Matt Kenseth took control in the closing laps Saturday night at California Speedway, driving off with his fourth NASCAR Busch Series victory in 12 tries on the 2-mile oval.

Casey Mears grabbed second place 12 laps from the end and gave a big effort to try to catch Kenseth, but the Roush Fenway Racing driver wouldn’t let Mears get close enough for a serious challenge, driving across the finish line about five lengths ahead.

“It was really a lot of fun,” said Kenseth, who earned his 22nd Busch victory in his 200th series start. “I owe a lot of this to my former teammates Mark Martin and Jeff Burton. I learned a lot about these tracks from them. And I’m real excited to get this team back where they belong.”

Kenseth, giving Jack Roush his first win since he sold half his team to Fenway Sports Group earlier this month, took the lead with a pass of Burton, now driving for Richard Childress Racing, on lap 129.

The 2003 NASCAR Cup champion and winner of last February’s Cup race here led the rest of the way. He wound up leading a race-high 48 of the 150 laps.

“I burnt my tires off pretty good just getting to the front,” said Mears, who moved from Chip Ganassi Racing to Hendrick Motorsports over the winter. “After that, I didn’t have much left. But I’m real happy with the effort by our whole team.”

Kenseth’s first three Busch wins in Robbie Reiser’s car, but this one gives Roush his sixth victory in the last seven Busch races at California, including three wins by Greg Biffle, one by Carl Edwards, one by Martin and Saturday’s night triumph by Kenseth.

“We just really like these big, fast racetracks and this one has been real good to us,” Roush said, grinning.

Kyle Busch finished third, followed by Edwards, Biffle and Daytona winner Kevin Harvick, who made up a lap after a blown tire in the early going. Burton slipped to seventh at the finish.

Sporting News

RESULTS:

Pos St # Driver Sponsor Car Pts Status Laps

1 2 17 Matt Kenseth Dish Network Ford 195 Running 150
2 5 24 Casey Mears National Guard Chevrolet 170 Running 150
3 7 5 Kyle Busch Hendrick Autoguard Chevrolet 170 Running 150
4 40 60 Carl Edwards World Financial Group Ford 160 Running 150
5 11 16 Greg Biffle 3m Ford 160 Running 150
6 6 33 Kevin Harvick Road Loans Chevrolet 155 Running 150
7 3 29 Jeff Burton Holiday Inn Chevrolet 151 Running 150
8 4 20 Denny Hamlin Rockwell Automation Chevrolet 142 Running 150
9 22 04 Regan Smith Ginn Racing Chevrolet 138 Running 150
10 1 10 Dave Blaney Abf Upack Moving Toyota 139 Running 150
11 23 18 Tony Stewart Z-Line Designs Chevrolet 130 Running 150
12 9 22 David Stremme Supercuts Dodge 127 Running 150
13 19 87 Joe Nemechek Ginn Clubs & Resorts Chevrolet 124 Running 150
14 15 99 David Reutimann Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota 121 Running 150
15 17 37 Jamie McMurray Yardman Ford 118 Running 150
16 10 9 Scott Riggs Wisk Dodgw 115 Running 150
17 28 21 Timothy Peters Autozone Chevrolet 112 Running 150
18 12 6 David Ragan Discount Tire Ford 109 Running 150
19 14 28 Jeff Green Tba 06 Chevrolet 106 Running 150
20 25 90 Stephen Leicht citifinancial Ford 103 Running 150
21 24 88 Shane Huffman Navy Chevrolet 100 Running 150
22 8 66 Steve Wallace Homelife Communities Dodge 97 Running 150
23 35 1 J.J. Yeley Miccosukee Resort Chevrolet 94 Running 150
24 34 7 Mike Wallace GEICO Chevrolet 96 Running 150
25 41 59 Marcos Ambrose Kingsford/Bush’s Baked Beans Ford 88 Running 150
26 27 25 Kenny Wallace Freecreditreport.com Ford 85 Running 150
27 31 36 Brent Sherman Big Lots Chevrolet 87 Running 150
28 13 34 Jay Sauter Amsoil Chevrolet 79 Running 150
29 32 35 Bobby Hamilton Jr. McDonald’s Ford 76 Running 150
30 33 77 Kertus Davis Dollar General Chevrolet 73 Running 150
31 18 47 Jon Wood Clorox/American Red Cross Ford 70 Running 149
32 37 23 Brad Keselowski Oklahoma Centennial Chevrolet 67 Running 149
33 36 14 Kyle Krisiloff Clabber Girl Baking Powder Ford 64 Running 147
34 21 27 Ward Burton Kleenex Ford 61 Running 137
35 16 12 Sam Hornish Jr. Mobil 1 Dodge 58 Accident 132
36 20 41 Reed Sorenson Wrigley Dodge 55 Running 126
37 26 15 Paul Menard Menard’s Chevrolet 52 Engine 122
38 30 38 Jason Leffler Great Clips Toyota 49 Accident 87
39 29 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Texaco/Havoline Dodge 46 Accident 87
40 39 0 Eric McClure Hefty Chevrolet 43 Running 64
41 38 01 Morgan Shepherd Unsponsored Chevrolet 40 Engine 18