Kyle Busch wins record-breaking Nationwide race at Talladega Superspeedway

Credit: Jason Smith/ Getty Images for NASCAR

Kyle Busch pulled off the victory in the Aaron’s 312 on Saturday in a spectacular and record-setting race at Talladega Superspeedway, taking the victory under caution after the No. 01 of Mike Wallace flipped over on the backstretch. This is Busch’s 47^th Nationwide Series victory and 92^nd victory across all three of NASCAR’s national series. Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Joey Logano was on his back bumper coming to the checkered flag and finished second. Joe Nemechek scored his first top-5 finish in the Nationwide Series since Las Vegas back in 2005. Brad Keselowski and Elliott Sadler rounded out the top five.

The Aaron’s 312 featured a record 56 lead changes, the most lead changes in any single race in Nationwide Series history. The previous record was 36 lead changes, set back in the 2007 spring race also at Talladega. The 18 different leaders were just two lead changes short of the series record.

The race featured 11 different cautions for a total of 38 laps, including one crash on lap 89 that included 21 different cars. Among the cars involved: Kyle Busch, Jamie McMurray, Steven Wallace, Michael Waltrip and Clint Bowyer. All drivers were able to walk away from all incidents. The wreck resulted in a red flag just shy of 7 minutes.

Jason Leffler took the points lead from Ricky Stenhouse Jr. after Stenhouse dropped out of the race early due to an engine failure. Leffler currently holds a two-point lead over Justin Allgaier. Stenhouse fell to fourth in points and is now eight points out of the lead. Elliott Sadler moved up one position with his fifth-place finish and is currently third, five points out of the lead. Stenhouse is fourth and Reed Sorenson is fifth, nine points back.

Next weekend, the series heads to Nashville Superspeedway for the Nashville 300. Coverage begins Saturday, April 23^rd, on ESPN at 3 p.m. ET.