Busch Series: Penske protege wins

Newman led 119 of 125 laps in the race to get his first career Busch win in just his ninth start. He finished 1.23-seconds ahead of Busch Series points leader Kevin Harvick.

"It feels great to do this at Michigan, which is very close to home, and with so many Penske employees here," said Newman, a 23-year-old Indiana native. "Fortunately, we were the fastest car all day long."

Newman also finished fifth in June at this track in the Winston Cup Kmart 400.

Harvick led only five laps, but recorded his 10th top-four finish in the last dozen races and strengthened his lead in the standings. He is 236 points ahead of Jason Keller, who moved up a slot after an eighth-place finish. Harvick has 19 top-10s in 23 races.

Greg Biffle, who entered the race in second place in the standings, was involved in a four-car crash on the sixth lap and was the first car to retire. He placed 43rd and lost 141 points to slip to third.

Pole-sitter Jimmy Spencer was running fourth when the engine on his Chevrolet quit. He led just one lap and finished 28th. Like Harvick, Spencer will pull double duty this weekend as he qualified 18th for Sunday's Winston Cup Pepsi 400.

In his return to racing, Winston Cup regular Mike Skinner ran well en route to a sixth-place result. Skinner has been sidelined since suffering shoulder and ankle injuries in a crash on July 15 at Chicagoland Speedway.

Newman was greeted in victory lane by his Winston Cup team mate, Rusty Wallace.

"Rusty is not just a team mate, he's part owner of my car, and he's been so much of a help when it comes to me going to places like Richmond and Bristol, and even here at Michigan," Newman said. "He, along with Buddy Baker, has been tremendously a big help in helping me to understand what these race cars are really like."