The race began with Paul Menard as the polesitter. He was able to lead the first three laps, but was passed by Ricky Stenhouse Jr on lap 4. Brad Keselowski had engine problems right before the caution on lap 48, but he was able to continue on in the race. The first caution came out on lap 48 for debris on the track in turn 1. Jason Bowles, who received two lucky dogs in the race, received the lucky dog. Paul Menard was able to win the race off pit road and led until the green flag came out. Kasey Kahne was able to lead a lap after the green flag came out, but Paul Menard was able to take the lead back. On lap 61, Brian Scott blew a motor, but no caution came out. On lap 91, Brad Keselowski spun coming off turn 4 and brought out the second caution. Jason Bowles, who finished 18th, received his second lucky dog of the race. The green flag came out on lap 95 and immediately on the backstretch, Blake Koch was turned by Kurt Busch and Koch hit the inside wall. This resulted in the third caution of the race. Mike Bliss, who finished 16th, received the lucky dog. A 59 lap green flag run began after the caution and the only round of green flag pit stops during the race began on lap 146. Shortly after the green flag stops, on lap 163 to be exact, the lights on the backstretch blew out. It resulted in the 4th caution and a short red flag. Austin Dillon stayed out and gained the lead and led 13 laps in the process. Danica Patrick, who finished 8th, received the lucky dog. The caution came out again on lap 189 when Kurt Busch blew an engine and left oil on the track. It was the fifth and final caution of the evening. Joey Logano, who finished 15th, received the lucky dog. The restart came with six laps to go and Ricky Stenhouse Jr was able to hold off Denny Hamlin and Paul Menard to cruise to his second victory of the year.
Stenhouse was able to lead a total of 68 laps. Paul Menard led the most laps with 100 and finished second. The rest of the top 5 were Kasey Kahne in 3rd, Denny Hamlin in 4th, and Austin Dillon in 5th. David Ragan was able to finish sixth with GC Motorsports, an underfunded team out off Ontario, Canada. Elliott Sadler, who finished 12th, still held the points lead by 4 points over Stenhouse. The NASCAR Nationwide Series will take another week off and then head to Richmond on April 27th where the action is sure to heat up.
Credits:
-Statistics: http://www.racing-reference.info/race/2012_OReilly_Auto_Parts_300/B
-Picture: http://www.nascar.com/nationwide-series/news/120413/rstenhousejr-wins-texas/index.html
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