February 22, 2010 -- Danica Patrick finished 31st in NASCAR Nationwide race.
At the beginning, it was all about Danica.
But in the end, it was all about Kyle Busch claiming a dramatic victory in one
of the closest finishes in NASCAR Nationwide Series history.
Busch squeaked past Greg Biffle by .051 seconds, the 10th slimmest margin of
victory in the history of the race, on Saturday afternoon at Auto Club Speedway
in Fontana.
"Man, it was exciting there coming to the finish," said Busch, who posted his
second consecutive NNS win in Fontana and his third overall.
The pre-race hype focused on Danica Patrick, who was making her second start as
a NASCAR driver. As it turned out, Patrick struggled at the outset, but she
gradually improved and achieved her goal of finishing a NNS race for the first
time, placing in the 31st position.
Attendance for the Stater Bros. 300, which has been poor in recent years, jumped
noticeably this year, with Patrick being the main attraction. When the drivers
were introduced before the race, Patrick was greeted with a huge roar.
"Pretty awesome to come out here to California and see a better crowd like
that," Busch said.
Throughout much of the race, the star of the day appeared to be Joey Logano, who
led 130 of the 150 laps. But a caution on lap 146 and a brief bump by Biffle
caused Logano to finish fifth.
"We had an awesome car that should have won the race," Logano said.
Pictures from Indy 500
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Pictures from the parade for the IRL Indy Car Series 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500
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