Those who know the history of the Royal Purple 300 also know that Kyle Busch’s victory Saturday at Auto Club Speedway was all but a foregone conclusion.
Busch finished .834 seconds ahead of Nationwide Series leader Sam Hornish Jr. to claim his sixth win at the two-mile track and the ninth straight for Joe Gibbs Racing, extending the record for consecutive victories for a Nationwide car owner at a single speedway.
Busch also extended his own record for career wins in the series, pushing that number to 54. The six wins at a single track ties his personal best; Busch also has six NNS victories at Charlotte.
Regan Smith rallied from a lap down — the result of an early flat tire — to claim third, with Parker Kligerman running fourth in a Toyota owned by Busch. Austin Dillon came home fifth, followed by rookie Kyle Larson.
Hornish led by more than a half second over Busch when Jason White’s spin through the frontstretch grass caused the fourth caution of the afternoon on Lap 110.
Brad Keselowski stayed on the track under the caution and led Hornish and Busch (who took fuel only under the yellow) to the green flag on Lap 116. Before the cars reached Turn 1, however, Hornish had reclaimed the top spot from his Penske Racing teammate, with Busch in hot pursuit.
Hornish held the point until Busch passed him on Lap 126, and from that point on Busch paced the field.
Hornish increased his series lead to 28 points over Smith, who passed 11th-place finisher Justin Allgaier for second in the standings.
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