Win comes down to a push for Busch

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Kyle Busch used a generous bump from teammate Aric Almirola a few hundred yards from the finish to win the Mountain Dew 250 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway yesterday.

Busch and Almirola pulled wide behind leader Todd Bodine on the final lap, and Almirola nudged Busch's No. 51 Toyota to the front. They overtook Bodine just before the finish line in fading daylight at the 2.66-mile oval.

The win was Busch's sixth in the truck series this season and his fourth in his past four starts.

Bodine, looking for his fifth consecutive win in a restrictor-plate race, was third. Terry Cook was fourth, followed by David Starr.

Busch had endured some tough luck in the last few restrictor-plate stops, including a third-place finish at Talladega last year when Bodine bumped him out of the way on the final lap.

The NASCAR star didn't waste an opportunity to return the favor.

Busch and Almirola tucked in behind Bodine on the final lap then waited until they emerged from the fourth turn to make their move. The two jumped to the outside and Almirola drilled Busch's rear fender, propelling them past Bodine in the final yards.

"It stinks sometimes when you have to push your teammate to victory, but hopefully Aric wanted to do it," Busch said.

Bodine said he considered jumping out in front of Busch in an effort to block him but didn't want to take any unnecessary risks, not wanting to duplicate Carl Edwards' wild ride into the catch fence on the final lap of the spring Sprint Cup race at Talladega.