[media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”231″][/media-credit]Going into the final corner, it looked as if Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart, or Joey Logano would find themselves in victory lane. However, coming out of turn four, Kurt Busch would slide up, getting into Logano, who would get into Stewart, wrecking the entire front of the field. As the mess sorted out, James Buescher would find himself as the first driver crossing the finish line to win the DRIVE4COPD 300.

“Nobody wanted to work with us at the end,” Buescher said in victory lane. “We just got the best draft we could after everybody. I saw everybody wrecking there, I just went to the bottom and tried to get by all of it. We didn’t have a lot of track position there, but we stuck with it and we won.”

The victory marked the first victory for Buescher in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

“Anytime you win a race, it means a lot,” car owner Steve Turner said. “But with our goal of working with young drivers, gives us a good shot and makes me feel comfortable that we’ve put the right guys in the right place. We’ve really changed our organization over the off-season to cater to the young drivers.”

Buescher hadn’t escaped trouble all day long as he was involved in the caution on lap 75. Michael Annett got into Brian Scott, turning him into the side of Buescher before Scott hit the wall. The team worked on fixing the damage and were trying to work their way up at the end.

Brad Keselowski, who had fallen back in the pack with Buescher, would be credited with finishing second.

“I don’t know how we brought the Discount Tire Dodge home; lots of squirming around there,” Keselowski said. “If we could’ve got through without that minor damage, we could’ve won.”

Sadler, who was pushing Stewart at the time of the incident, would escape being wrecked to finish third and be the highest driver in the finishing order that’s running the full Nationwide Series schedule.

“It felt like the leader came up and tried to block, and blocked too late, and pinched the 20 into the wall in front of us,” Sadler said. “We had a run there and a good shot to win the race. It’s so fun running with Tony Stewart as he always knows how to use the right lane.”

Rookie Cole Whitt would find his way around the incident to finish in the fourth place position. Whitt had a rough day himself. On lap 49, he got into the back of Danica Patrick to push her at the wrong time in the middle of the corner, turning her into the wall.

“I don’t think it’s ever great when teammates come together,” Patrick, who finished 38^th, said. “We’ll have to figure out what happened and move forward.”

“We’re teammates,” Whitt said. “We want our team to win. I mean, that’s why we were pushing each other anyways – we want to get our team up front together.”

Patrick quickly displayed her displeasure with Whitt, which Whitt said, “I wouldn’t expect her to be happy about it. I wouldn’t be happy about it either. I don’t know why anyone would expect her to be like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s great.’ ”

Then once on pit road after the incident, Whitt would get turned around backwards on pit road as he was coming into his pit while Kyle Busch was leaving his.

Rookie Austin Dillon would survive the last lap scramble to come home in the fifth position.

“We didn’t get to stick to our game plan like we wanted to at the beginning of the race,” Dillon said. “Changed up, got dropped to the back.  Had to work our way back to the front.  Got hooked up with Elliott at one point in time.  Got back up to a decent stop.  Got some track position. Then we got faded back again.  Hooked up with Jr.  Drove to the front.  That one run felt really good pushing with him and Elliott, too.  It was fun.  It was difficult to tandem through the pack.  You had to fish your way through the pack.  When you had a gap to push, you could push.

“My car was really good at pushing today.  The Advocare Chevrolet was fast enough to get to the front.  Ended up in the front.  Doesn’t matter how you get there, as long as you finish up there, so it was fun.”

Tayler Malsam and Timmy Hill sneak by the wreck to finish sixth and seventh, while Tony Stewart would finish eighth, going for his fifth consecutive Daytona victory.

“I don’t know that we even made it to turn four,” Stewart said. “We got a big run on the outside and all of a sudden the door got slammed on us. I don’t know why whoever it was turned right, but it wasn’t a very good time to either try blocking or moving. It was definitely not the finish we wanted for sure. We had an awesome (car) today.”

Kasey Kahne would finish ninth with Kurt Busch rounding out the top 10.

“We were up front, leading laps and doing exactly what James Finch would have wanted,” he said. “We took the white leading and had the lead halfway down the back. Everybody was side drafting and we got separated.

“I went to crowd the outside lane, didn’t know that there were two cars up there. I thought it was just a single lane. I was trying to side draft to get the best finish I could at the end. Everybody was racing to the end. Man, a lot of tore up cars. That’s just everybody full throttle at the end.”

This wouldn’t be the only incident of the afternoon that Busch would receive the blame for as with 17 to go, he would try to squeeze through a hole three-wide that wasn’t there. The result would be a 20-car wreck that included Robert Richardson Jr., Denny Hamlin, Justin Allgaier, Kenny Wallace, Casey Roderick, Reed Sorenson, Johanna Long, Ryan Truex, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Dillon, Mike Wallace and TJ Bell.

