Keselowski passed Kyle Busch to the lead with nine laps left, with Harvick following into second place a lap later. Keselowski crossed the finish line .718 seconds ahead of Harvick with Busch rolling home in third.

The victory was Keselowski’s first of the season in the Nationwide Series and the 21st of his career. Brian Vickers finished fourth, followed by Regan Smith.

The victory was a breakthrough of sorts for Keselowski, who won for the first time this year in either the Nationwide or Sprint Cup Series, after Penske Racing switched from Dodge to Ford during the offseason.

“It’s very gratifying,” Keselowski said. “We’ve had a lot of seconds this year (two in the Nationwide Series), and we’ve been really close on the Cup side. We just haven’t been able to get that win. We’ve struggled here at Richmond, too, both in the Cup and the Nationwide cars, so it’s great to get that turned around and finally get to Victory Lane in a Ford.

“This is a Mustang (in NNS). Now we’ve got to win a Fusion (in Cup). The Fords have been really fast, and new finally closed one out today.”

Harvick’s car was superior over long runs, but he didn’t have time to Keselowski over the final run.

“Our car was pretty good on the longer runs,” Harvick said. “The 22 (Keselowski) was really good for the short runs, and I had to try to fend him off as good as I could… All in all, it was a fun night. He just had a better car for the short runs. I enjoyed the race, back and forth. I always want to win, but it was still enjoyable.”

Harvick dominated a long green-flag run from Lap 107 until NASCAR called the third caution for Juan Carlos Blum’s contact with the Turn 2 wall on Lap 151. After pit stops under the yellow, however, Keselowski wrested the lead from Harvick on Lap 158 powering his No, 22 Ford to the inside of the No. 33 Chevrolet.

Keselowski’s lead was short-lived. On lap 170, Harvick regained the top spot near the start/finish line. After two laps of intense racing, Busch took over the second spot from Keselowski on Lap 177 but trailed Harvick by 1.763 seconds.

Busch was closing the gap when Tanner Berryhill’s spin in Turn 2 brought out the fourth caution on Lap 190. Harvick was off pit road first for a restart on Lap 197, and he, Keselowski and Busch were running 1-2-3 when Kevin Swindell spun in Turn 2 to cause the fifth yellow on Lap 201.

Keselowski grabbed the lead after the subsequent restart on Lap 210, but one lap later, a hard wreck in Turn 3 involving series championship hopefuls Austin Dillon, Brian Scott and Justin Allgaier slowed the field once again and set up a Lap 221 restart with Keselowski at the point.

Harvick passed Keselowski to the outside off the restart, but on Lap 225, as Harvick went to the inside to block Keselowski, Busch powered around both cars to the outside to take the lead before the seventh caution slowed the race on Lap 228.

Note: Seventh-place finisher Sam Hornish Jr. retained the series lead by one point over Smith… Scott and Nelson Piquet Jr.—and their crews—skirmished after the race after repeated contact between their cars in the closing laps.  Scott accused Piquet of kicking him below the belt. Both drivers were called to the NASCAR hauler for further discussion.

Both teams were found to be in violation of  Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4J (any determination by NASCAR officials that the race equipment used in the event does not conform to NASCAR rules); and 20-12 (all suspension systems and components must be approved by NASCAR. Prior to being used in competition, all suspension systems and components must be submitted, in a completed form/assembly, to the office of the NASCAR Competition Administrator for consideration of approval and approved by NASCAR. Each such part may thereafter be used until NASCAR determines that such part is no longer eligible. All suspension fasteners and mounting hardware must be made of solid magnetic steel. All front end and rear end suspension mounts with mounting hardware assembled must have single round mounting holes that are the correct size for the fastener being used. All front end and rear end suspension mounts and mounting hardware must not allow movement or realignment of any suspension component beyond normal rotation or suspension travel.) of the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rule Book.

As a result of the penalties, crew chief of the No. 2 team Paul Wolfe has been fined $100,000 and suspended from NASCAR until the completion of the next six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship points events (including the non-points Sprint All-Star Race) and placed on probation until Dec. 31.

