| | Associated Press
LOUDON, N.H. -- Rookie Kurt Busch raced to his second straight NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory Saturday, beating Mike Wallace in a two-lap scramble in the thatlook.com 200.
Busch, 21, the winner last week in West Allis, Wis., beat Wallace by 0.333 seconds on the 1.058-mile New Hampshire International Speedway.
Wallace attempted to drive under Busch's Ford on the final lap, with the two trucks banged together. That allowed Randy Tolsma and Greg Biffle to join the tight pack racing off the final turn, but Busch held steady.
Tolsma finished third, followed by series leader Greg Biffle, Andy Houston, Scott Riggs, Ricky Hendrick, Michael Dokken and Winston Cup regular Ken Schrader.
Busch, who won $48,565, averaged 98.491 mph in the 215.83-mile race. He took the lead when Winston Cup driver Bobby Hamilton steered his Dodge to the garage after cutting a left front tire while attempting to lap Rick Crawford on the 170th lap.
The seventh caution, when Terry Cook spun in the first turn and hit the outside wall, extended the scheduled 200-lap race by four laps.
The final restart nearly was Busch's undoing. He successfully blocked Wallace's initial charge, but couldn't shake his rival, who made his move entering the second turn of the final lap.
"I slipped two gears and really didn't get a good start at all," he said, giving credit to his teammate Biffle for teaching him to slow down the pack entering the final two turns. "I just parked it there in the middle. Biffle got bumped out of a win a
couple of years ago and I didn't want to let that happen to me."
Busch became the first rookie driver to win consecutive races
and matched the late Kenny Irwin's record of two victories in his
first season.
"I think that Kenny was up there helping me through today,"
Busch said of the 1997 series rookie of the year who was killed
Friday during Winston Cup practice at the track.
| |
ALSO SEE
New England 200 results
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Rookie Kurt Busch talks about holding off Mike Wallace in the final lap.
wav: 90 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Kurt Busch talks about the rumors of his promotion within Roush Racing.
wav: 98 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
|
