WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — If Kyle Busch seemed to take a bit longer to take his customary bow after a NASCAR victory, it was understandable. It's nice to savor milestone victories.
Busch recovered from a spinout and a pit road penalty and survived a late restart to win the Zippo 200 Saturday, his first triumph at Watkins Glen International in the Xfinity series. It also was the first Xfinity victory at Watkins Glen for Joe Gibbs Racing and the company's 139th win overall in the series, breaking a tie with Roush Fenway for the top spot.
"It's been a long time coming. We've been so close so many times," Busch said. "I knew I just had to not screw it up."
Busch topped the Penske Racing duo of pole-sitter Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski and easily beat them on a restart with three laps to go for his 90th series win. Watkins Glen International and Pocono were the only tracks currently on the Xfinity schedule where Busch had not won.
Busch started second, quickly passed Logano for the lead and led the first 16 laps before wheel-hopping his No. 18 Toyota and spinning out on the first turn, a 90-degree right-hander that points downhill, on lap 17.
Keselowski won the opening 20-lap stage under caution and gained a big advantage over Busch, who drove through too many pit stalls (four) during his first pit stop and was penalized. He restarted near the back of the 40-car field.
"You've just got to get through it, but unfortunately I screwed up early and I got us behind," Busch said. "But the guys gave me such an awesome race car that we could make it back up."