Nemechek wins caution-filled O'Reilly 300

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- Joe Nemechek won his second Busch Series race of the season Saturday, fittingly crossing the finish line under caution in an event marred by two red flags and eight other caution periods at Texas Motor Speedway.

O'REILLY 300  •  Results  •  Standings

Nemechek was in front on the restart on the 196th of 200 laps in the O'Reilly 300 after the second red flag, brought out by a chain-reaction accident that involved 15 cars and caused a 22-minute stoppage.

On the second lap after the restart, Hermie Sadler spun and hit the wall after being bumped from behind by Regan Smith. That brought out the final caution and Nemechek's Chevrolet beat Scott Riggs' Ford to the line.

"It was definitely a wild finish," said Nemechek, who had to start from the back in just his third Busch race of the season and led only the last eight laps. "You have to have luck on your side. We dodged the big one."

Only 11 cars finished on the lead lap as Nemechek won with an average speed of 117.891 mph. There were 48 laps run under 10 cautions, two more than the track record.

In the post-race inspection, NASCAR officials said they had an "issue in reference to the spacing of the coils" of the left-front spring in Nemechek's car. They said it would not affect the results and they would continue their investigation Sunday morning.

VIDEO CLIPS Joe Nemechek wins the O'Reilly 300 Play video Brian Vickers' good day takes a turn for the worst Play video Nemechek avoids a multi-car wreck in the final laps to win Play video Todd Bodine records a top-five finish Play video Scott Riggs scores his second top-five at TMS. Play video Several drivers find trouble Play video Hamilton Jr. is upset after a lapped car spins him from the lead Play video

Nemechek is the first repeat winner this season on the Busch Series, in which all six races this year have been won by Winston Cup regulars. He has 14 career Busch wins.

Shane Hmiel finished third, ahead of Busch points leader Todd Bodine, also in a Chevrolet.

Brian Vickers, a 19-year-old driver, led a race-high 87 laps.

Vickers regained the lead for the fourth time during the caution that brought out the first red flag. Bruce Betchel's hard crash cracked a temporary retaining wall on the backstretch on the 171st lap and stopped the race for eight minutes.

On that restart on lap 178, Vickers was black-flagged for passing Chad Blount before crossing the line, even though it appeared that Blount had lost momentum and Vickers dipped down to avoid an accident.

"I have a lot of respect for NASCAR officials, they usually make good calls," Vickers said. "But I have to disagree this time. This time, they made a really bad one."

While Vickers got to serve his stop-and-go penalty during a caution for debris on the back stretch, he was ninth when the race restarted on the 191th lap.

But then, stuck in a pack of cars instead of being up front, Vickers got caught in the big crash going into the first turn.

Mike Bliss was tapped from behind, then spun in front of the field. With cars spinning all over, there was nowhere to escape for Vickers and a dozen more cars.

Bodine, the leader at the time, got through the carnage, but not unscathed. He got tagged on the right rear and had a flat tire as he sat parked in front of the pack on the backstretch before the red flag was lifted.

Polesitter Jason Keller never led a lap, and finished 18th.

Betchel's hard crash that brought out the first red flag came after he scraped the inside wall coming out of Turn 2. He then slid across the track, slamming into the outside wall before ricocheting back to the inside with such force that it cracked the temporary restraint protecting the infield.