“I quickly reminded myself why I don’t run these races,” Hamlin said. “It’s hard to control your fate in these races….had been running up front, was up front there, and just a chain reaction. Looked like Kyle and Kurt got a run up through the middle there and scared some people.”

The middle part of the wreck saw Sorenson drive partly under Allgaier’s car.

“I saw guys spinning in front of me and tried to get around them, but got caught up with another guys,” he said. “With having the two-car tandems and pack racing, guys are getting runs there that shouldn’t be.”

The next race for the Nationwide Series is next weekend at Phoenix Raceway.

[media-credit name=”daytonainternationalspeedway.com” align=”alignright” width=”272″][/media-credit]After a wreck on the final lap, James Buescher would be crowned the winner of the DRIVE4COPD 300.

Green flag as Dale Earnhardt Jr. quickly gets on Danica Patrick’s bumper to push her ahead

Lap 1 – Patrick leads with Earnhardt Jr. as Bayne/Sadler try to run them down

Lap 2 – Bayne to the lead around the outside with help from Sadler, putting Patrick/Earnhardt Jr. behind them

Lap 5 – Sadler and Bayne swap so Sadler leads, but Tony Stewart/Sam Hornish Jr. go by them and take the lead

Lap 7 – Patrick brushes the wall and falls back as her partner Earnhardt Jr. goes looking for.

Lap 9 – Stewart and Kurt Busch become the newest team as Hornish tried to get his car cool.

Lap 11 – Kahne/Earnhardt Jr. to the lead as they go to the outside of Stewart/Busch while Bayne/Sadler chase them.

Lap 13 – Bayne/Sadler leading

Lap 14 – Hornish/Brad Keselowski takes the lead through turn 4 as Bayne/Sadler fall back

Lap 18 Hornish/Keselowski, Mike Bliss/Joe Nemechek, Michael Annett/Kurt Busch, Kenny Wallace/Mike Wallace

Lap 20 Hornish/Keselowski still hold the lead as Bliss/Nemechek try to chase them down. Annett/Busch battle side-by-side with the Wallaces for the next position

Lap 22 Bliss/Nemechek pass Hornish/Keselowski for the lead

Lap 26 Earnhardt Jr/Kurt Busch to the lead past Bliss/Nemechek

Lap 27 Bliss/Nemechek take the lead as Busch/Earnhardt Jr. swap positions in their tandem

Lap 28 Bliss, Nemechek, Kurt Busch, Earnhardt Jr., Joey Logano, Kahne, Stewart, Patrick, Hornish Jr., Mike Wallace

Lap 29 Busch/Earnhardt Jr. back to the lead in the tri-oval, ast Bliss/Nemechek as Logano/Kahne try to chase them down

Lap 30 Earnhardt Jr./Busch swap as Earnhardt Jr. keeps the lead through the lap traffic

Caution Lap 31 Debris on the track as Jason Bowles has an engine problem. Pit stops as some take two tires, some take four tires. Kurt Busch leads Tony Stewart, Joey Logano, Kasey Kahne, Cole Whitt and Michael Annett off pit road. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has issues getting into his pit, but solved the problem by using his cup sign for the rest of the day. Kyle Busch had the right rear window vibrating so they sealed it.

Restart Lap 36 as Kurt Busch pulls slightly ahead through turns ½ with help from Kasey Kahne

Lap 37 Tony Stewart/Joey Logano side-by-side with Kurt Busch/Kasey Kahne for the lead

Lap 38 Stewart/Logano pull ahead to the lead with Busch/Kahne in toe followed by Danica Patrick

Lap 40 Stewart leads Logano, Busch, Kahne and Sam Hornish Jr. as Patrick falls back through the field

Lap 44 Logano/Stewart make the swap, allowing Busch/Nemechek to take the lead.

Lap 45 J.J Yeley has smoke trailing from his car, quickly gets outta line.

Lap 46 Busch/Nemechek lead as Dale Earnhardt Jr./Kyle Busch chase them down, followed by Hornish Jr.

Lap 48 Richardson Jr. makes a big save in the middle of three-wide to prevent a wreck

Lap 49 Kurt Busch leads Nemechek, Earnahrdt Jr., Kyle Busch, Hornish Jr., Hamlin, Logano, Ryan Truex, Kenny Wallace

Caution Lap 49 as Danica Patrick gets into the wall after contact from teammate Cole Whitt. Patrick has enough damage to send her behind the wall. Sadler got some damage after running down off the track to the apron to avoid Patrick, fixed it on pit road. Reed Sorenson gets the lucky dog……Pit stops: Cole Whitt gets turned around backwards on pit road, after contact from Kyle Busch. Cole was coming in as Kyle was going out.

