Phoenix, AZ (My Sportsbook) - Kurt Busch dominated early then held on as Michael Waltrip made a charge to capture Saturday night's Subway Fresh 500 race at the Phoenix International Raceway. The No.97 Roush Racing Ford crossed the finish line 2.315 seconds ahead of Waltrip.

The victory was Busch's first of the season and 12th of his Nextel Cup career. It was owner Jack Roush's fifth win on the one-mile desert oval.

"This was probably one of our best wins," said Busch in Victory Lane. "Its a tribute to what my team can do. You know, we've been struggling in qualifying at these impound races and this was a big adjustment for us."

Action began on the very first lap as Busch passed pole winner Jeff Gordon coming out of turn two. The Irwin Tools Ford showed early on that he would be competitive throughout the late afternoon and into the evening.

While Busch was leading, two cars were on the move from the back. Matt Kenseth (started 17th) and Waltrip (started 28th) quickly moved into the top-10. Kenseth would be knocked out of contention when he cut a tire later in the race.

By lap 50 Busch's lead was 2.658 seconds over Greg Biffle. At the 100-lap mark, Busch had led 99 laps failing to lead only during his pit stop. The No.97 continued to dominate as the drivers reached the mid-point of the 312- lap race.

But his teammate Biffle was no longer his primary challenger. The No.16 suffered from a leaking radiator when it collided with Mike Bliss just past the halfway point.

"(Bliss) was trying to get in his pit box and I was leaving my pit box," Biffle said. "I'm not sure if he didn't see it or he started turning real late or was going slow. Obviously, I didn't catch him until he was coming across my nose. His rear bumper bar went through my radiator."

The race changed leads many times, as drivers were on different pit strategies, but Busch was never far from the lead.

In fact, Busch stayed in the top-10 for all 312 laps. After his final pit stop, Busch re-emerged on the track in ninth place, just in front of Gordon. But while Gordon would fade over the final laps to 12th, Busch sliced through the field on the way to the lead.

On lap 261, Waltrip passed Vickers on the outside for the lead and on the same lap Busch took third from Kevin Harvick. Just two laps later Busch got by Vickers and set his sights on Waltrip.

It didn't take long to catch him. Busch took the top spot on lap 269 and built a lead of more than a second. But Waltrip wasn't done just yet. He slowly gained ground using his favorite high line and cut the lead to less than a car length with under 15 laps to go.

Busch kept to the bottom of the track and Waltrip tried to take him on the outside on three different occasions. Finally, Waltrip's tires gave out and he twice scrapped the outside wall. He had to surrender his dreams of a victory, but still finished in second place more than six seconds ahead of third place Jeff Burton.

"He was tough, I couldn't believe it," said Busch of Waltrip's charge.

"We had a great car and I tried to be smart for a long time, but then I ran out of brains with about five laps to go hitting the wall a couple of times," said Waltrip.

"I wanted to get these guys a win, they won the last time they were here and they deserved it."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Vickers completed the top-five. It was the second consecutive race that DEI teammates Waltrip and Earnhardt Jr. both finished in the top-10.

Jimmie Johnson maintained his lead in the championship with a 15th-place result, but was never a factor in the race. The No.48 Hendrick Motorsports driver owns a 173-point margin over 2004 Nextel Cup Series champion Busch (1,260-1,087). Biffle's engine problems dropped the No.16 driver to third overall 208 points back. Gordon (1,027) and Elliott Sadler (1,009) make up the top-five in the "Chase."

The next race is set for Sunday, May 1st at the Talladega Superspeedway.