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SPORTS A21
Monday 4 April 2016
Kyle Busch wins again for weekend sweep at Martinsville
HANK KURZ Jr. ond, followed by Kyle Lar- Kyle Busch celebrates winning the Sprint Cup auto race at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, April
AP Sports Writer son, Austin Dillon and Brad 3, 2016, in Martinsville, Va.
MARTINSVILLE, Virginia (AP) Keselowski.
— Kyle Busch pulled away “I was kind of hoping we’d Associated Press
on a restart with 11 laps stay green the last 120
to go and outran AJ All- laps,” Allmendinger said. Busch led the most laps at Joey Logano came into the Earnhardt Jr. just five laps
mendinger to the finish for “I figured that wasn’t go- Martinsville since Bobby day having won three con- in and later had green flag
his first NASCAR Sprint Cup ing to happen, but I was Hamilton was out front for secutive poles here and runs lasting 78 and 86 laps.
Series victory at Martinsville praying we had a shot at 378 on April 20, 1998. hoping to turn that success WHO’S HOT: Allmendinger,
Speedway, and a sweep that because I felt like if The race also was a lost day into success in the race. But eighth two weeks ago at
of the two-race weekend. that happened, we had a for Denny Hamlin, one of very quickly, it wasn’t hap- Fontana, has climbed from
Busch, who won for the first great chance to win the the favorites going in and pening. He faded quickly 20th to 12th in points over
time in 31 starts at Martins- race.” the defending champion. after the opening laps, was the past two races.
ville in a truck race on the Several other drivers who Hamlin was running fifth af- lapped on the 77th circuit WHO’S NOT: Since winning
0.526-mile (0.846-kilometer) pitted before the final re- ter 221 laps after overcom- and never really contend- for the eighth time at Mar-
oval on Saturday, dominat- start started in the sixth row, ing a pit road penalty until ed. At one point, he was tinsville in April 2013, Jimmie
ed in the premier division or further back, of side-by- his car lost control heading racing with his damaged Johnson has gone six races
in bright sunshine but cool side racing, and while Lar- into Turn 1 and slammed hood turned up, obscuring in a row here without visiting
temperatures that never let son and Keselowski recov- into the wall, sending him his view. He did rally to fin- Victory Lane, and his ninth-
the track get quite as sticky ered for top-five finishes, to the garage. He never re- ish 11th. place run Sunday ended a
as it normally does. others got caught up in turned, and finished 42nd. THE LONG RUN: The first string of three straight races
The option to pick the in- traffic and that allowed CHECKLIST: Busch has won short track race of the outside the top 10.
side or outside line as the Dillon to take fourth out of on every Sprint Cup Series season uncharacteristi- THEY SAID IT: “I passed Jim-
leader on the final restart nowhere. track except three: Kansas, cally featured several long mie Johnson like five times
was great for Busch, but It was the second straight Charlotte and Pocono. green flag runs. It went 81 at Martinsville; that’s pretty
not for teammate Matt major disappointment at SOMETHING FOR JOEY: laps after a spin by Dale cool!” — Allmendinger.
Kenseth. “That was the key Martinsville for Kenseth.
to the race, being able Last spring, he crashed
to restart on the bottom race leader Joey Logano
like that,” Busch said after with 46 laps to go, earning
choosing the inside line, himself a two-race suspen-
putting Kenseth outside. sion. This time, he seemed
“We all talked as a group poised to challenge Busch
earlier this morning about for the lead with 35 laps
how we were going to do to go until a blown tire by
that and what we were go- Jamie McMurray caused a
ing to do and we all said, caution, bunching up the
with 10 to go, it’s pretty field. “I was a little worried
much off limits. It was (11) there toward the end be-
to go, so it was pretty much fore that last caution came
right on the brink there, out that Matt was catch-
so, ‘Sorry Matt.’” When ing me,” Busch said. “He
the green flag flew, Busch was on me pretty good
sailed off, Allmendinger and I wasn’t sure that I had
beat Kenseth to the inside enough brake in order to
position and Kenseth got handle the rest of the day,
shuffled back to 15th. but fortunately we got a
Allmendinger finished sec- yellow there.”
