Kyle Busch got on his radio and advised anyone who was listening that Scott Pruett would get dumped if he kept blocking Busch as they battled for the lead Sunday in the NASCAR Nationwide Series Corona Mexico 200 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Pruett didn’t need to hear those words. He already had been there, done that.
Having been tapped by teammate Juan Pablo Montoya battling for the lead last year, Pruett let Busch by with nine laps remaining and Busch sprinted to his third consecutive NASCAR Nationwide Series victory.
A few laps before the pass for the win, Busch had been hammering hard on Pruett’s bumper.
“He was just blocking a little bit too much, I believe,” said Busch, who had never won a NASCAR race on a road course. “Now I understand why he got dumped last year. And if it came down to it, it was going to be again. He smoked the tires, and I was able to get by him.”
Pruett ended up also getting passed by Marcos Ambrose for second and settled for third.
“(Busch) shoved me a few times, telling me he was getting anxious to go,” said Pruett, who led 36 of the 80 laps. “Instead of getting turned around and my car tore up like last year, I gave him (room) and thought
I could hold on and Marcos came up as well.
“It was a good run, not a great run.”
Ambrose scored his career-best finish while also annoying several drivers, including Busch and Boris Said.
After an accident knocked Said out of the race with 28 laps remaining, Said pointed angrily at Ambrose.
“It’s going to cost him a car one day -- I’m going to go over and apologize to his team (now for that),” Said explained afterward. “He either made a mistake or he’s incredibly stupid, and I don’t think he’d
make a big mistake like that. I wouldn’t expect it from him.
“I’m not going to get mad, I’m just going to get even.”
Ambrose publicly apologized for the accident with Said. “If I could take it back, I would,” Ambrose said. “I didn’t mean to get into Boris. He’s a great racer. I’ve idolized him in the past and still do. If I could
turn the clock back, I would. It’s just hard racing up there.”
Carl Edwards finished fourth, Patrick Carpentier was fifth and points leader Clint Bowyer sixth. Bowyer leads Edwards by nine points and Busch by 66.
Busch had not planned to run the entire season but now has won three consecutive events.
“The consideration is there, but still it’s one round and a race-by-race deal,” Busch said. “I’m not going to let anything out of the bag quite yet -- I’m not even sure if there’s anything left in the bag to let out.”
The race was the fourth consecutive trip for the NASCAR Nationwide Series to Mexico City. Although the crowd was the weakest -- the announced attendance was 57,324, nearly 15,000 fewer than last year and nearly 37,000 fewer than the first race, both NASCAR officials and those from race promoter OCESA said before the event they will begin negotiations for a sanction agreement for the series to return next year.
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