SPARTA, KY. – Stephen Leicht claimed his first career win in the Meijer 300 on Saturday after passing one of his best friends just 12 laps from the finish at the Kentucky Speedway.
“I can’t say enough tonight about the CitiFinancial team and our car tonight was awesome. We were in the right position at the right time and we were able to capitalize on it with 10 to go,” Leicht said. “Those were the longest 10 laps that I’ve run there at the end of the race. I never thought the race was going to end. Once you get the first one out of the way I think they’ll just come easier now. This team is definitely prepared for that.”
Leicht became the first Busch regular to win a Busch race since David Gilliland won the only Busch race by a Busch regular (or iregular) last year. There is something wrong with that folks. I don't care what JJ thinks.
The Coca-Cola 600 was only a 75 mile show for a dozen or so Nextel Cup drivers on Sunday. As the 43-car field rounded the 1.5-mile oval on Lap 52 of 400, the tire tread from Jimmie Johnson's car flew across the track. As the cars around him slowed to avoid the debris, a chain reaction occurred, causing a melee down the frontstretch.
“All I saw was the tire flying,” said Juan Pablo Montoya, who returned to the race after extensive repairs to his car. “I managed to slow down my car but I just get pushed from behind by Kasey Kahne and that was it.”
David Gilliland saw the same thing. “I just saw a piece of tire come up and everybody started wrecking,” he said. “On the restart everybody is kind of bunched up and everybody is just super-close and it’s too bad." Gilliland was struck from behind pushing the #38 into the car in front of him causing severe damage to both the front and rear of the M&M’S / Shrek the Third Ford.
"We just didn't have anywhere to go," said Sterling Marlin. "We were on the outside and our Pep Boys Chevy got shoved into the wall. There was nothing anyone could do."
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