Kyle Busch Gets Historic NASCAR Sweep at Bristol Motor Speedway

It wasn't as dramatic as historic, but Kyle Busch completed an unprecedented sweep of three NASCAR races at Bristol Motor Speedway Saturday night, holding off David Reutimann and Jamie McMurray for his third victory in four days at the half-mile track in Tennessee.

His No. 18 Doublemint Toyota led a resounding 283 of 500 laps for a convincing win Saturday that makes the 25-year old the first driver in NASCAR history to win all three national touring events in the same weekend. It was his fifth try at the historic achievement.

Busch won NASCAR's Camping World Truck Series race Wednesday at BMS, then added a win in the Nationwide Series race Friday courtesy of a controversial bump-and-go in the closing laps with Nationwide points leader Brad Keselowski.

"What a weekend,'' Busch radioed his Joe Gibbs Racing team as he took the checkered flag in what seemed the ultimate understatement.

The win was his third of the season and vaulted him five positions -- to third place -- in the Sprint Cup standings with two races remaining to set the Chase for the Sprint Cup 12-driver playoff run.

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All told, Busch led 515 of the 956 total race laps run in the three series at Bristol this weekend -- more than 50 percent of the competition.

The three-fer weekend gives him 16 wins on the season, helping him close in on his own two-year old NASCAR record of 21 wins among the three series. He has three victories in only eight Camping World Truck Series starts. Friday night's Nationwide Series win was his 10th in that series this season -- tying a single season win mark he already currently shared with Sam Ard. He is only eight wins shy of Mark Martin's all-time series win tally of 48.

Most expected a tougher go for Busch on Saturday night in wake of an aggressive showdown with Keselowski in the Nationwide Series event a night earlier. In fact, when Keselowski took the microphone during Bristol's unique pre-race driver introduction format, he exclaimed, "Kyle Busch is an ass" much to the delight of the massive Bristol crowd.

During the race, however, a fading Keselowski could barely even see the tail end of Busch's Toyota. The two only raced near each other as Busch was lapping the Penske driver. Far from any retribution, however, they were respectful and gave each other plenty of room. Keselowski finished 19th, a lap down.

When asked about Keselowski's comment after the race, Busch jokingly responded, "Who? I don't know who you're talking about.''

Reminded that Keselowski drives the No. 12 car, Busch answered, "I saw it, but I passed it.''

"It meant so much to Kyle Busch (to make history),'' his crew chief Dave Rogers told ESPN after the race. " He works so hard and to come here, a place he loves, and hear all the fans boo when he was introduced ... he handled it like a champion.''

Busch immediately credited Rogers and the team for some outstanding pit work that helped keep him out front especially when he was being challenged by Jamie McMurray late in the race. And while he has somewhat embraced his status as the NASCAR's favorite "bad boy" he also took the time in victory lane to tongue-and-cheek thank his "loving fans."

"I love winning and to do this the first time in NASCAR history, to sweep a weekend, that's awesome,'' Busch said.

In addition to Busch, five other points positions among the top 12 drivers were affected by the outcome of Saturday's race, including four-time defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, whose No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet spent time behind the wall after being spun out by Juan Pablo Montoya midway through the event.

After extensive repairs on pit road and in the garage, Johnson returned to finish 35th and it cost him mightily in the standings, dropping him four positions to ninth place -- his lowest ranking since the second week of the season (12th place).

Busch's JGR teammate, Denny Hamlin, and Tony Stewart each dropped two positions in the championship to fifth and sixth place, respectively.

Conversely, it was a huge points night for fourth place finisher Clint Bowyer, who essentially tripled his cushion in 12th place. He now holds a 100-point advantage over new 13th place driver Jamie McMurray as the series heads into its final off-weekend of the season. Racing resumes Sept. 5 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.