Kyle Busch wins truck race at AMS

Kyle Busch served notice Saturday that his 21-win 2008 season was no fluke.

He overcame a transmission missing half its gears to defeat Kevin Harvick in a late-race shootout and win the American Commercial Line 200 Camping World Truck Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

It was his fourth overall win this season — two in trucks, one in the Nationwide Series and another in Sprint Cup. It also was his fourth win in five career truck starts at AMS.

Like many of his 11 career wins in the truck series, Saturday’s came in dramatic fashion. He lost third gear with about 50 laps remaining, and when it came to the race’s final restart, he had also lost high gear, meaning he had to start in fourth gear then tap the clutch occasionally to keep his truck accelerating.

He dropped back to ninth with eight laps remaining, but took the lead with five to go then held off Harvick over the final two laps to get the victory.

“All we did was bide our time and do what we needed to,” Busch said.

His latest success came on a weekend when his truck team owner, Billy Ballew, was charged with driving under the influence, but Busch said that had no effect on the team. “It’s a personal issue with Billy,” he said.

Harvick, driving his own No. 2 Chevrolet, blamed his pit crew, saying the team’s performance was “atrocious.”

“The thing was fast, but it doesn’t matter if you can’t do a pit stop,” he said.

Todd Bodine finished third, giving him a first, a second and a third in the first three races of the season. Still he said he won’t enter the next race, at Martinsville Speedway unless his team can find a sponsor.

Edwards sets pace in practice

Three-time AMS winner Carl Edwards set the pace in Saturday’s final practice session for Sprint Cup drivers, running his fastest lap at 179.522 mph.

Edwards said he found the track surface slippery, but he expects today’s Kobalt Tools 500 to be a good race.

He said the tire compound, which has proved to be problematic in the past, shouldn’t be that big of an issue today.

“They’re pretty tricky, but I’d say it’s about the same as a year ago,” Edwards told reporters. “They’re not much different. … I was slipping and sliding quite a bit, but at least it’s controllable.

“It’s not like you slip a little bit and you wreck it. You can drive this thing around all sorts of sideways right now and still keep control.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was 14th-best in Saturday’s practice, said most complaints about handling at AMS can be blamed on the Car of Tomorrow, now the exclusive vehicle of the Cup series. He called it a poor excuse for a race car.

“It is hard to drive,” he said. “It makes everybody’s job harder, even Goodyear’s,” he said.

Truex in hospital, might still race

Martin Truex Jr., driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, was being treated at a local hospital late Saturday for possible kidney stones. Team spokesman Blair Minton said he expects Truex, who complained of discomfort and pain during Saturday’s final Sprint Cup practice, to be able to start his car in Sunday’s race.

Reutimann feels ‘more at ease’

David Reutimann’s fortunes have dramatically improved in the first three races of the season. He finished 22nd in points last year but enters today’s race in fifth. And he’s got Atlanta-based Aaron’s on board as a full-time sponsor, something he didn’t have at the start of the season.

Still, he’s not completely at ease.

“I’m pretty good at finding stuff to worry about as a rule,” he said.

But lately that hasn’t been a problem.

“I think I’m a little more at ease,” he said. “I definitely feel better at the race track. … I feel pretty good about what I’m seeing and the product we’re producing, and I’m having a lot of fun right now.”

He starts 18th today.