Although he and "The Track Too Tough To Tame" exchanged blows, Kyle Busch and his No. 18 M&Ms Indiana Jones Toyota triumphed Saturday night, winning the Dodge Challenger 500 before a sellout crowd at historic Darlington Raceway.
Busch earned his third win and eighth top-10 finish of 2008. He also led seven times for a race-high 169 laps, capturing his first Darlington victory and his ninth in 125 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts. He remains the series' standings leader for the second consecutive week.
Carl Edwards finished second, followed by Jeff Gordon in third, Dale Earnhardt Jr., in fourth and David Ragan in fifth. Saturday's event was the first on Darlington's newly-paved surface, which yielded a new track-record average speed of 140.350 mph.
Busch, who led the final 64 laps, won in difficult fashion, earning multiple "Darlington stripes" along the right side of his car. The night's sixth-place starter, he also had to drive back through the field after his crew experienced early pit-road problems.
It didn't take long for the old Raceway to let the world's best drivers know who was in charge, even though a smooth, fresh coat of asphalt might be easier to navigate.
Elliott Sadler tried to drive underneath Tony Stewart and slid into Stewart's Chevy before two laps had been completed. Both cars suffered damage and Sadler's car was parked before the sun went down on NASCAR's second-oldest speedway.
While Earnhardt, Jr., took the early lead from pole winner Greg Biffle, former Indianapolis 500 winner Sam Hornish, Jr., picked up a Darlington stripe on the 11th lap.
When the race resumed, Busch took the lead and headed off in the sunset. Young Busch - now the youngest Darlington winner at 23 years and eight days - threw caution to the wind as he drove away from the field. Biffle, however, hung with him and took the lead after 42 laps when Busch scraped the wall and backed off the gas.
Matt Kenseth grabbed the lead when Biffle, Busch and others pitted. Patrick Carpentier led a few laps before Busch and Biffle took over again.
The race settled into a regular Darlington rhythm at 100 laps with Busch leading the way, Biffle close behind. From this point on, it was a battle for survival, man and machine against a 1.366-mile, egg-shaped oval that jumps up and bites when drivers least expect it.
Busch, at the 120-lap mark, was the bravest, leading the way, with Biffle, Earnhardt, Harvick, Gordon, Truex, Jr., Travis Kvapil and Jimmie Johnson the only others he could see in his rear view mirror.
Harvick's Chevy jumped out from under him and banged the fourth turn wall on lap 147, bringing out the fourth caution of the race.
When the race re-started, Earnhardt was back up front with Biffle close behind. Busch was shuffled back in the field after he had to make a second pit stop for a missing lug nut. He was back in 10th spot at the 170-lap mark and charging towards the front.
At lap 174, Earnhardt scraped the wall, allowing Gordon to move into third place behind race leader Biffle and second-place Truex.
At the halfway point (184 laps), it was Biffle, Truex, Gordon, Earnhardt, Hamlin, Johnson, Kvapil, Blaney, Busch and Kenseth in the top 10.
Biffle, however, retired with engine problems after 234 laps. He finished 43rd despite leading seven times for 95 laps. Gordon led three times for 24 laps; Earnhardt four times for 35 laps.
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