Johnny Sauter was denied his third career Busch win despite a dominant day at IRP. Credit: AP

Busch prevents a Sauter win in Kroger 200

CLERMONT, Ind. -- CLERMONT, Ind. (AP) -- Kyle Busch passed up a final pit stop for tires, then held off a charging Johnny Sauter in the closing laps to win the NASCAR Kroger 200 Busch Series race Saturday night at Indianapolis Raceway Park.

Kroger 200 Results Standings

Sauter, also finished second in the Craftsman Truck race Friday night, started from the pole, but lost the lead when he pitted after 131 of the 200 laps on the 0.686-mile oval.

He dropped back to 14th but steadily worked his way back toward the front. Then when Greg Biffle and David Green took their final pit stops, Busch stayed on the track and inherited the lead he kept for the final 44 laps.

Kroger 200 Videos Early Cautions Hermie Sadler is caught up in an early caution Kroger 200 Winner Kyle Busch celebrates in victory lane Busch takes Indy Kyle Busch holds off Sauter on the final laps Another Second Sauter is still smiling after finishing second

Sauter moved up during a series of cautions and passed Jason Leffler for second place with 22 laps remaining. He was still three seconds behind Busch at that point and cut the margin to under a second in the final 10 laps.

Busch, winning his fourth race of the season to remain in second place in the series points, beat Sauter to the finish by 0.896 seconds. Leffler was third, and points leader Martin Truex Jr. wound up fourth after an early penalty dropped him to the rear of the field.

Truex started next to Sauter on the front row and appeared to take the lead on the first lap. He was immediately black-flagged and brought into the pits for a stop-and-go penalty for crossing the line ahead of Sauter.

With Truex's penalty, Sauter was given credit for leading the first 53 laps until the leaders pitted during the second yellow caution. Bobby Hamilton Jr. beat Sauter out of the pits, although the lead went to Ashton Lewis Jr., who did not pit.

When the green came out on the 57th lap, Hamilton quickly passed Lewis, then Sauter passed Hamilton seven laps later to go back into the lead. Sauter led the next 68 laps and finished with 121 laps at the head of the field.