NASCAR Levies Suspension for Texas Race Against Kyle Busch

Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

Known as a driver that embodies the must-win attitude found in all legendary racers, Kyle Busch at the age of 26 years has swiftly fell to 104 race victories in the top-three faucets of NASCAR. A focused, determined individual with the talent to justify his presence as an all-out race threat in NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck races, Busch would never accept anything less than victory on the track. A driven winner, this enthusiasm of Kyle Busch has caused him to appear aggressive and downright disrespectful to other competitors. Earning reputation for combativeness in racing, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick and even his brother Kurt met the consequences of crossing Kyle Busch's intense self-motivation.

For this weekend's NASCAR triple-header show at Texas Motor Speedway, Kyle Busch again prepared to race in all three major NASCAR divisions starting with the Camping World Trucks Winstar World Casino 350k event Friday night. Qualifying 4th in his Kyle Busch Motorsports #18 Toyota Tundra, the driver/owner was a certified favourite for race victory at the end of the night. On lap 13, Busch battled for 2nd place with the #33 KHI (Kevin Harvick Incorporated) Chevrolet of Ron Hornaday Jr side-by-side into turn one. Passing a lapped truck, Hornaday slightly bobbled his race truck rubbing into Kyle Busch's race vehicle on the outside. Both trucks ran wide up the race track through turn two with the #33 Chevrolet Silverado brushing the wall. NASCAR threw the caution on the Texas Motor Speedway track but the #18 Toyota was instantly racing for the #33 truck of Ron Hornaday Jr. Crushing into the rear of the KHI truck, Busch intentionally turned the #33 into the turn 4 wall hard damaging his own truck in the process. Stunning spectators as well as other race teams alike, NASCAR responded promptly to the deliberate and dangerous actions of Kyle Busch. Indifferent to the penalties occurring in the NHL for dangerous head shots, NASCAR deemed the Friday night retaliation of Kyle Busch against Ron Hornaday Jr an action worthy for benching one of the stock car racing series' most popular bad boys.

Photo Credit: Tom Pennington/ Getty Images for NASCAR

Having originally parked the #18 Toyota Tundra for the rest of the Camping World Truck Series event, Kyle Busch would return to the Texas Motor Speedway to learn he would be forbidden to compete in the remaining races at the 1.5-mile oval including most significantly the NASCAR Sprint Cup event on Sunday. Seventh place in Chase points for 2011, Kyle Busch will be a NASCAR Sprint Cup spectator for the first time since 2004 having to watch his #18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota round the Texas Motor Speedway in the hands of Michael McDowell.  

Ruling on Busch's reckless contact with the #33 Chevrolet, the driver's past skirmishes likely added some weight to NASCAR's rare decision to suspend a driver. In May, Kyle Busch was involved with spinning Kevin Harvick at Darlington. On the pit lane during post-race, Busch forced himself past the #29 Richard Childress Racing car almost colliding with a Richard Childress Racing crew member. A second incident initiated by Kyle Busch in 2011 took place a month later in the O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 Camping World Truck Series at Kansas Speedway. Dissatisfied with a pass by Joey Coulter in the #22 Chevrolet, Busch bumped the competitor's truck hard on the cool down lap. Ironically, the owner of the car Busch confronted was Richard Childress who physically encountered the driver afterwards in the garage area. In the Texas truck race, Busch's wrath was dealt to a truck owned by Kevin Harvick (a pilot of Richard Childress' Sprint Cup car).

A rare occurrence to see a driver parked for an event as a penalty, only two times prior has a driver been suspended from a Cup series event for an incident in another NASCAR event. In the first time following a 2002 Martinsville truck race, Kevin Harvick (under probation for a post-race incident at Bristol Motor Speedway) was unseated from his #29 Chevrolet for the Sunday Cup event. The other time NASCAR levied a race suspension involved Robby Gordon. Wrecking Marcos Ambrose in the late laps of the inaugural Montreal Nationwide event, that incident and Gordon's conduct immediately afterwards led NASCAR to park versatile driver from the July race at Pocono Raceway.

Both Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota Racing expressed understanding on NASCAR's decision making neutral statements after the penalty was leveled against Kyle Busch. While Kyle Busch remained elusive for much of the day following NASCAR's penalty, the driver at-fault issued an open letter Saturday evening on his website.

To all,

I’ve had a lot of time today to sit and reflect, and try to put my thoughts into words as best I can.

I want to sincerely apologize for my actions during Friday night’s Truck Series race at Texas.

