BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Chris Buescher appeared to be one of the few drivers capable of keeping Kyle Busch out of victory lane at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Then a late caution screwed up his strategy, and Busch found a way to win yet another Xfinity Series race at the Tennessee track.
Buescher ran out of gas on the restart of a two-lap overtime sprint to the finish Friday night, which allowed Busch to sail past the leader on the restart for his eighth series victory at Bristol.
"I just saved as much as we could, I let [Buescher] go," Busch said. "I wasn't sure if they were going to make it on fuel, and obviously they cut it close. A little too close."
The victory was the 73rd series victory for Busch, who holds the record for most victories in NASCAR's second tier series. It also was Busch's third victory in six Xfinity Series starts this year, which began with a crash in the season opener at Daytona that sidelined him for 11 weeks with a broken right leg and broken left foot.
He and Joe Gibbs Racing have been on a tear since his return. Busch started second in Saturday night's Sprint Cup race sandwiched between teammates Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards as JGR went after its 10th Cup victory of the year.
Buescher was leading when the eighth caution of the race fell with five laps remaining. It set up a green-white-checkered finish, and Buescher bobbled on the restart as his Ford ran out of gas.
He faded to 11th.
"Just ran out of fuel," he said. "Lost it in the pickup. I'm mad. We were so good. We knew we were good all day."
Kyle Larson finished second and was followed by Hamlin as full-time Cup drivers took the top three spots. Ty Dilllon was fourth, followed by JGR driver Daniel Suarez, Brian Scott and Chase Elliott.
The fuel miscalculation for Buescher meant his lead in the Xfinity Series standings was cut to 19 by Dillon. Defending series champion Elliott is 23 points back.
Suarez finished fifth to pick up a $100,000 bonus from series sponsor Xfinity in its Dash-for-Cash program eligible only to full-time series drivers.
MOTOCROSS
Dungey continues hot streak
CRAWFORDSVILLE, Tenn. -- Ryan Dungey raced to his fifth consecutive victory and seventh of the year Saturday in the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championships' season-ending Ironman National.
Dungey, the Red Bull KTM rider from Belle Plaine, Minnesota, wrapped up his third 450 Class season title last week in the Utah National. He won the first moto and was second in the second en route to his 45th career overall victory.
"It's been a great year, and I'm excited for what lies ahead," Dungey said.
Suzuki's Ken Roczen was second in the event and second in the final standings, 100 points behind Dungey in the 12-race competition.
"The track was gnarly out there, probably one of the toughest of the year. It feels great to end the season this way," said Roczen, the winner of the second moto after finishing third in the first. "I knew we had the ability to get into second in the championship, and we came out here and did that.
"I was confident coming into the day because the bike's been great and we did what we needed to do."
Yamaha's Jeremy Martin won his second consecutive 450 Class title, finishing sixth in the finale.
NHRA
Beckman sets record
BRAINERD, Minn. -- Jack Beckman had the quickest Funny Car run in NHRA history for the third consecutive event, powering his Dodge Charger to a 3.901-second pass in qualifying for the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway.
Beckman also had fastest speed in NHRA history at 325.69 mph
Beckman, who posted a 3.921 at Sonoma, Calif., and a 3.912 in Kent, Wash., in the previous two events, will need to post a time of 3.940 seconds or quicker today to certify the 3.901 as a national record, which carries a 20-point bonus.
"I am very satisfied with the 3.901 and the speed record," said Beckman, a five-time event winner this season. "It's been a long time since I've had a speed record."
NHRA canceled the final qualifying session because of persistent rain showers and the threat of a thunderstorm.
Sports on 08/23/2015