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NASCAR: Kyle Busch wins with wild finish at Martinsville

By Alex Herbst

MARTINSVILLE, VA - OCTOBER 29: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M's Halloween Toyota, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway on October 29, 2017 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
MARTINSVILLE, VA - OCTOBER 29: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M's Halloween Toyota, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway on October 29, 2017 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /
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After a grueling 500 laps at Martinsville Speedway, Kyle Busch came out on top in a wild NASCAR Cup Series race on the smallest track in the sport.

Martinsville Speedway is affectionately known as “the paper clip”, but it is also known for its aggressive racing style. Beating and banging fenders might as well have been invented at Martinsville, and it was on full display on Sunday. The First Data 500 goes to Kyle Busch at the #18 team, after a wild final two restarts that left many steaming.

Busch inherited the lead and the win on the final restart in overtime by passing teammate Denny Hamlin. That #11 Toyota became the target of race fans and drivers alike, after appearing to intentionally wreck Chase Elliott out of the lead with a handful of laps to go. Elliott, who was in line for his first-ever NASCAR Cup Series win, got shunted in turn 3 as Hamlin sought to lock himself into the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The race was dominated mostly by the Team Penske Fords of Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano, with Keselowski winning both of the first two stages. Keselowski was in contention for victory, only to get moved out of the way by Chase Elliott. The #2 Ford would recover to finish fourth.

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Coming home behind Busch on Sunday in the First Data 500 was Martin Truex Jr. in second, with Clint Bowyer, Brad Keselowski, and Kevin Harvick rounding out the top five. Denny Hamlin would be involved in another wreck out of turn 4 on the final lap, collecting about a dozen drivers as they crossed under the checkered flag.

Kyle Busch is now locked in to advance to the final round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. He will race at Homestead-Miami Speedway for a second championship for his #18 team.

Here are the full race results from the First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway (playoff drivers in italics):

  1. Kyle Busch, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing
  2. Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, Furniture Row Racing
  3. Clint Bowyer, Ford, Stewart-Haas Racing
  4. Brad Keselowski, Ford, Team Penske
  5. Kevin Harvick, Ford, Stewart-Haas Racing
  6. Trevor Bayne, Ford, Roush-Fenway Racing
  7. Denny Hamlin, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing
  8. Ryan Blaney, Ford, Wood Brothers Racing
  9. Matt Kenseth, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing
  10. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, Roush-Fenway Racing
  11. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports
  12. Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports
  13. Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing
  14. Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing
  15. Daniel Suarez, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing
  16. Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports
  17. Danica Patrick, Ford, Stewart-Haas Racing
  18. Aric Almirola, Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports
  19. Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, Leavine Family Racing
  20. Paul Menard, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing
  21. Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, JTG-Daugherty Racing
  22. Kurt Busch, Ford, Stewart-Haas Racing
  23. Landon Cassill, Ford, Front Row Motorsports
  24. Joey Logano, Ford, Team Penske
  25. Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, TriStar Motorsports
  26. Erik Jones, Toyota, Furniture Row Racing
  27. Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports
  28. David Ragan, Ford, Front Row Motorsports
  29. Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing
  30. Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, Germain Racing
  31. Gray Gaulding, Toyota, BK Racing
  32. Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, Premium Motorsports
  33. Corey LaJoie, Toyota, BK Racing
  34. Hermie Sadler, Chevrolet, Tommy Baldwin Racing
  35. Kyle Weatherman, Chevrolet, Rick Ware Racing
  36. Carl Long, Chevrolet, MBM Racing
  37. Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing
  38. Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet, TMG-Circle Sport Racing
  39. Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, Go Fas Racing
  40. A.J. Allmendinger, Chevrolet, JTG-Daugherty Racing

Next: Larson's Playoff Elimination Shows Anything Is Possible

The next race for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is the second of three races in the Round of 8. Stock car racing returns deep in the Lone Star State, with the AAA Texas 500 from Texas Motor Speedway. Coverage can be seen on Sunday, November 5 at 2:00 pm eastern live on NBCSN.

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