Kyle Busch wins the bet

The last one to finish first and the first to finish last, it's a bit of a world turned upside down that the spectators of this third race of the Sprint Cup Series in Las Vegas were able to witness, to the great joy of the punters!

Published on 16/03/2009 à 18:43

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While he started from last place on the grid due to an engine change, the pole sitter, Kyle Busch, finally won at home after moving up the entire peloton and avoiding numerous collisions along the way.

Young Kyle Busch takes his first victory here at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the thirteenth of his career but also his first of the season. The winner of the last two events, Matt Kenseth, started from first place but was the first competitor to retire, following the explosion of his engine on the 6th lap.

" It's really cool ! », declared Busch just after treating the crowd to a huge burnout. “I don't know exactly what that meant, but when I cut the line I felt knots in my stomach. We didn't necessarily have the best car today, but we had a lot of room for improvement and we managed to make it faster. »

Clint Bowyer finished just behind Bush, largely thanks to the excellent strategy of his crew chief, Shane Wilson, who decided to leave him on the track during a neutralization on lap 260, out of the 285 in the race. Note that this was neutralized 14 times, a new record on this circuit. Jeff Burton, Bowyer's Richard Childress Racing teammate, finished third, ahead of Reutimann and Labonte. Gordon, Biffle, Vickers, McMurray and Earnhardt Jr complete the Top-10.

It was the three-time champion, Jimmie Johnson, who ultimately led the race for most of the time, 92 laps in total, but he made a mistake in the second corner on lap 280 and caused the final neutralization. He will cross the line in only 24th place. He is still 19th overall, 145 points behind.

The race will be restarted with only three laps to complete and Busch will quickly distance himself from Bowyer and Burton, to win by just 0,411 seconds.

Kenseth fell to third place in the general classification after his retirement, tied with his teammate, Greg Biffle, and 40 points behind the new leader, Jeff Gordon. For the second time in a row, Mark Martin encountered engine problems and was unable to complete the race. He is now in 34th position in the general classification.