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Monday April 14th, 2003

Veteran and rookie speed away with Gibson Custom, Sam Bass trophies

Veteran David Green passed Johnny Sauter on the backstretch of the final lap Saturday to win the Pepsi 300 and a Gibson trophy guitar at the Nashville Superspeedway.

Green won for the first time on the NASCAR Busch Series since June 1996 and has six overall series victories. With the Winston Cup Series in Virginia this week, the 1994 Busch champion also became the first Busch regular to win this season.

Gibson Custom teamed up with renowned motor sports artist Sam Bass to create the Official Gibson Guitar Trophy for the Nashville Superspeedways 2003 racing season at the Lebanon, TN, track.

Bass, NASCARs first officially licensed artist, previously collaborated with the Gibson Custom Shop to create the limited edition series of Les Pauls honoring the late Dale Earnhardt and later his son, Dale Earnhardt Jr..

It was a perfect day for racing with sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-70s, and 10 drivers swapped the lead 15 times in 225 laps. Green led only four times for a total of nine laps the entire race, and was running fourth with 17 laps left. He worked his Pontiac through the traffic as he passed Mike Bliss for third, then overtook Ashton Lewis Jr., passing him in Turn 4 of the next-to-last lap.

ARCA RE/MAX PFG Lester 150 race winner Kyle Busch with his Gibson guitar trophy

Friday night, seventeen-year-old Kyle Busch, capped off a picture-perfect week in Tennessee with a convincing victory in the PFG Lester 150 Friday night at Nashville Superspeedway in only his second career ARCA RE/MAX Series start. Like Green, Busch sped away with an Official Gibson Guitar Trophy Les Paul.

Here's an exclusive gone racin' photo gallery.

Recording artist Chely Wright, who performed the National Anthem, held an autograph session prior to the race

The Official Gibson Guitar Trophy Les Paul for the ARCA race winner

An ideal day for racing as the green flag falls

David Green's no. 37 Pontiac led four different times during the race

Driver Kevin Grubb pits the no. 43 car sponsored by Jodee Mesina and owned by Mike Curb of Curb Records

Kerry Earnhardt in the no. 12 Chevrolet (left foreground) sliding to avoid contact with the disabled no. 23 car of Scott Wimmer (upper left)

Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick with his two-time ARCA race winning driver Kyle Busch

Rookie driver Kyle seems pleased with his new prize

The scene in Victory Lane at the exciting conclusion of the NASCAR Busch Series Pepsi 300

David Green preparing to accept the winner's trophy

Victory!