OXFORD — Kyle Busch promised he’d do a burnout Sunday.

When he didn’t do one after Saturday’s PASS Super Late Model race, he vowed to make up for it after the TD Bank 250 — presuming he won. Busch delivered on that promise and completed the weekend sweep at Oxford Plains Speedway.

He did it by running similar races in both the 150-lap PASS race and Sunday’s 250. He not only carried over the momentum of Saturday’s win but also the lessons learned from that performance.

“That’s what we’re here for — to win the Oxford 250,” Busch said. “(Saturday) was a great preliminary race.”

Saturday’s race prepared Busch for the rigors of the 250. His PASS car put him in position to win and he executed a strategy that enabled him to take the lead late and cruise to the finish.

In Sunday’s race, Busch used a familiar strategy.  He bided his time and out-dueled local favorite Jeff Taylor. He fought off all challengers, including Nick Sweet and Austin Theriault late for the win.

“This is great,” said Busch. “It’s everything I thought it would be. It’s one I always had on my list. There were a lot of cheers and the booers, you get to go home crying.”

Busch knew he had a good car for the 150 laps Saturday. He won his heat race and took the pole position. He took the early lead but lost it to Patrick Laperle by lap 14. He stayed within reach the entire race and burst past Laperle on lap 113 to race away with the victory.

“That was the trick of the night, just getting track position and getting up front,” said Busch. “We had a really good car. It would hurt us a little bit if we came from further back, but we started up front and it was okay.”

Busch repeated that Sunday. He drew No. 61, earning the outside pole in the fifth heat. He burst ahead from the start, using the outside groove, and cruised to an easy win and beneficial starting position. He started fifth and saved a great deal on tire wear.

Busch was often battling from behind the pack in his previous appearances at the TD Bank 250 in 2005 and 2006. Running up front made for a different race in his PASS win. It allowed Busch to get a better feel for the track and learn what he could do and couldn’t do with the race on the line.

“We let Patrick set the pace,” said Busch. “I just relaxed and kind of fell in line there. With 60 to go, I tried to go a little bit but didn’t have much to go with. We got a couple cautions and that let us get back going and cooled our tires down a little bit.”

Busch ran in the top five early Sunday. He pitted at lap 113 and changed all four tires, setting himself up for the home stretch. He burst by Taylor on a restart on lap 187, much like he did with Laperle the night before. Then he held off all challengers. Nick Sweet had a crack at him just like Cassius Clark did late in Saturday’s race, but Busch got a great jump and maintained the lead.

“In the end, we tried to give it everything we had and tried to keep our momentum built up,” said Busch.

Busch had success running on the outside groove when he raced in the 250 in previous tries. He did the same thing Saturday and Sunday, running low and moving outside when he had to. It was a burst on the outside in both races that gave him the lead for good.

“The outside was good,” said Busch. “It seems like a momentum thing. You get out there and start to build and start running. You get to be smooth and steady. You can’t over push it too much because you slip and get up on the gray stuff. Once you get your momentum going, it was easy.”

Busch also got a good look at how the tires and car handled in the hot conditions. It was cooler Sunday, and Busch had a different car. Still, he had a good sense of the track.

“I don’t know that the track changed much (from afternoon to night),” he said. “It seemed to pick up speed. The speed that we picked up, you could take the car to that level. You could push a little bit. You lose a little but you’re still at the limit of the tires. You do still stay a lot more consistent over the run. The tires seem to hold a lot longer. “

The biggest challenge might have been getting the car up to the level that Saturday’s car was. Busch had the fastest wheels prior to the 150 race and proved to have more power than most everyone else. His car for Sunday had picked up speed from Saturday to Sunday.

“We just had to keep working on it,” said Busch. “We kept practicing and making sure we had good lap times. We set it up and kept working on it. You know what the feels needs to be for Super. You know what the feel needs to be for this car. So you kind of work on that.”

Busch led the race for a total of 61 laps in his try in 2005.  A stuck lug nut plagued him that year. A year later, he was running behind most of the race, hindered by some minor damage from an early collision. Midway through the race, he began to make his move and challenged for the lead only to have his engine blow.

“Sometimes you just take to a place and sometimes it takes a while to get used to it,” said Busch. “I feel like when I came up here the first time, I took to it pretty well. I feel pretty knowledgeable about it.”

What is different this time around is the car. He raced the Pro Stocks in his previous two appearances. Though he often runs the kind of Super Late Model he raced Saturday, his laps with Sunday’s car have been limited.

“I’ve run primarily Super,” said Busch. “I’ve run two or three of these cars and that’s about it.”

He used a a mixture of his full-time crew from his Super Late Model and truck races. He also had some local volunteers. The car he used Sunday was built by Dale Shaw and prepped by T.J. Brackett and Seth Holbrook.

“Both cars are kind of the same but they’re different,” said Busch. “Driveability-wise, you’re going to look for them to drive pretty close to the same. You’re not going to see them very from one to the other. It’s just all about trying to get the set up right.”

After the race, Busch was asked what might happen to his newly built winning car.

“I think the price just went up on it,” he said, suggesting he’d take offers. “Otherwise, I’ll take it home with me.”

Busch even left open the possibility of returning next year — if he’s invited.

“We’ll see what the wife says,” Busch said.

[email protected]