, she spun out in Turn 4 after 12 laps, returned a little while later, then went back to the garage. Cobb finished 38th.