NASCAR Nationwide Series at Texas 2014 Results: Winner, Standings and Reaction

Kyle Busch held off a late charge from Joey Logano to win the NASCAR Nationwide Series' O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge on Saturday afternoon.

It was a race highlighted by several long green-flag runs that were usually brought to an end with a pretty sizable crash. In all, there were 13 lead changes that included five different leaders before the winner was finally crowned.

Let's check out the results and standings from Texas followed by a complete recap of the race.

O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge Results

Finish	Driver	Car No.
1	Kyle Busch	54
2	Joey Logano	22
3	Ryan Blaney	12
4	Chase Elliott	9
5	Matt Kenseth	20
6	Brian Scott	2
7	Austin Dillon	33
8	Kevin Harvick	5
9	Elliott Sadler	11
10	Dakoda Armstrong	43

For a complete list of results, visit the race's official site.

NASCAR Nationwide Series Standings

Rank	Driver	Car No.	Points
1	Chase Elliott	9	1146
2	Regan Smith	7	-48
3	Brian Scott	2	-63
4	Elliott Sadler	11	-68
5	Ty Dillon	3	-75
6	Trevor Bayne	6	-129
7	Chris Buescher	60	-203
8	Brendan Gaughan	62	-243
9	Ryan Reed	16	-299
10	Dylan Kwasniewski	31	-333

For a full look at the current standings, visit the series' official site.

Race Recap

Saturday's race marked the second one of the season at Texas Motor Speedway. The first came back in April and resulted in the first career win at this level for Chase Elliott. The result also helped jump-start what's been a terrific campaign for the 18-year-old rising star.

He entered the weekend as the series leader with a 42-point lead over JR Motorsports teammate Regan Smith heading into the season's final three races. Along with that prior success at the track, The Sports Network passed along his comments about having a couple of weeks to regroup after a busy stretch.

"There's been a lot of racing that's happened since the last time we were at Texas Motor Speedway," Elliott said. "Having two weeks off before this weekend's race was very important for my team, as we try and collectively get better coming out of the 18-consecutive week stretch."

With an eye on the title, he started 11th with Logano on the pole.

It was a short afternoon for Elliott Sadler. The series' fourth-place driver came down with an illness before the race. He gave it a go but, as noted by the Motor Racing Network, he left during the first caution and was replaced by Clint Bowyer:

Trevor Bayne also endured a frustrating day. After running very well in the early going and pushing his way to the top of the leaderboard, a crash wiped out his progress. The hard hit into the wall caused a huge fire and an extended caution to clean up the debris.

Alan Cavanna of NASCAR.com provided remarks from the driver of the No. 6 machine, who had high praise for the car:

"

"It makes you either want to cry or laugh," @Tbayne21 says. Calls it the best car he ever had

— Alan Cavanna (@CopaCavanna) November 1, 2014"

While Elliott was staying steadily in the Nos. 5-10 range, Smith was trying to push toward the top to close the gap before the final two races. He had a setback just after the halfway point, however, having to go in for an unscheduled pit spot.

JR Motorsports stated a possible loose wheel was the reason:

Around the same time there was an entertaining battle between Logano and Busch for first place. They traded the spot a couple of different times before Busch was finally able to grab a firm edge to pull away for the time being.

After a caution, the duel heated back up. Each driver would secure the lead, pull away for a little while and then get chased down. It all led to the final pit spot of the day, which came under a green flag.

By the time the dust settled and the leaders cycled through, it was Busch in the lead by just over a second. This time he didn't give it up.

The race avoided a late caution, and Busch picked up the victory. NASCAR on ESPN spotlighted the result:

"

Kyle Busch wins the Nationwide Series race at Texas! The 100th @NASCAR_NNS win for @JoeGibbsRacing.

— NASCAR on ESPN (@ESPNNASCAR) November 1, 2014"

Looking ahead, the Nationwide Series heads to Phoenix International Raceway next weekend for the penultimate race of the season. Things will then wrap up the following week at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Elliott simply needs to do exactly what he did Saturday at Texas—limit risk, staying within striking distance of the leaders but not pushing too hard. It would take a major mistake or some bad luck for him to fall out of the first position at this stage.