Bristol, TN (My Sportsbook) - Kyle Busch did not dominate at Bristol Motor Speedway this time, but he saved his best for last to win Saturday's Sharpie 500 and record a season sweep at the half-mile, high banked track.
Busch, who won the spring race at Bristol in March, grabbed the lead with 68 laps remaining and then held off Mark Martin in several late-race restarts, including the final one for a four-lap shootout to the finish, to claim his fourth victory of the season and the 16th of his Sprint Cup Series career.
Martin, who had the dominant car for most of the race with 240 laps led, challenged Busch for the lead after the last restart, but the 50-year-old driver ended up finishing one car-length behind, which prevented him from becoming the oldest race winner at Bristol.
"What a class act Mark Martin is, and he deserved to win this race," said Busch, who had not been into Victory Lane for a Sprint Cup event since May at Richmond. "I'm sorry he came home in second."
Busch became the first driver to win both races at Bristol in the same season since his brother, Kurt, did it in 2003. He is also tied with Martin for the most victories in the series so far this year.
"I drove as hard as I could, and [Mark] had a chance, and he could of done it, but he raced me clean," Busch added. "We didn't have the best car tonight, but we had a car capable enough of winning it."
One year ago, Busch dominated Bristol by leading 415 of 500 laps, but Carl Edwards nudged Busch aside with 31 laps remaining to take the victory.
Busch also led 378 laps and held off his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin in an overtime finish to win here earlier this year.
With the victory, Busch moved up two positions in the standings to 13th, trailing 12th-place Matt Kenseth by just 34 points with two races to go before the start of the "Chase for the Sprint Cup" championship. Martin also advanced two positions to 10th in points.
"I got in under him, and he gave me plenty of room, and that was a good thing, because I got sideways," Martin said in regards to his battle with Busch in the final laps. "I slid right up, and it was a good thing that he didn't crowd me, or we would have both crashed."
Marcos Ambrose finished third, while Greg Biffle and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top-five.
Ryan Newman came in sixth, and Kurt Busch was seventh. Jimmie Johnson led 107 laps before a tire mishap on pit road cost him an opportunity for his first win at Bristol. Johnson fell back as far as 21st but rebounded for an eighth- place finish.
Dale Earnhardt finished ninth, while Matt Kenseth ended up 10th.
Tony Stewart had a frustrating night at Bristol, as he encountered issues with his radio in the early going, followed by a pit-road speeding penalty before his car later stalled on the track due to electrical problems. Stewart wound up finishing 11 laps down in 33rd.
Stewart's lead shrank to 220 points over Johnson, while Jeff Gordon fell to third in points after a 23rd-place run. Gordon had a tire rub during the mid- stages that put him one lap behind.