I apologize to my fans, all my sponsors, everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing and Kyle Busch Motorsports.

After talking with my team, it’s great to have their support and encouragement to assure me that there are better days ahead. Even though this took place while driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports, I am sorry for how difficult this has been for everyone associated with Joe Gibbs Racing’s Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series teams.

I’d also like to apologize to Ron Hornaday Jr., and everyone associated with the No. 33 team in the Truck Series.

I understand why I was taken out of the car for the rest of the weekend. NASCAR officials had to act, and I accept their punishment and take full responsibility for my actions.

As a racecar driver, the hardest thing to do is to sit on the sidelines listening to cars on the track when you know you should be out there competing. For this, I have no one to blame but myself.

Through a lot of support from the people around me, I feel like I’ve made a lot of strides this year, but this was certainly a step backward. Moving forward, I will do everything I possibly can to represent everyone involved in a positive manner. However, I know my long-term actions will have more of a bearing than anything I say right now.

Sincerely,

Kyle Busch


NASCAR has not ruled out further actions on Kyle Busch but the chances of further race suspension is unlikely after Texas. While some will argue NASCAR is making an example out of Kyle Busch for his race actions, the driver would probably admit he made an example of himself to earn this hard ruling.

Kyle Busch's Expensive Bird: NASCAR Penalizes Driver for Obscenity

Photo Credit: Chris Trotman/Getty Images

Finishing 32nd place in the AAA Texas 500, it is evident the Kyle Busch and the #18 Joe Gibbs Racing did not experience a noteworthy third-last race of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. However, actions conducted by the #18 Toyota team's driver would not allow this poor finish to be forgotten. Tuesday following the event, Kyle Busch was assessed a monetary penalty of $25,000. Along with probation for the final two races, an incident deemed by NASCAR Rule Book as a violation of section 12-1 called actions detrimental to stock car racing comes as a result of an obscene gesture.

On the 159th lap of the 500 mile race, the #18 Toyota of Kyle Busch was spun on track. Without suffering any damage but requiring pit road service, Busch attempted to beat the pace car who was coming up to lap the M&Ms Toyota. Racing off pace car for what originally appeared to be a small victory for the Joe Gibbs Racing team, NASCAR determined the #18 car was speeding out of pit road. Unhappy, Kyle Busch and Co. was called back to the pit stall to receive a 1-lap penalty. It was in serving this penalty  In actions many saw as brazen show of disrespect, Kyle Busch flipped off a NASCAR official while serving a pit road penalty during Sunday's AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motors Speedway. Unimpressed, NASCAR handed the driver a 2-lap penalty within the race. Without the concept of double jeopardy, NASCAR proceeded to reprimand Busch two days later with this recent fine.

Known by the nickname of "Rowdy" after mirroring the firey, fictional character in Days of Thunder years ago racing a #51 truck at Charlotte, Kyle Busch's 'play-to-win' persona has brought art to life. Such a driven racer, the younger Busch has shown at times lacking patience with other competitors and on occasion being discourteous particularly to media. However as of late, the 27-year old Joe Gibbs Racing was showing a more mature side up until the Sunday afternoon incident.

On Kyle Busch's Facebook page, the #18 Joe Gibbs Racing driver issued a statement calling himself out for his actions.

“I accept NASCAR’s penalty and realize what I did during Sunday’s race at Texas was inappropriate.



“Even in my relatively short time here in NASCAR, it’s pretty obvious to everyone that I wear my emotions on my sleeve. Sometimes that passion has allowed me to find that little something extra I needed to win, and other times it’s made me cross the line. Sunday at Texas was one of those days.


“I lost my cool, plain and simple. It’s not acceptable, and I know that. I apologize to NASCAR, its fans, all the partners who support Joe Gibbs Racing, and all the people who work so hard to give me a racecar that’s capable of winning races every week. All of those people deserve better from me, and I owe it to them to keep my emotions in check.”


While the driver has sufficiently spoken on his conduct, the Joe Gibbs Racing website neglected to share any details of the actual incident. Kyle Busch's race team's post race report for Texas merely called the incident "Subsequent penalties imposed by NASCAR..".

As NASCAR has encouraged drivers to maintain their personalities, incidents such as the one present with Kyle Busch's public and profane display are not going unwatched by the stock car sanctioning body. In fact, it has been rumoured that multiple NASCAR drivers were secretly fined for their conduct on and off the track. Even comments made on social networking site like Facebook and Twitter are under NASCAR scrutiny.

