MEMPHIS - David Reutimann avoided trouble to win the caution-filled Sam's Town 250 Busch Series race at Memphis Motorsports Park on Saturday.
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.
With the victory, outdistancing second-place finisher MikeBliss, and some misfortune for points leader Carl Edwards, Reutimann kept his slimchampionship hopes alive. Edwards needed at least an eighthplace 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 race. The yellows were one short of the Busch Series record of 26 set 1992 at Hickory, N.C.
One of those wrecks involved Edwards, effectively diminishing his chance to clinch the series championship Saturday.
Edwards entered the event with a 638-point lead over Reutimann. But on Lap 130, Edwards collided with Sterling Marlin's spinning car, crumpling the front and left side of his car. Edwards later got back on the lead lap, benefiting from another caution, but could not make up enough distance and was falling back at the end.
The event was the first Busch Series race for reigning Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti. The 38-year-old reigning IndyCar Series champ, who will run a full NASCAR season next year, started third after morning qualifying. He got into the back of Brandon Miller on Lap 192, causing damage to the right front of his Dodge.
Franchitti was held a lap for aggressive driving after the incident and would eventually be involved in another brush and finished 32nd.
David Ragan finished third, while pole-winner Marcos Ambrose was fourth. Jason Leffler finished fifth.
The race was slow-paced because of the run of cautionsthat began early and contributed to some short tempers. Robert Richardson Jr. was given a twolap penalty for aggressive driving, while NASCAR penalized Kyle Krisiloff after another incident. Brad Keselowski was assessed a two-lap penalty, too.
TRUCK SERIES Kyle Busch catches break
HAMPTON, Ga. - Kyle Busch made the most out of a lucky break Saturday, pulling away from Ron Hornaday Jr. to win the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Busch was rolling along in third place with 26 laps to go in the 130-lap race when he was blackflagged by NASCAR for having the driver-side window net unhooked. Seconds before he would have had to pit, a crash brought out the caution flag and allowed the Nextel Cup star to make his stop under yellow and remain in contention.
Busch took full advantage, passing Hornaday on a restart with eight to go and pulling away to his fifth truck victory. Busch is the first Cup regular to win a truck race this season.
Busch, who led a race-high 65 laps, said he was holding the window net up and driving with one hand for about 12 laps before the black flag.
"It was vibrating off every lap, and I was putting it back on every straightaway. My arm was killing me, and I probably would have had to come in in about two laps anyway," Busch said, grinning. "That was an experience. I've never done that before."
"Finally," he said about the victory in his eighth truck start this season. "We've come so close in some other races this year and something always went wrong."
Sports, Pages 33 on 10/28/2007