NASCAR Kenseth holds off rookie to win Busch Series race



Matt Kenseth used his veteran knowledge to beat newcomer Kyle Busch.
CONCORD, N.C. (AP) -- NASCAR newcomer Kyle Busch got "Buschwhacked" by Matt Kenseth, who took the lead on the last restart and cruised to victory in Saturday's Busch Series race at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
Kenseth is the Winston Cup points leader who moonlights in the Busch Series for extra track time and a chance at another victory -- a group known as the "Buschwhackers."
In the Carquest Auto Parts 300, he used a veteran's experience to beat Busch as the race came off its final caution flag on Lap 171 of 200.
Busch took only two tires to Kenseth's four during the caution.
"I sort of felt like it was Christmas," Kenseth said when he saw Busch had taken two tires during the last pit stop. "As many times as we've raced here, as many times as I've done that, I would never gamble on two. ... When I saw him get two, I was really surprised."
Ends in yellow
The race finished under caution as Greg Biffle spun out in Turn 4 with four laps to go. That secured Kenseth's second series win of the season. He won the Busch race at California Speedway in April.
Kyle Busch's NASCAR debut was delayed from last season, when NASCAR passed a minimum age requirement of 18. Busch, the younger brother of Winston Cup driver Kurt Busch, had signed a deal with Roush Racing before the rule was passed.
Earlier this year, he signed instead with rival owner Rick Hendrick. He turned 18 on May 2, and they picked Saturday's race for his debut.
Busch led 33 laps before Kenseth took over.
"We had a great run going and I thought that leading this race was pretty neat," Busch said. "But I knew we had 30 laps to go."
Kenseth was right on Busch's tail when the fourth caution of the race came out with 34 laps remaining. Busch and crew chief Brian Pattie agreed they should take two tires on the pit stop.
"We both thought that more guys would take two," Busch said. "But obviously, most of them didn't."
Quick pass
As the race went back to green, Kenseth moved through lapped traffic and passed Busch on the bottom of the track on the back straightaway.
"I was looking for a hole on the bottom to slide by," he said. "I kind of held back there a little bit and I saw a hole on the bottom."
Kenseth had set his car up to run in sunshine and warm weather, but most of the race was run under gray skies.
"I honestly didn't think we had a prayer of running with the leaders," he said. "But we had just enough cautions and just enough pit stops to get the car the way it needed to be."
Four of the top 10 finishers -- Kenseth, Todd Bodine, Kevin Harvick and Michael Waltrip -- are Winston Cup regulars. Cup regulars have now won 10 of 13 Busch Series races this season.