Car chief Jerry Kelley, team engineer Brian Wilson and team manager Travis Geisler (serves as team manager for both Penske cars) have been suspended from NASCAR for the next six Cup races (including the All-Star Race) and placed on probation until the end of the calendar year.

Brad Keselowski has been penalized with the loss of 25 driver’s points, and Roger Penske has been docked 25 owner’s points.

Todd Gordon, crew chief of the No. 22 car, received the same penalty as Wolfe.

Car chief Raymond Fox and team engineer Samuel Stanley received the same penalties as Kelley, Wilson, and Giesler.

Joey Logano was docked 25 driver’s championship points, and Penske lost 25 owner’s points.

Penske plans to appeal the penalties. Penske posted on its Facebook page:

Penske Racing received communication today from NASCAR regarding penalties they have issued against the [Nos. 2 and 22] teams. Penske Racing will appeal utilizing the appropriate NASCAR process. We have no further comment at this time.

Update: The National Car Stock Car Racing Appeals Panel upheld the penalties issued to Penske Racing for violations found before the NRA 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

After hearing testimony from Penske officials and carefully reviewing the facts, the appeals panel reached a unanimous decision.

Penske will now appeal to National Stock Car Racing Chief Appellate Officer John Middlebrook.

Penske Racing owner Roger Penske said:

Obviously, we’re disappointed with the outcome. We met with the panel for over four or five hours. It was a good process. I feel we have a good case, and as we are allowed to under the NASCAR rules we will appeal to the next level. I can’t make any [further] comment. It’s clear we have a process. That’s why I’m better off to wait and see that conclude, and at that point I can make any other personal comments.

Update 3: National Stock Car Racing Chief Appellate Officer John Middlebrook upheld the points penalties and fines assessed to Penske Racing for infractions found before the NRA 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Middlebrook reduced the suspensions of seven crew members from six races down to two, including the Sprint All-Star Race. They will remain on probation until the end of the calendar year.

Middlebrook said:

After looking at all the facts and data and interpretations from the rule book, I have decided to uphold the original fines and points penalties. However, I have decided to reduce the suspensions of the seven team members involved from six points races and the all-star race to two points races and the all-star race.

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I have one good thing to say. That’s my team and effort they put in today in fighting back with the absolute bull that’s been the last seven days in this garage area. The things I’ve seen over the last seven days have me questioning everything that I believe in, and I’m not happy about it. I don’t have anything positive to say and I probably should just leave it at that.

But, Keselowski didn’t. He continued:

There’s so much stuff going on … you have no f—— idea what’s going on. And that’s not your fault and that’s not a slam on you. I could tell you there’s nobody, no team in this garage with the integrity of the 2 team. And the way we’ve been treated over the last seven days is absolutely shameful. I feel like we’ve been targeted over the last seven days more than I’ve ever seen a team targeted. But my guys kept their heads on straight and they showcased why they are a winning team and championship team. We’re not going to take it. We’re not going to be treated this way.

Keselowski added that he was worried about losing crew chief Paul Wolfe, as part of NASCAR’s penalty.

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NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton said:

We’re taking (rear-end) housing and some other things. & It’s a group of pieces that surrounds the rear suspension area. It’s just something that is not in the spirit of the rules.

Both Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano were allowed to keep their crew chiefs and starting spots for the race.

Travis Geisler, Penske’s director of competition, addressed the confiscation:

In pre-race inspection they felt like there was something that was a questionable item that they wanted replaced. We replaced all the parts in question. They have them all. We’re working through the process here as it goes to get through inspection. Unfortunately a little tighter timeline here than we’d like to be on, but I certainly understand their position and don’t disagree with where they are.

Winless in his own Nationwide equipment last year, Busch visited Victory Lane for the fourth time in six races this season, becoming the first driver in series history to win four of the first six.

The victory was Busch’s record sixth at Texas and his record 55th in the Nationwide Series. Brad Keselowski ran second, 2.272 seconds behind the winner. Austin Dillon was third, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kevin Harvick.

Contact between Sam Hornish Jr. and Jeremy Clements on Lap 141 changed the complexion of the race and eliminated Hornish, who entered the event as the series leader. From that point on, Busch had the dominant car.