Restart Lap 54 as Denny Hamlin leads the field to the green, but Kurt Busch quickly goes back to the points with help from Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Lap 55 Busch/Earnhardt Jr. have spaced themselves from the field as Kenny Wallace/Mike Wallace are next in line, followed by Brad Keselowski/Kasey Kahne

Lap 58 Trevor Bayne has a flat tire as he brings the car to pit road. This came after contact with Brian Scott.

Lap 59 Busch/Earnhardt Jr. lead Hamlin/Logano as they have separated themselves from the pack

Caution Lap 60 Mike Bliss has wrecked at the halfway mark. He backed off and Joe Nemechek got into the back of him. Pit stops: Some choose to pit while others stay out. Kurt Busch now leads Earnhardt Jr. as they both stayed on track

Restart with 56 laps to go as Kurt Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. run side-by-side for the lead through turn 2. Earnhardt Jr. is able to get by Busch, but it is Elliott Sadler/Austin Dillon driving by him in a two-car tandem.

55 to go Sadler/Dillon pull out to a pretty sizable lead as the pack runs three-wide all the way back.

50 to go Sadler/Dillon continue to lead, in front of Kurt Busch, Nemechek, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Hornish Jr.,

Caution Lap 75 Brian Scott wrecks in the tri-oval. Michael Annett got into Scott, turning him into James Buescher, and then Scott hit the wall. Kurt Busch leading…..Pit Stops as most can make it from this point: Joe Nemechek leads Hornish Jr. and Mike Wallace off pit road…..Trevor Bayne took the wave around so he’s only one lap down now.

Restart 42 laps to go as Nemechek and Hornish Jr. are side-by-side through turns 1 and 2.

41 laps to go Hornish Jr. leads with help from Mike Wallace.

40 laps to go Hornish Jr. leads Wallace, Kurt Busch and Kyle Busch as they’ve separated themselves from the pack

39 laps to go Hornish Jr. and Wallace get separated, allowing the Busch brothers to go by on the outside.

38 laps to go Stewart/Sadler go by the Busch brothers for the lead with Stenhouse/Hamlin in toe.

37 laps to go Stewart/Sadler lead the Busch brothers and then Stenhouse/Hamlin

30 laps to go Hamlin/Stenhouse to the lead coming across the finish line but its Earnhardt Jr./Austin Dillon taking the lead coming out of turn two.

29 laps to go Earnhardt Jr./Dillon and Stewart/Sadler are side-by-side for the lead

28 laps to go Stewart/Sadler surge ahead

27 laps to go Joey Gase blows the motor, bringing out the caution, which puts Trevor Bayne back on the lead lap…..Pit stops as mostly everyone gets a splash of gas. Hamlin leads Stewart and Earnhardt Jr. off pit road. Timmy Hill stayed out so he’s the leader

Restart 22 laps to go. Kenny Wallace takes the lead down the back straightaway with help from Robert Richardson Jr.

21 laps to go three-wide for the lead as Denny Hamlin now leads with help from Dale Earnhardt Jr.

20 laps to go Hamlin/Earnhardt Jr. have left the field as the rest of the pack battles side-by-side.

19 laps to go Sam Hornish Jr. brushes the wall, Brian Scott gets into the wall hard – no caution. Tony Stewart takes the lead with Elliott Sadler’s help as Denny Hamlin/Earnhardt Jr. run behind them. This marks lead change no. 36 to break the record for the most lead change.

17 laps to go big wreck including Robert Richardson Jr., Denny Hamlin, Justin Allgaier, Kenny Wallace, Casey Roderick, Reed Sorenson, Johanna Long, Ryan Truex, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Austin Dillon, Mike Wallace, TJ Bell……Kurt Busch tries to squeeze through a hole that wasn’t there, and everybody started back off – Trevor Bayne got sideways once he slowed up and went up towards the wall, collecting the others…..Red flag…..

Restart 9 laps to go as Kurt Busch goes to the lead with help from Kyle Busch.

8 laps to go Stenhouse/Hornish battle three-wide for the race lead with Stewart/Sadler and Busch brother combo.

Caution with 7 to go as three-wide does not work out as Sam Hornish Jr. goes around, collecting Michael Annett, David Ragan, Joe Nemechek, Dale Earnhardt Jr……Ragan got a push from behind, causing him to get into the back of Hornish and spinning him in front of Earnhardt Jr., collecting others.

Restart 2 to go as Kurt/Kyle get the run off the top, go to the bottom and lead the field.

White flag as Kurt/Kyle pull to the lead with Logano/Bayne in toe, trying to pass.

Coming out of turn 4, Kurt Busch got into Joey Logano, sending him up into Tony Stewart, collecting the rest of the leaders.

WRECKED: Stewart, Bayne, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Whitt, Logano,

James Buescher misses the wreck and is scored the winner after coming through turn four in 11th.