Darlington, SC -- (Sports Network) - Kyle Busch captured Saturday night's Dodge Challenger 500 Sprint Cup Series race at the Darlington Raceway. Busch fought his way back through the field from an earlier penalty en route to Victory Lane. The No.18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver crossed the finish line 3.115 seconds ahead of Carl Edwards.

The victory was Kyle Busch's third of the season and seventh of his "Cup" career.

Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and David Ragan completed the top-five.

After a lap 142 drive-through penalty for a lug nut problem, Busch fought his way back to the front of the field. And finally on lap 270 he flew past Gordon on the inside to retake the lead.

Busch brought the field down pit road for stops after a lap 279 caution for debris. But Gordon won the race off pit road because Busch had a long stop due to more lug nut problems. Earnhardt Jr., Edwards and Ragan completed the top- five.

Busch didn't stress over the reoccurring pit stop problems as he drove his way back into first on the restart. Gordon fell all the way back to fourth as Earnhardt settled into second.

Busch extended his margin to over one second. But that lead was erased with 66 laps to go when a caution flag flew for a Hamlin spin out. Busch brought the leaders down pit road for the final time during the caution.

Busch's crew picked the perfect time to have a flawless pit stop. He won the race off pit road. Edwards, Gordon, Ragan and Earnhardt Jr. followed the leader out of the pits.

The race went back to green with 60 laps remaining and Busch pulled away to over another one-second lead. Earnhardt Jr. and Dave Blaney took over fourth and fifth as Ragan dropped back. This was the only change the top-five.

The No.18 JGR Toyota driver built his lead to over three seconds with 30 laps to go. It was smooth sailing for Busch from that point on as he crossed the finish line comfortably ahead of Edwards.

After a record-setting qualifying run, Greg Biffle led the 43-car field around the newly-paved "Lady Black" to the green flag.

The track "too tough to tame" lived up to its name on lap three when Elliot Sadler tried to pass Tony Stewart but ended up crashing into him.

Earnhardt Jr. took first away from Biffle when the race went back to green flag conditions.

After a caution period for a Sam Hornish Jr. crash, Busch took the inside lane to pass Biffle and then Earnhardt Jr. for the lead. Biffle settled into second as Earnhardt Jr. fell back to fourth behind Kurt Busch.

Kyle Busch quickly built a margin of over three seconds. The gap diminished considerably by lap 33 due to lap traffic. On lap 40 Biffle took back the first position with an inside pass of Kyle Busch turn four. Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch and Earnhardt completed the top-five.

The first round of pit stops for the leaders started on lap 58 when Jeff Burton, running 10th, came down pit road. When the green flag stops finally cycled through the top-five read: Kyle Busch, Biffle, Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick and Burton.

Biffle made a push to retake the lead but Kyle Busch held him off to maintain the lead. Meanwhile, Gordon made his way into the top-five as Burton fell back.

On lap 110 the leaders made their way up to lap traffic. Biffle took advantage of the traffic to get past Kyle Busch what had been a constant battle between the two drivers.

After another cycle of green flag pit stops, Biffle held onto the lead. Kyle Busch, Earnhardt Jr., Martin Truex Jr. and Travis Kvapil rounded out the top- five. Kyle Busch was quick to take the top-spot away from Biffle. He pulled away to a one-second lead, but started to complain about his brakes.

The rapid pace to the race finally slowed down on lap 141 when a caution flag flew for debris. The drivers had driven 126 laps under the green flag before the caution came out. They came down pit road for service under the caution period.

Earnhardt Jr. won the battle off pit road as Biffle, Gordon, Truex, Kvapil followed behind. It was here that Kyle Busch had to serve a drive-through after the stop because of a missing lug nut. He found himself in 23rd after the penalty.

The race went back to green for a few laps before Harvick hit the wall hard on lap 149 to bring out another caution. Harvick was running in the top-10 for the most part until the crash.

The No.88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet driver led until lap 160 when a quicker Biffle passed him. Earnhardt Jr. dropped to third when Truex got by him.

It became clear that Biffle's car was the class of the field as he built a three-second gap over Truex Jr. Gordon, running third, trailed the leader by over seven seconds. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch made his way back into the top-10.

On lap 194 Biffle gave up the top-spot to come down pit road due to what he thought was a transmission problem. Truex Jr. inherited the lead. A few laps later another cycle of green flag stops began.

After Biffle thought he might be out of the race with a blown transmission, he found himself back in the lead after the stops. Truex Jr., Hamlin, Gordon and Earnhardt Jr. followed behind.

The No.16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford driver continued to dominate the race. This time he pulled away to a five-second margin.

Biffle's night took a turn for the worst on lap 234. Engine problems forced him to bring the car into the garage for a disappointing end to his night. Biffle finished 43rd.

Strategy started to come into play after a Brian Vickers crash on lap 252. All of the leaders took pit stops except for Gordon, Earnhardt Jr., Johnson, Blaney, Kyle Busch, Edwards and Kvapil. They held the top-seven positions after the stops with Kurt Busch, the winner off pit road, eighth.

During the restart Gordon held onto the top-spot as Kyle Busch made his way to second. Earnhardt Jr. settled into third followed by Johnson and Blaney. That's when Kyle Busch took over and the rest was a forgone conclusion.

With the win, Kyle Busch extends his points lead to 79 markers over Jeff Burton, who finished 10th. The next race the series is set for Saturday, May 17th at the Lowe's Motor Speedway.