Kyle Busch Wins Nationwide Race, Danica Patrick Leads Lap, Finishes 19th

As Kyle Busch motored to a comfortable victory in the Nationwide season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway Saturday, Danica Patrick led her first lap in NASCAR racing before settling for a 19th-place finish, nonetheless her best ever in the series.

Busch dominated the event before winning by about a second over Kevin Harvick. Series champion Brad Keselowski was third, followed by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Trevor Bayne.

It was Busch's record-settiing 13th victory in the Nationwide series this year, and it clinched the owner's championship for Joe Gibbs Racing, even though Keselowski won the driver's title. Busch did not run in every race this year and thus did not compete for the driver's title.

"That says it all right there, boys!" Busch shouted on his radio as he took the checkered flag. "You guys are the stuff. I can't do it without you guys. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

"This is fun," he added while still circling the track. "This is what it is all about. I wish I had something for tomorrow, but we'll play with teammates tomorrow and try to get them one."

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Danica Patrick Has Target on Her as She Learns Lessons at Phoenix

The stock car education of Danica Patrick provided some graduate school lessons in bumping and banging at Phoenix International Raceway Saturday.

"I feel like I have a target on me," Patrick said at one point during a long day on the one-mile oval.

Patrick finished 32nd, seven laps down, after tagging the wall with 43 laps to go while running in 25th. She had to make an unscheduled pit stop to change tires and repair the damage, and that's where she lost most of the extra laps.

Her car lost traction and became loose while running below Michael Annett through turn one. She lost control, nearly spun and hit the wall with the right rear of her car, but was able to continue until making the emergency stop.

Earlier, Patrick got shoved around and did some of her own shoving with two other drivers, Tony Raines and Alex Kennedy.

Patrick gave some payback to Kennedy, hitting his rear bumper as she shot past on one lap just before she hit the wall.

"There's some people out here that haven't played fair today," she said on her radio just before the wall-banging incident.

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