FORT WORTH, Texas — Kyle Busch took advantage of a late caution to regain the lead and held on for the final 16 laps after the last restart Saturday night to win the Sprint Cup race at Texas, completing a NASCAR weekend sweep.
Busch followed Martin Truex Jr. for about 50 laps before a yellow flag for debris with 21 laps left. Busch took the lead off pit road during the caution and charged forward with a strong restart in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
It was the second time this season, and seventh time in his career, that Busch won Cup and Nationwide races in the same weekend. He was the polesitter Saturday night, and won the Nationwide race Friday night on the 1½-mile, high-banked track.
Busch, who also won both races at Fontana last month, led 171 of 334 laps for his 26th career Cup victory.
Truex was trying to win for the first time since June 2007, but his winless streak reached 210 races when he finished a half-second behind Busch. Truex came into the race 25th in points with no laps led, but had his Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota in front for 142 laps at Texas.
“Debris huh????” Truex tweeted about the caution that cost him the lead.
Busch has 111 career victories in NASCAR’s three top series — 26 in Sprint Cup, 55 in Nationwide and 30 in Camping World Truck.
His weekend sweep in California last month was overshadowed by the last-lap crash in the Cup race between former teammates Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano that left Hamlin with a fractured vertebra in his lower back.
Carl Edwards, a three-time winner at Texas who had his seatbelt come loose during the race, finished third ahead of Roush Fenway teammate Greg Biffle.
Logano barely made the start of the race after prerace inspections turned up problems. He started at the back of the field, but worked back to a fifth-place finish. Jimmie Johnson maintained his series points lead by finishing sixth, ahead of Aric Almirola.
NASCAR confiscated the original rear-end housing parts from Logano’s No. 22 Ford and the No. 2 of Penkse Racing teammate Brad Keselowski, the defending Sprint Cup champion. NASCAR officials said the situation will be evaluated further next week, when decisions about any penalties could be made.
Logano gave up his starting spot of 18th after being late to the starting grid while having to get additional inspections. Keselowski got on pit road in time and started 16th, and finished ninth.
Brian Vickers, filling in for Hamlin in the No. 11 Gibbs car, finished eighth. Hamlin was at the track this weekend and said he feel good, though he will miss at least another race, maybe more.
A part-time Cup driver for Waltrip’s team, Vickers had five top-10 finishes in eight races last year. Vickers is a full-time Nationwide driver for Gibbs
This was the 25th Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway, which opened in 1997 and started hosting two races a year in 2005. It also was the first night race this season, and the first for NASCAR’s new Cup cars.
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