March 9, 2009
By Ron Felix
It was a Busch in Victory Lane at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, but not the one the fans expected to see. This time it was big brother Kurt Busch pulling out a win in the Kobalt Tools 500. Kyle Busch won last week at Las Vegas.
"Good things come to those who wait, Busch said. "We’ve waited over a year and a half for this COT to find a good package and we've had that to start 2009. Unbelievable with the Miller Lite Dodge today. Great calls by (crew chief) Pat Tryson and our engineering staff. Penske power is back! This feels awesome."
CIA Stock Photo
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Kurt Busch Celebrates Victory
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Busch led five times for a total of 235 laps and fought off a challenge by Jeff Gordon on a green-white-checkered finish. The caution flag waved with three laps to go for debris from Robby Gordon’s car, setting up a dramatic ending. The leaders pitted, including Busch and second-place Brian Vickers, but Carl Edwards took just two tires to emerge from the pits in the lead.
When the race restarted, Busch and Gordon made quick work of Edwards’ old tires, blasting by him exiting Turn 2. Gordon had a run outside for the lead, but Busch blocked and swung high to shut the door.
“I had a run on the 2 (Busch), and he saw me coming, and we about got in the fence going in (Turn) 1,” Gordon said.
Gordon had to back off to save his car, opening the door for Edwards, who reclaimed second place as they took the white flag. That battle for second gave Busch enough of a cushion to seal his win, even as Gordon was closing during their charge to the checkered flag.
“It was a heck of a battle there for second,” Gordon said. “We had a lot of fun.”
The victory was the 19th of Busch's 296 race career and his second win at Atlanta. He won seven years ago in 2002 driving a Ford for Jack Roush. Busch, always one to do things different, did a backwards victory lap, driving the car in reverse and thrilling the crowd.
“It’s great to be back in Victory Lane and hoist that trophy,” said Busch, who won for the first time since June 2008. “Knowing that we went through some hard times last year … today it leaves me speechless because of how much hard work has gone in.”
Carl Edwards, who was giving it all he had, finished third and he never questioned taking just two tires.
“Our pit stall was between Jeff (Gordon) and the 88 (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) and our decision at the end was based on that,” said Edwards, who was concerned he would get pinned in his pit by the other drivers. “If we’d have taken four and gotten held up in there and come out seventh, that would be bad. We ended up third, which was probably best-case in our situation.”
Kevin Harvick came from a lap down to finish in the fourth spot, Brian Vickers was fifth and Clint Bowyer was sixth.
Rounding out the top ten were Kasey Kahne, Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. suffered with handling problems the entire race but still managed to pull out an 11th place finish.
"We handled really poorly. We fought all day long and didn't really make it better. We could get it ok and we tried to go in a lot of directions and could do it," Earnhardt said. "
Joey Logano was credited with a 30th-place finish and claimed top Raybestos Rookie honors for the third consecutive race. Unofficially Logano leads Scott Speed by two points (43-41) in the Raybestos Rookie standings.
On one of the restarts the 14 had a run or so halfway down the straightway, I’m 100 percent sure it’s not intentional, but just got in the back of us and turned me right into the wall going down the straightaway. And that knocked the fender into the tire and of course three or four laps later the right front goes and then you finish it off. It’s a shame. We had a decent run going from what I picked up. It’s a typical race, I think, for what we’ve been so far.
"Had a struggle in the beginning and then as I get the hang of it and know what I want in the car and then we get a better feel and then we start picking it up. That was good. I feel like I learned a lot coming to this racetrack for the first time and running decent like that. We got screwed up on the pit strategy one time and lost a lap there and probably lost a lap in the beginning of the race. Realistically we probably would have been one lap down if I was on my game in the beginning of the race and we didn’t have that caution come out on us I think we would have had a decent run. It’s just part of being a Raybestos Rookie.”
The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule – the fifth event of 36-races for the 2009 Sprint Cup Championship. The Kobalt Tools 500 will be on March 8th, at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. The race begins at approximately 1:30 p.m. eastern time with live, high-definition coverage provided by FOX beginning with its pre-race show at 12:30 p.m. eastern time.
The race will also be broadcast live on SIRIUS Satellite Radio Channel 128 and PRN radio.
For full final race results...
(Insider Racing News)
For top-40 Sprint Cup drivers points...
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