Hornish finished 34th and kept the points lead but saw his advantage over Regan Smith trimmed from 28 points to two.

“It was a tough race,” said Busch, who capped a banner day on which he already had won the pole for Saturday night’s Sprint Cup event.

“It was a good race, but we had to work hard to have a better race car throughout the race. Brad there was strong, and so was Sam, and it just sort of played into our favor there with some of the pit stops and pit strategy.

“At one time, I thought I was fading way too fast, and I was like, ‘Hey, these tires are terrible,’ but we had to save ‘em. We had to wait in order to put on our fresh tires there in the middle of the race. The car was awesome today.”

Keselowski had a straightforward assessment of Busch’s dominance at Texas.

“If you put an elite driver in an elite car, you should get elite results,” Keselowski said.

In a scenario that augured well for Saturday night’s Sprint Cup tires, new tires made an enormous difference on Friday. In caution for debris on Lap 66, Keselowski, Hornish and Busch were among those who opted for fuel only, and those three drivers restarted at the front of the field on Lap 70.

Their stay at the point was short-lived. On Lap 73, Kasey Kahne, on new tires, passed Hornish for the lead. One lap later, Brian Vickers, also on fresh rubber, blew past Hornish into the second position. By Lap 90, Hornish had slipped to ninth, more than eight seconds behind Kahne.

The tradeoff was that Hornish, Keselowski and Busch each had saved an extra set of tires and they took advantage of the new rubber during pit stops under caution for debris on Lap 95. Kahne also changed four tires under the caution, leaving him with one set for the last half of the race.

After the restart on Lap 99, the roles were reserved. Hornish, on new tires, took the green in 16th and stormed through the field, wresting the lead from Matt Kenseth, who had stayed out under the caution, on Lap 107. Having lost several spots with a slow pit stop, Kahne overtook Hornish for the top spot on Lap 111, with Busch and Keselowski in hot pursuit of the two frontrunners.

Busch dispatched both Hornish and Kahne to assume the lead on Lap 115 before caution flew on Lap 120 for Robert Richardson Jr.’s second spin of the race. That shuffled the field again for a restart on Lap 128, with Keselowski quickly taking the lead, followed by Busch and Austin Dillon.

After Hornish’s demise, by the time the lead-lap cars came to pit road under yellow on Lap 168, all contenders were back on equal footing, taking four tires for the run to the finish.

Note: There were 22 lead changes among 11 drivers, both Nationwide Series track records, breaking the marks of 17 and 10 from the spring race of 2005.

“This is one of those tracks that, as a driver, you feel like you really need to win at,” said Kahne, who snagged the lead on a final restart with 40 laps left and held off both Kyle Busch and Keselowski in Sunday’s Food City 500.

“We’ve been trying for a long time. To pull it off, I feel is a big accomplishment for our guys and myself. There are so many things that are thrown at you when you come to this place. We’d been fast here other times and not able to finish the deal.”

Kahne, now seventh in the points standings, had finished no better than fifth in any of his previous 10 Cup races at Bristol.

The final restart came after Kahne’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson blew a tire, bringing out the race’s 10th caution.

Prior to the final green-flag run, Kahne and Keselowski had staged a furious short-track duel that rekindled memories of the door-to-door racing that made Bristol famous.

“I’m (thinking) how can I get by and he’s (thinking) how can I hold this guy off,” Kahne said. “I reeled him in, but he was driving into the corners so hard, I really couldn’t do anything on the bottom. I bumped him a few times. He was sideways a few times trying to hold us back.

“I felt like we got a really good restart, got the lead and, from there, it was just momentum and trying to drive away.”

Keselowski knew he was in trouble after spinning wheels on the final restart and watching Kahne set sail.

“I don’t think I had anything for Kasey. I don’t know if anyone did,” said Keselowski, the defending race champion who finished third. “He was so good through the middle, really everywhere. He was kind of in a league of his own.”

Kahne credited his team, led by crew chief Kenny Francis.

“It’s fun to come to pit road and break even or gain spots,” he said. “The guys have just been nailing it on pit road.”

Not everyone made up ground in the pits.

