2006 is the 25th anniversary of the NASCAR Busch Series so the Busch Silver Anniversary 250 was held at Gateway International Speedway in Madison, IL. This is across the river from St. Louis which is the HQ for series sponsor Anheuser Busch. Denny Hamlin won the pole.
After a 1 hour 40 minute rain delay, Denny Hamlin-#20 Rockwell Automation Chevy dominated the race. But the win came down to late race pit strategy. Carl Edwards-#60 Henkel Ford was running second and pitted with 16 laps remaining and took two tires and fuel. Hamlin pitted 3 laps later but took fuel only. Edwards passed Hamlin for the win with 9 laps remaining. Clint Bowyer-#2 AC Delco Chevy also passed Hamlin for second and Hamlin finished third.
It was a big win for Carl Edwards. He's from Columbia, MO and this is his home track so it was a very popular win. Also, NASCAR used unleaded fuel in a race for the first time. There were no problems and there are plans for NASCAR to switch completely to unleaded fuel in 2007. Kevin Harvick finished fifth and remains firmly in cobtrol of the points lead. Next week the Nextel Cup will be at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Brickyard 400 and the Busch & Trucks will race at Indianapolis Raceway Park. It's considered one of NASCAR's biggest weekends.
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