What, Toyota Lost Their Horsepower? Kyle Busch Didn’t Notice

Earlier in the week NASCAR implimented new rules restricting the horsepower output in the Nationwide Series engines, specifically targeting Toyota, as they were the only manufacturer running the effected engine packages. But, even that couldn’t stop Kyle Busch from dominating Saturday night at O’Reilly Raceway Park.

Busch started the race from the outside pole, and then ran away with the race, leading 197 of the 200 laps. The victory is Busch’s sixth NNS win of the season, and his 15th between NASCAR’s three premier series, surpassing the previous record set by Kevin Harvick. Colin Braun, in search of his first NASCAR victory for Roush-Fenway Racing, settled for 2nd, and Mike Bliss, Scott Wimmer, and Josh Wise completed the top-five.

Following the race, Busch sarcastically commented, “I was kind of disappointed because I feel like that 15 horsepower cost me the pole. I really got to thank my competitors for doing the complaining they did, because we were able to have good traction control all night long. I feel like that was important, to get off the corners a little bit better than everybody.”

Rookies Landon Cassill and Joey Logano continued to impress, as they finished 7th and 8th, respectively. Series points leader, Clint Bowyer, found his struggles throughout the evening, as he finished 18th. Second place, Brad Keselowski, didn’t do any better, though, and he finished 19th. Third place, Carl Edwards, made up a little bit of ground with his 11th place finish. There were no changes with the top-ten in points, though.

Kroger 200 Complete Results

Nationwide Series Standings (from nascar.com):