Kyle Busch Continues His Domination of the NASCAR Nationwide Series With a Win at Texas

        With his fourth win in six starts in the NASCAR Nationwide Series this season, Kyle Busch continued his domination of the series. After going winless with his own team last year, Kyle switched to run for Joe Gibbs Racing and it has paid off completely. But Busch had one factor that could have become a road block for his fourth win: strategy. Throughout the night, drivers were running different strategies from others. These strategies include not pitting, getting gas only, getting two tires and fuel, and getting four tires and fuel. With only four sets of tires in the pits, the teams had to make good decisions to ensure a win. All these factors provided for an action packed showdown in Texas.

       Alex Bowman started on the pole for the race. He quickly jumped out to the lead at the start, but he lost the lead to Sam Hornish Jr. on lap 5. It was a short time before Brad Keselowski took the lead from his teammate, Sam Hornish. The race was interrupted by the first caution of the day on lap 24. Robert Richardson Jr. got loose in turn 2 and went for a spin. He kept the car out of the wall and did not receive any damage. Jamie Dick received the lucky dog. The race went  back green and continued on until the second caution of the night on lap 42. Kyle Larson got loose in turn 4 and went for a spin. His car slid into the grass on the frontstretch and went back up the track on the frontstretch. Somehow, he kept the car out of the wall and no cars hit him. He was able to get going with no damage. But his save went from good to bad in a very short time.

        Larson was able to get his car around to make a pit stop to change tires. The decision was made to change only right side tires to make sure he did not go a lap down. He would come back around and the crew would change left sides. Coming down the backstretch after making his stop to change right sides, Larson's left front tire blew and he immediately went down the track. But a safety truck was at the bottom of the track. Larson made a daring move and hit the wall to avoid running into the truck. Now he had a lot of damage from the blown tire and a little damage from the wall, but a huge incident was avoided with the safety truck. Josh Wise received the lucky dog from the caution. At this point the strategy began. A few drivers had three sets of tires left, but some had two left. From this point on, every team would be concerned with how much equipment they had left and how they could use strategy to win. 

        The race went back green and continued on until the third caution on lap 64. Debris was spotted on the track in turn 3. Dexter Stacey received the lucky dog. The race went back green and continued on until the fourth caution on lap 93. Debris was once again spotted in turn 3. Jeffrey Earnhardt received the lucky dog. The race went back green once again and continued on until the fifth caution on lap 120. Robert Richardson Jr. got loose in turn 4 and went for a spin across the frontstretch grass. He did not receive any damage and continued on. Nelson Piquet Jr. received the lucky dog. This caution is where the strategy of  the race split in a couple of different directions. Dale Earnhardt Jr. had three sets of tires and was expecting a few cautions to end the race, most drivers had two sets and were expecting to be on sequence with the rest of the race, and Kasey Kahne had one set of tires and was expecting the race to go green for the rest of the race. Only time would tell who had the right strategy.

        The race went back green and continued on until the sixth caution on lap 134. Dexter Stacey got loose in turn 3 and tried to save it. He tried to, but the car went up the track. He was able to keep it out of the wall and go for a simple spin and continue on. Robert Richardson Jr. went for a spin trying to avoid, but he did not receive any damage. Jeffrey Earnhardt received the lucky dog. The race went back green once again and one of the contenders in the race fell out.

        Sam Hornish Jr. had been running well all night and in a sequence of pit stops had taken tires because he was on sequence. This put him near the back and he would have to run up through the field. Coming out of turn 4 on lap 141, Hornish made contact with Jeremy Clements. Both drivers slammed into the wall and Clements went for a spin in the frontstretch grass. This resulted in the seventh caution of the night. Hornish had a good amount of damage and would go down a good many laps and end his chance for a good finish. Dexter Stacey received the lucky dog. The race went back green once again and another contender would lose some laps and fall out of contention.

       Trevor Bayne was running up near the front on lap 160. But he began to communicate to his team that the car was extremely overheating. Steam poured out and he had to make an unscheduled pit stop. Subsequently, his team found out that he had grass on the grill which caused the overheating. His crew replaced the water, but he lost a few laps and a chance at winning the race. Shortly after this, the eighth and final caution of the race came out on lap 166. Debris was once again spotted in turn 3. Dexter Stacey received the lucky dog. Now, the drivers hoped that their strategy worked and they could grab the win.

       The race went back green and Kyle Busch jumped out to an immediate lead. Brad Keselowski jumped into second and hoped that Busch would wear out his tires and a caution would come out. Busch probably wore out his tires, but no caution came out and Kyle cruised to the win. It was his fifty fifth win in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and his fourth of 2013. He looked strong and continues to show how good he can run.

        The race provided excitement at every corner. Whether it be through strategy or hard Texas racing, there were twists and turns that kept the viewer on the edge of their seat. The NASCAR Nationwide Series will take a week off and then head to the always exciting Richmond International Raceway. Last year, Kurt Busch got the first win for Kyle Busch Motorsports in an exciting finish with Denny Hamlin. Will Kyle Busch get his fifth win of the season or will another driver claim a win for themselves? We will have to find out in two weeks.
(More Stats Down Below!)




Cautions:
1st Caution: Lap 24- Robert Richardson Jr. got loose in turn 2 and went for a spin.

2nd Caution: Lap 42- Kyle Larson got loose in turn 4 and went for a spin on the frontstretch grass and went back up the track, but was not hit. 

3rd Caution: Lap 64- Debris was spotted in turn 3. 

4th Caution: Lap 93- Debris was spotted in turn 3.

5th Caution: Lap 120- Robert Richardson Jr. got loose in turn 4 and went for a spin across the frontstretch grass.

6th Caution: Lap 134- Dexter Stacey got loose in turn 3 and went for a spin trying to save it. Robert Richardson Jr. went for a spin trying to avoid.

7th Caution: Lap 141- Jeremy Clements and Sam Hornish Jr. got into each other in turn 4. Both drivers hit the wall and Clements went for a spin in the frontstretch grass. 

8th Caution: Lap 166- Debris was spotted in turn 3.

Lucky Dogs:
1st Caution: Jamie Dick
2nd Caution: Josh Wise
3rd Caution: Dexter Stacey
4th Caution: Jeffrey Earnhardt
5th Caution: Nelson Piquet Jr.
6th Caution: Jeffrey Earnhardt
7th Caution: Dexter Stacey
8th Caution: Dexter Stacey

Top 5 Finishers:
1st: Kyle Busch
2nd: Brad Keselowski
3rd: Austin Dillon
4th: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
5th: Kevin Harvick

Notables Not in Top 5:
6th: Matt Kenseth
7th: Regan Smith
8th: Kasey Kahne
26th: Trevor Bayne
33rd: Travis Pastrana
34th: Sam Hornish Jr.

Credits:
-My Own Notes
-Statistics:
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/nationwide-series/leaderboard/leaderboard-live.html
http://racing-reference.info/race/2013_OReilly_Auto_Parts_300/B
-Image:
http://static.foxsports.com/content/fscom/img/2013/04/13/041213-10-NASCAR-Kyle-Busch-OB-PI_20130413000924575_660_320.JPG