Busch, who won the pole in track record time on Friday, posted the fastest laps in both of Saturday’s practice sessions and then won Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series event, led the first 55 laps before a pit-road speeding violation under caution shuffled him back to 32nd. He was undaunted in his recovery, clawing his way back to 16th in the next 40 laps and moving to second behind teammate Denny Hamlin on Lap 155 after the race’s fourth caution.

“We battled back. I wish I could have kept up with the 5 (Kahne), but he took off and left us all,” Busch said.

Hamlin led 117 of the first 189 laps before surrendering the lead in the pits to teammate Matt Kenseth, who suffered his own misfortune when race leader Jeff Gordon blew a right front tire on Lap 391. Gordon climbed the track with his tire going down and Kenseth had nowhere to go, slamming into the rear of Gordon.

“Not a lot either one of us could do about that,” said Kenseth, resigned to a 35th-place finish.

Joey Logano, who started 10th, had been making steady progress and was challenging Gordon for the lead on Lap 348 when he tangled with Hamlin, his former JGR teammate. That led to a post-race exchange between Logano, Hamlin and team members.

Asked if he and Hamlin had a problem, Logano replied: “If we didn’t, we do now.”

Keselowski’s third-place finish vaulted him to the lead in the Sprint Cup point standings, nine points ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr., who finished sixth after qualifying 32nd.

Johnson, who entered as the points leader, finished 22nd after running in the top 10 most of the day and fell to third in the standings. Kurt Busch finished fourth, his best showing for Furniture Row Racing, and Clint Bowyer was fifth.

Kenseth held off Kasey Kahne in a 26-lap green-flag run to the finish Sunday to win the Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

In winning the 25th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race of his career, Kenseth, who turned 41 Sunday, became the third driver in series history to win on his birthday, joining Cale Yarborough and Kyle Busch in that exclusive club.

Kenseth crossed the finish line .594 seconds ahead of Kahne, who led a race-high 114 laps. Defending series champion Brad Keselowski ran third, followed by Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards. Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick and Paul Menard completed the top 10.

Johnson leaves Las Vegas as the series leader, five points ahead of Keselowski and 10 ahead of third-place Earnhardt.

The victory was Kenseth’s first in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry after an offseason move from Roush Fenway Racing. It was also Toyota’s 50th triumph in the Cup series.

“I’m not a goal person, but my goal was to win and win early,” said Kenseth, who visited Victory Lane in his third strat with JGR. “Nobody put any pressure on me except for myself, but I also know that Coach (Joe Gibbs) hired me to come here and climb in the car and win races. You certainly want to do that—you don’t want to disappoint people…

“It’s still only week three, but I feel like this is the beginning.”

Both Busch and Keselowski overcame issues on pit road to post their top-five finishes—Busch an early speeding penalty and Keselowski a dropped lug nut that cost him 10 positions during pit stops under caution on Lap 161.

The rally from the mistake left Keselowski ambivalent about the result. He was happy with the third-place finish but felt his car was capable of more.

“Yeah, I want to win,” said Keselowski who finished fourth in the first two events of the season, at Daytona and Phoenix. “It’s a different perspective, because I’m not happy with top 5s–I want to win. The last three weeks, really the last two weeks–and I’m sure when I get home tonight I’m going to go home and throw around some pillows and punch some things–because we’ve had a shot at winning all three races and come up short, whether it’s circumstances or bad luck or, today, just a little bit of execution.

“In retrospect, once you get a day to cool off from it, you say, ‘Wow, that’s really good, three top 5s; that’s how I’d have wanted to start the year.’  But with the way I finished last year, I wanted to win. I wanted to win all three of these races, and I’m not happy unless we can do that.”

Kahne said Kenseth raced mistake-free in the closing run, despite having older tires.

“I was like, ‘Man, this is not the guy you want to have to race with 10 to go because, he’s going to do everything right,’” Kahne said. “You’re going to have to figure out how to squeeze by him. And you know he had a fast car, too, so it was difficult.

“He did a perfect job, and we came back second, but still a good run. I think we were seventh maybe after that one restart (actually sixth for a restart on Lap 231) and fought back to second, so we had a great car, did everything right. We just didn’t quite get there.”

Kahne had opened a lead of more than two seconds over Johnson when the engine in Travis Kvapil’s Toyota exploded in Turn 4, trailing smoke and dropping oil on the track.

During pit stops under caution on Lap 226 of 267, Kenseth and Keselowski opted for fuel only and left pit road 1-2, with Johnson, Edwards, Earnhardt and Kahne—all of whom took two tires—trailing behind them.

Kahne lost five spots in the pits after his egress from his pit stall was blocked by Tony Stewart, who had to slow down on the way to his pit box to avoid Kenseth, who was leaving after the fuel-only stop.

Kahne got two spots back after the restart on Lap 231, but his progress was interrupted on Lap 235 when Ryan Newman’s Chevrolet blew its engine on Lap 235.

After the subsequent yellow, Kahne restarted fourth on Lap 242. Kenseth kept the No. 5 Chevrolet at bay the rest of the way.

According to NASCAR:

Following the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event last Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway, Denny Hamlin made some disparaging remarks about the on-track racing that had taken place that afternoon. While NASCAR gives its competitors ample leeway in voicing their opinions when it comes to a wide range of aspects about the sport, the sanctioning body will not tolerate publicly made comments by its drivers that denigrate the racing product.

Ryan Pemberton, vice president of competition at NASCAR, said that Hamlin’s comments were different from constructive criticism. He called them “damaging.”

After the race, Hamlin said:

I don’t want to be the pessimist, but it did not race as good as our Generation 5 cars. This is more like what the Generation 5 was at the beginning. The teams hadn’t figured out how to get the aero balance right. Right now, you just run single-file and you cannot get around the guy in front of you. [If] you would have placed me in 20th-place with 30 (laps) to go, I would have stayed there — I wouldn’t have moved up. It’s just one of those things where track position is everything.

Hamlin also said that despite starting in the back and finishing third, he did not pass a lot of cars on the racetrack.

While those comments don’t seem to be too outlandish, NASCAR has made it clear that it will not tolerate public negative comments about the racing.

In November of 2011, Brad Keselowski was fined $25,000 for making disparaging comments at a NASCAR Hall of Fame event about NASCAR’s move to fuel injection. At that time, Keselowski said:

We’re not doing this because it’s better for the teams. I don’t think we’re really going to save any gas. It’s a media circus, trying to make you guys happy so you write good stories. It gives them something to promote. We’re always looking for something to promote, but the honest answer is it does nothing for the sport except cost the team owners money. Cars on the street are injected with real electronics, not a throttle body (like in NASCAR). So we’ve managed to go from 50-year-old technology to 35-year-old technology. I don’t see what the big deal is.

In the summer of 2010, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman were also fined for disparaging comments they made about NASCAR.

This time around, however, Hamlin is refusing to pay the fine and he will appeal. On NASCAR Now, Hamlin said:

Ultimately, I’m not OK with it. This is the most upset and angry I’ve been in a really, really long time about anything … anything that relates to NASCAR. The truth is what the truth is. I don’t believe in this. I’m never going to believe in it. As far as I’m concerned, I’m not going to pay the fine. If they suspend me, they suspend me. I don’t care at this point.

Per the NASCAR rulebook, failure to pay a fine can result in suspension, and the money can be deducts from race winnings.

Update: Denny Hamlin has dropped his appeal of the fine. Hamlin tweeted:

After a lot of thought I have decided not to appeal the fine NASCAR has issued. Dragging myself, my team and NASCAR through the mud for the next 2 weeks would not be good for anyone. I firmly believe I am in the right on this issue and will stand behind my decision not to pay. I understand NASCAR will do what they feel is necessary based on my decision. Thanks to all of my fans and peers who have supported me in this decision. I look forward to putting it to rest.

— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) March 14, 2013

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As Denny Hamlin put it, Carl Edwards is “relevant again” after winning Sunday’s Subway Fresh Fit 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix International Raceway in a green-white-checkered-flag finish that took the race four laps past its posted distance of 312 laps.

In beating Jimmie Johnson to the finish line by 1.024 seconds, Edwards broke a winless streak that had reached 70 races, dating to Mar. 6, 2011 at Las Vegas. Remarkably, Edwards broke another 70-race drought at the one-mile track in the Sonoran desert when he won at Phoenix in November 2010.

Behind Edwards and Johnson, Denny Hamlin ran third, making the most of a daredevil move that cut the backstretch dogleg on the last lap and got his No. 11 Toyota past the No. 2 Ford of reigning series champion Brad Keselowski, who came home fourth.

It was Keselowski, though, driving a Ford after Penske Racing’s between-season switch from Dodge, who gave Edwards the push that propelled him to the front on the final restart on Lap 315.

For his part, Edwards hopes the momentum of his 20th career victory continues throughout the season.

“When you’re struggling, it seems like time slows down,” Edwards said after being told of Hamlin’s “relevant” comment. “You’re working harder, you’re trying more, you’re questioning yourself more. … (Last year) was one of the longest years of my life, to work that hard and not get the victories.

“I’m very, very happy to be back in the mix here. A victory is huge for so many reasons. Last year we didn’t make the Chase. For me to sit home, while everybody was at the Chase stuff in Vegas—that was a little bit of a shock to me. I did not like that at all.

“So to get a victory helps us be in a better position for the Chase. It just feels good to win. So, yeah, I hope  Denny’s right. I hope we’re relevant or more than relevant all year. I hope we dominate this thing.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished fifth, losing his winning chances when he spun his tires on the penultimate restart on Lap 243. Clint Bowyer, Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton rounded out the top 10.

Edwards No. 99 Ford Fusion led 67 straight green-flag laps after the restart on Lap 243, but Ken Schrader’s crash on Lap 309 sent the race to overtime and gave the crew chiefs of the leading cars nervous moments as they tried to recalculate fuel mileage.

The top-14 cars stayed out for a restart on Lap 315, and Edwards had enough gas to complete two laps and win the race.

On the last two restarts, Johnson felt Edwards played fast and loose with the zone, delineated by red marks on the wall, within which the leader is required to accelerate.

“I felt like Carl didn’t follow the restart protocol and was slower than the pace car on his last two restarts, and it gives the leader a huge advantage when that happens,” Johnson said. “You’re supposed to wait until you get between the two lines and take off, and this was all going on before (the restart zone).”

Naturally enough, Edwards had a completely different view of the restart. Though Johnson said he made a point of maintaining pace car speed, Edwards thought Johnson was speeding up as the cars approached the start.

“Usually the guy in second hangs back a little bit, and he pulled up there and I thought, ‘Why’s he doing that?’” Edwards said. “Yeah, maybe I was slowing down, but I wasn’t trying to. I thought he was speeding up. I thought it was pretty genius what he was doing, because it kind of got me off of my game.

“But then, when I went, I think he maybe wasn’t looking at me or something, because he waited just a little bit too long to go. But, truthfully, that was not by design. I was not trying to do anything tricky. I thought he was.”

Danica Patrick’s hard crash on Lap 185 caused the sixth caution of the race. The right front tire on Patrick’s No. 10 Chevrolet SS exploded without warning as the car rolled through Turn 4. The car bounced off the outside wall into the path of David Ragan’s Ford.

The resulting collision ripped the driver’s-side door off Patrick’s car and knocked the protective foam out of the door frame. Patrick walked away from the wreck but ended the day in 39th place.

That caution, however, proved a boon to her former car owner, Earnhardt, who was first off pit road for a restart on Lap 194. Earnhardt’s No. 88 Chevy took a liking to the clean air and remained on point, pacing teammate Johnson as the Hendrick Motorsports pair opened a one-second lead over Matt Kenseth in third.

Forty laps into the green-flag, Earnhardt had widened his edge over Johnson to .928 seconds before the yellow flag flew on Lap 236 for David Gilliland’s hard contact with the outside wall in Turn 1, the result of another blown right front tire.

That caution, the seventh of the race, put Kyle Busch back on the lead lap. Busch went a lap down after spinning into the Turn 2 wall on Lap 48 and persevered until he was awarded a free pass as the highest-scored lapped car when Gilliland wrecked.

Busch had started at the rear of the field because of an eleventh-hour engine change Sunday morning. The engine in his No. 18 Camry suffered a part failure during warmup, the result of a reassembly error.

Not a pit road speeding penalty. Not a spate of cautions that kept bunching the field. Not Brad Keselowski, who in the past has found magic out front on old tires.

The prohibitive favorite in the Dollar General 200—after he won the pole in a laydown earlier in the day—Busch overcame a speeding penalty that dropped him to 22nd position for a restart on Lap 44.

That was a momentary setback. Working his way through traffic in short order, Busch passed Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Matt Kenseth for the lead on Lap 89. He lost the top spot briefly by pitting under caution on Lap 152, as Keselowski and three other drivers remained on the track, but Busch regained the lead on Lap 164, clearing Keselowski as the cars streaked into Turn 3.

Busch stayed out front the rest of the way. The victory was his first in the No. 54 Toyota and a record 52nd in the Nationwide Series.

“It’s great to be back, working with (crew chief) Adam (Stevens) and these guys,” said Busch, who was winless last year in the Nationwide Series driving for his own team. “It was a bummer deal not to be able to get a win at KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports) last year, but (owner) Joe (Gibbs) putting me back in his operation and being back with the Joe Gibbs Racing side of things and Mark Cronquist engines, it’s a phenomenal day for us to get back to Victory Lane, to feel the taste of it again.

“I was almost nervous, feeling like it was my first win, although it’s win No. 52 in the series. It’s nice to be back.”

Keselowski held second by stretching his fuel to the end without pitting. Justin Allgaier ran third and leaves Phoenix tied for the series lead with Sam Hornish Jr., who came home seventh. Trevor Bayne and Elliott Sadler completed the top five.

Jimmie Johnson, using a rare Nationwide Series appearance to get some extra laps on a track that has befuddled him since its resurfacing in 2011, finished 12th.

Even though he tried a contrarian strategy, Keselowski knew that tactics alone wouldn’t be enough to overcome Busch’s advantage in speed.

“I knew I had a shot if something happened to Kyle, and we had to put ourselves in position for good things to happen,” Keselowski said. “But Kyle’s car was so fast. I probably could have had four tires and he could have had none, and it still wouldn’t have mattered. He’d still have drove through the field.

“When you have that much speed, you’re pretty much immune to strategy.”

Beginning his fifth full season of Nationwide racing, Allgaier is off to the best start of his career.

“The first five (races) kind of get you kicked off for the next 10 or 15,” Allgaier said. “This has been huge for us, for Turner Scott Motorsports. Our program has come a long way during the offseason. I’ll be the first to tell you that, at the end of the year last year, we were kind of scratching our heads. We knew we had a great organization. We just didn’t know what we were missing.

“Everybody at the team really buckled down … This is the strongest season start I’ve had. I hope we can keep that going and transfer it into a championship.”

The race wasn’t yet two laps old when Johanna Long drove hard into Turn 3 and tagged the back of the Ford of Hornish, the series leader entering the race.  With the front of her car damaged by the contact, Long slapped the wall exiting Turn 4, triggering a chain-reaction wreck that collected five other cars, including those of Hornish (who had fallen behind her) and Travis Pastrana.

“I don’t know; it just took off on me,” Long said of her contact with the wall. “I got in a little too hard, there (into) Hornish, felt bad, got under him. I got into the gas, and it just took off.

“I definitely didn’t want to finish like this. It’s really disheartening. I feel really bad. I don’t know what else to say.”

The aftermath of the wreck turned bizarre when the scoring transponder from Jamie Dick’s car (another victim of the accident) lodged in the nose of Hornish’s Ford. Though Hornish lost two laps on pit road while the transponder was removed, NASCAR restored the No. 12 to the lead lap because the extraction — to prevent Dick’s car from being scored improperly – was ordered by the sanctioning body.

Hornish’s travails weren’t quite over. After restarting sixth on Lap 109, Hornish spun in Turn 2 a lap later to bring out the fifth caution but remained on the lead lap. The nose and hood of his car heavily taped, Hornish salvaged the seventh-place finish.