“I just knew it,” Kenseth said in victory lane. “I felt real good about this group. This is just the beginning.”

Kasey Kahne finished second after leading a race high 113 laps of the 267-lap event. Brad Keselowski was third, Kyle Busch fourth and Carl Edwards rounded out the top-five.

“I had an unbelievable Farmer’s Insurance Chevrolet all day,” Kahne said. “I drove so hard every single lap.”

Keselowski started on the pole after rain cancelled qualifying on Friday and the starting grid was set by 2012 owner points. He lost that lead to Kahne on lap 11. Kahne and Keselowski continued to run first and second and they were joined in third by Kyle Busch on lap 25.

Busch lost his top-three spot during a cycle of green-flag stops, though, around lap 44 when he was caught speeding on pit road. Despite the penalty, he remained onthe lead lap. Meanwhile, Kahne and Keselowski cycled back to the first two positions in the running order.

As Kahne continued to lead, Keselowski lost second to Kahne’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson on a restart following a debris caution that came out on lap 66. Johnson then took the lead from Kahne on lap 76.

Kahne retook the lead from his teammate on lap 138 and within a matter of just a few laps drove out to a cushion of more than three seconds. That margin was erased, though, by a yellow flag on lap 160. That caution also resulted in a loss of the lead for Kahne, as Johnson got off pit road during the yellow flag to reassume the top spot. Kahne restarted second and Busch in third.

Busch got by both the HMS drivers to take the lead when the race went back to green, but with 84 laps to go, Kahne moved back to the front. Kahne and Busch got off pit road first and second when the next caution of the race came out on lap 195, but Denny Hamlin restarted in the lead by staying out on the race track.

Kahne and Busch quickly got by Hamlin, though, when the race went back to green. Busch then took the lead from Kahne, but with 57 laps to go, Kahne took it back.

Hamlin wound up getting caught a lap down when staying out during the caution required a green-flag stop with 47 laps to go. The yellow flag waved again just a few laps after he made his stop under green, allowing everyone else to pit under caution.

During the caution, Kenseth and Keselowski got off pit road first and second and Busch in third, while Kahne was slow getting out of his pit stall in an attempt to avoid hitting Tony Stewart. Kahne made his way back up to second on a restart following the fifth and final caution of the race that came out with 32 laps to go.

Kenseth and Kahne then pulled away from the field for a two-car battle for the win, leaving Keselowski and Busch to fight for third. Kenseth was able to hold off Kahne, while Keselowski and Busch swapped the third position a couple of times in the closing laps.

“I was real nervous all day,” Kenseth said. “He (Kahne) had the best car. . . . We were in the right place at the right time.”

Finishing sixth through 10th were Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick and Paul Menard.

– Photo courtesy of Getty Images for NASCAR

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“Dreams are made of cars like this,” Hornish said in victory lane.

The win also handed Hornish sole possession of the Nationwide Series points lead. He headed into the race in a tie with Justin Allgaier atop the standings. Allgaier finished the race 15th.

Kyle Busch was second, Brian Vickers finished third, Trevor Bayne fourth, and Elliott Sadler rounded out the top-five.

“We’re definitely getting better,” Sadler said of getting used to his new Joe Gibbs Racing team and crew chief Chris Carrier.

With the starting grid for the race set by 2012 owner’s points when rain modified the weekend’s schedule, Vickers started from the pole. He led most of the early laps of the race before losing the top spot to Brad Keselowski on lap 24.

“The guys did a good job,” Vickers said. “We started out too tight.”

Keselowski continued to lead until a competition caution on lap 35, giving up the first two positions to Trevor Bayne and Regan Smith who got off pit road first and second by taking only two tires.

Bayne pitted again during the next caution that came out just before lap 60 while others stayed out, causing him to get shuffled back to 15th for the restart. Right after the race returned to green, Hornish raced from third to the lead, and that was when his dominance up front began.

When the yellow flag waved again on lap 81, Bayne moved back to the front with the pit stratecy of taking fuel only. Kyle Larson used the same strategy to get off pit road in the second spot. But right after the following restart, the two drivers made significant contact while racing for the lead, allowing Vickers and Austin Dillon to move into the top-two spots and bringing out another caution.

A few laps after the race went back to green, Hornish moved back into the lead and began pulling away from the rest of the field. Everyone was bunched back up by another yellow flag for debris on lap 139, and Busch got off pit road first to assume the lead. Hornish restarted third after spending a little extra time on pit road, making sure he got as much fuel as possible.

Busch and Vickers then spend several laps battling for the lead unktil Hornish got by Vickers for the second spot with 49 laps to go. A couple of laps later he got by Busch for the lead.

Hornish stayed up front the rest of the way, holding Busch off on a couple of additional restarts to claim the win and keep Busch shut out of Nationwide Series victory lane at his home track.

“Had a really good race car,” Hornish said. “The guys at Penske Racing gave me a great race car. It was great on restarts.”

Finishing sixth through 10th were Dillon, Regan Smith, Alex Bowman, Brian Scott and Travis Pastrana.

– Photo courtesy of Getty Images for NASCAR

Follow Stock Car Spin on Twitter @SCSblog or like Stock Car Spin on Facebook. Amanda’s also on Twitter @NASCARexaminer and has a fan/like page on Facebook: NASCAR Examiner