By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

(May 1, 2009)(Photo Credit: CIA Stock)

RICHMOND, Va. — In a five-lap run to the finish after the 10th caution of the race, Kyle Busch held off Carl Edwards by .584 seconds in Friday night’s Lipton Tea 250 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Richmond International Raceway.

The victory was Busch’s third of the year, his third at Richmond and his 24th in the series. Busch extended his lead over Edwards in the championship standings to 82 points.

Matt Kenseth finished third, followed by Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick. Joey Logano, Mark Martin, Michael McDowell, Jason Keller and Jason Leffler completed the top 10.

The seventh caution of the race, called on Lap 203 when Morgan Shepherd’s Chevrolet stopped on the track, bunched the field and put all the lead-lap cars back on the same pit sequence. Shortly after the restart on Lap 209, a broken track bar ruined a stellar run by Mike Bliss, who had opened a lead of more than five seconds during a long green-flag run early in the race. Bliss finished 33rd.

Edwards won the race off pit road on Lap 205 but had to fend off a persistent challenge from Busch before Ken Butler’s crash on Lap 220 caused the eighth caution of the night. Keselowski came to the pits for right-side tires on Lap 224.

After Busch grabbed the lead from Edwards on Lap 230 and began to pull away, contact between Keselowski and Leffler on Lap 233 ignited a four-car accident that also involved Jeff Burton and Brian Scott. The field restarted on Lap 243, with Busch leading Edwards, Kenseth, McDowell and Keselowski to the stripe.

The 10th caution of the race, for Kenny Wallace’s spin on Lap 243, set up the final run to the finish.