Busch wins in Atlanta

Daring move fuels trucks victory

Kyle Busch wasn't satisfied with sitting still.

Running third with eight laps left, Busch made a daring move around leader Ron Hornaday and second-place Johnny Benson on lap 123 of 130 to take the lead.

He held off Hornaday by 0.971 seconds to win Saturday's EasyCare 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It's Busch's fifth win in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and second at Atlanta.

"I had to go somewhere and those guys ran the middle the first part of the corner, then went to the bottom. I just kept it up on the middle and got a run on the outside," said Busch, who drove the No. 51 Chevrolet.

"I never lifted after that. That's what you got to do to get around this place fast."

Busch nearly had his run to victory dashed when his driver's-side window net appeared to come loose late in the race. While NASCAR inquired about it and could have ordered him to pit road to fix it, Busch used his left hand to hold it in place until the next caution.

Although Hornaday, the pole-winner, was denied the victory, he reclaimed the lead in the points race. He leads Mike Skinner, who finished fifth Saturday, by four points with three races left.

THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER

ALSO SATURDAY

SAM'S TOWN 250: David Reutimann avoided trouble to win the caution-filled Busch Series race at Memphis Motorsports Park.

It was the 37-year-old Toyota driver's first Busch Series victory in 63 starts, and owner Michael Waltrip's first victory for the manufacturer. By outdistancing second-place finisher Mike Bliss, and with the help of some misfortune for points leader Carl Edwards, Reutimann kept his slim championship hopes alive.

Edwards needed at least an eighth-place finish to claim the title. He was 25th.The race had a season-high 25 cautions, which also broke the record of 16 for the Memphis, Tenn., race. The yellows were one short of the Busch Series record of 26 set 1992 at Hickory, N.C.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS