Compliments of NASCAR,Inc

JOLIET, Ill. -July 12, 2008- Kyle Busch is hoping his good-luck streak continues.

Other NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers are hoping some of his good fortune rubs off on them.

After Busch led a race-high 165 laps in Saturday night's LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway, defending series champion Jimmie Johnson took the lead for the first time with 17 laps to go. Busch figured Johnson was heading to Victory Lane, especially after Johnson drove away on a restart.

But David Gilliland's blown engine brought out another caution with just five laps remaining. And Busch took advantage of a slow restart, laying on Johnson's bumper and zipping past the two-time champion down the backstretch with just two laps left.

He continued his incredible Cinderella season, winning in NASCAR's top division for the seventh time this season for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Many in the garage area would say that's what's known as making your own luck, or the most of an opportunity, something Busch has certainly done this year.

He also has won five times in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and twice in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. He led more laps than anyone in his latest effort and his only snafu of the balmy night occurred when he drove through the grassy part of the tri-oval and got his No. 18 M&M's Toyota stuck in the mud.

His crew gladly pushed him out and Busch seemed incredulous that he got by Johnson at the end.

"I don't know how I did that," he said. "I sort of gave up on myself when I lost the lead but those guys over there (his jubilant pit crew) didn't give up."

Trailing Busch and Johnson at the finish were Kevin Harvick, Greg Biffle, Tony Stewart, Brian Vickers, Matt Kenseth, David Ragan, Martin Truex, Jr., and Ryan Newman.

Four-time series champion Jeff Gordon was 11th after 267 laps. Neither Gordon nor Dale Earnhardt, Jr., were factors in the race. Earnhardt finished 16th, just ahead of Mark Martin and Juan Pablo Montoya.

Carl Edwards, who appeared to have a solid shot at winning, came to the pits on Lap 237 thinking he had a flat tire. It turned out his splitter on the front of his No. 99 Office Depot Ford broke and was hitting the track. He was never a factor afterwards, finishing 32nd, a lap behind the leaders.

There were nine caution periods during the race, several for debris. One of the debris cautions occurred on Lap 237 when Paul Menard ran into the rear end of Jason Leffler's car, knocking the rear valance off Leffler's car and into the middle of the track.

The race started after a spectacular flyover by four F-14's and a driver's meeting at which “The King”, Richard Petty, was recognized for his 50 years in the sport. The popular Petty, holder of many NASCAR records including most victories (200) and seven series championships, received a rousing standing ovation from his peers when introduced.

Things didn't start nearly as well for J. J. Yeley. His car was held until after the green flag waved due to a pre-race weight rule infraction.

David Reutimann also started the race on a down note when Leffler squeezed him into the wall after just a few laps.

The younger Busch took over like one of the F-14's, racing away to a comfortable lead in the early stages. He was the class of the field when NASCAR waved a mandatory caution on Lap 35 lap to allow the teams an opportunity to check tire wear. Rain on Thursday and Friday night had turned the race track green, leaving no rubber on it.

When racing resumed on Lap 40, Busch took up where he left off, but Edwards stayed with him. Edwards badgered Busch for several laps before passing him at Lap 45.

Denny Hamlin's No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota shut off at Lap 48, prompting a second caution, which helped Burton, who had dropped way back in the field after missing his pit stall on the first caution.

After pit stops, Gordon took the lead by not pitting. He was trailed by Biffle, Vickers, Newman and Busch.

Hamlin came back on the track after a trip to the garage where his crew switched ignition panels. The trip cost him four laps.

Biffle passed Gordon for the lead on Lap 58 and the top 10 included Vickers in third, then Busch, Stewart, Edwards, Kenseth, Johnson, Truex, Jr., and Harvick.

By 100 laps, Stewart had taken the lead and Truex was threatening to do so.

The third caution of the race waved on Lap 111 when Michael Waltrip fell victim to a miscue out of turn four by Patrick Carpentier, whose car slid into the wall right in front of Waltrip. When Waltrip backed off, Burton nipped him in the rear, sending him on a spin through the grassy infield.

Busch worked his way back to the front by Lap 20 while Kenseth fell back in the field with a flat tire and unscheduled pit stop.

Stewart was second with young David Ragan third. The two Red Bull Racing Toyotas with Allmendinger and Vickers were next in line.

At the halfway point of 130 laps, Edwards was sixth, Harvick seventh and Martin eighth. Johnson and Biffle rounded out the top 10. Dale Earnhardt, Jr., was running back in 19th position and did not appear to be a factor at this point in the race.

RESULTS

FIN ST CAR DRIVER MAKE SPONSOR PTS/BNS LAPS STATUS
1 1 18 Kyle Busch Toyota M&M's 195/10 267 Running
2 5 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe's 175/5 267 Running
3 13 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 165/0 267 Running
4 11 16 Greg Biffle Ford 3M 165/5 267 Running
5 12 20 Tony Stewart Toyota The Home Depot 160/5 267 Running
6 15 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull 155/5 267 Running
7 9 17 Matt Kenseth Ford USG Sheetrock 151/5 267 Running
8 14 6 David Ragan Ford AAA Insurance 142/0 267 Running
9 19 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Cub Cadet 143/5 267 Running
10 17 12 Ryan Newman Dodge Kodak / The Mummy 134/0 267 Running
11 6 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Nicorette / DuPont 135/5 267 Running
12 26 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Best Buy / Garmin 127/0 267 Running
13 39 84 A.J. Allmendinger Toyota Red Bull 124/0 267 Running
14 29 44 David Reutimann Toyota UPS 121/0 267 Running
15 8 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Budweiser 118/0 267 Running
16 2 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet AMP Energy / National Guard 115/0 267 Running
17 16 8 Mark Martin Chevrolet U.S. Army 112/0 267 Running
18 22 42 Juan Montoya Dodge Juicy Fruit Slim Pack 109/0 267 Running
19 3 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet AT&T Mobility 106/0 267 Running
20 38 66 Scott Riggs Chevrolet Haas Automation 103/0 267 Running
21 24 26 Jamie McMurray Ford Crown Royal 100/0 267 Running
22 10 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Jack Daniel's 97/0 267 Running
23 30 22 Dave Blaney Toyota Caterpillar 94/0 267 Running
24 40 96 J.J. Yeley Toyota DLP HDTV 91/0 267 Running
25 31 7 Robby Gordon Dodge Jim Beam / SaveOurName.com 88/0 267 Running
26 27 15 Paul Menard Chevrolet Quaker State / Menards 85/0 267 Running
27 43 70 Jason Leffler Chevrolet Haas Automation 82/0 267 Running
28 18 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 84/5 267 Running
29 20 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Cheerios Betty Crocker / Richard Petty's 50th 76/0 267 Running
30 42 10 Patrick Carpentier * Dodge LifeLock 73/0 265 Running
31 32 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge Target / Maxwell House 70/0 265 Running
32 4 99 Carl Edwards Ford Office Depot "Taking Care of Business" 72/5 265 Running
33 25 5 Casey Mears Chevrolet CARQUEST / Kellogg's 64/0 265 Running
34 33 01 Regan Smith * Chevrolet DEI / Principal Financial Group 61/0 265 Running
35 37 21 Bill Elliott Ford U.S. Air Force 58/0 265 Running
36 28 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA AUTO PARTS 55/0 264 Running
37 35 77 Sam Hornish Jr. * Dodge Mobil 1 52/0 263 Running
38 36 45 Terry Labonte Dodge Marathon American Spirit / Richard Petty's 50th 49/0 263 Running
39 41 78 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet Furniture Row Racing 46/0 263 Running
40 7 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Express 43/0 262 Running
41 21 28 Travis Kvapil Ford FreeCreditReport.com 40/0 260 Running
42 23 38 David Gilliland Ford FreeCreditReport.com 37/0 259 In Pit
43 34 00 Michael McDowell * Toyota Champion Mortgage 34/0 258 Running

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