All monetary intake from NASCAR fines are directed to the NASCAR Foundation charity.

Kyle Busch Wins NASCAR Nationwide Series Friday Night Showdown at Chicagoland

Photo Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR

By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

JOLIET, Ill. (July 9, 2010) — Kyle Busch beat Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Joey Logano in a green-white-checkered-flag finish to win Friday night’s Dollar General 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Chicagoland Speedway.

Busch got a break when series points leader Brad Keselowski ran out of fuel on the final caution lap before the last green-flag run, which began with a restart on Lap 202. Keselowski’s misfortune allowed Busch to move to the front of the outside line, beside his teammate.

Busch was able to pin Logano to the bottom of the track and clear his teammate for the win. The race ended under caution because of a wreck on the frontstretch after Busch took the while flag to begin the final lap.

The victory was Busch’s seventh of the season and 37th all time, breaking a tie for second with Kevin Harvick on the all-time list. Braun Racing’s Brian Scott, David Reutimann and Jason Leffler finished third through fifth, respectively, as Toyotas swept the top five positions.

Danica Patrick finished a career-best 24th in her fifth series start.

Busch, who led a race-high 110 laps, took the lead for the first time on Lap 10 and dominated the race—despite a pit-road speeding call that required a pass-through penalty under green—until NASCAR threw a caution for debris in Turn 2 on Lap 141.

Logano took the lead on the subsequent restart on Lap 148 and remained out front in clean air. “It’s over,” Busch moaned on Lap 172, trailing Logano by nearly a second. “There ain’t going to be another caution. The freakin’ race is over.”

As it turned out, Busch was wrong. NASCAR called a caution for debris on Lap 185, and Busch pitted for four tires and a track bar adjustment designed to loosen the handling of his Toyota. He got his chance to win the race when Trevor Bayne slammed the Turn 1 wall on Lap 196.

Kyle Busch Wins Richmond Cup Race; Denies Jeff Gordon Trophy in Final Laps

Photo Credit: Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR

As a NASCAR short track event, the Richmond event was a very tame affair with only two drivers, Sam Hornish Jr and Joe Nemechek, recorded as out because of accidents. 12 lead changes throughout the 400 lap distance also meant long periods of a single driver setting the pace. From pole position, Kyle Busch led the first 143 laps of the event until the #24 car of Jeff Gordon briefly snatched the top spot for a 4 laps. Busch quickly retook the 1st place position for an additional 28 laps. Overall, Kyle Busch's #18 M&Ms Toyota remained in front the lion's share of the Crown Royal Presents the Heath Calhoun 400 leading 226 laps.

On lap 199 Dale Earnhardt Jr's #88 Chevrolet was sideswiped the #98 Ford of Paul Menard causing the Hendrick Motorsports car to suffer a cut tire. Having a mediocre run in the early stages of the Crown Royal Presents the Heath Calhoun 400, the Hendrick Motorsports #88 car was dropped 2 laps off the lead as he was forced to pit under green flag condition. Based on the distance lost and the uneventful nature of the mid-stage of the Richmond race, Earnhardt never recovered and finished 32th place. With NASCAR conceding to changing the current spec Sprint Cup car by reverting back to the spoiler, it's surprising that the razor blade-like front splitter remains on the vehicle.

Hitting a lead stride during the second half of the event, Jeff Gordon rested in control of the Richmond short track uninterrupted from lap 273 for 123 circuits. Gordon led within a long 196 lap long under green flag run which was disturbed on lap 368 by the #19 of Elliott Sadler spinning on the frontstretch.

Within the last 50 laps distance of the 400 lap event, a rather sparse field of stock cars was condensed by three cautions periods. This closure allowed the field to finally mount a challenge on the Dupont #24 Chevrolet. On the first one of these late race restarts, Gordon launched perfectly as than 2nd place Jeff Burton in the #31 Chevrolet was unable to hold the runner-up spot to the challenge of Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch.

When caution came out 12 laps after the restart for Sam Hornish Jr and David Ragan spinning into turn 2, Kevin Harvick held second place over Kyle Busch with Jeff Gordon still leading. Going for his first victory since the Texas Motor Speedway race in 2009, Gordon again showed performed another powerful take-off to leave the #29 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet behind to duel with the hungry Kyle Busch. With 14 laps left in the race, Kyle Busch gained the upper hand on Kevin Harvick taking the second place spot just before caution fell for the 7th and final time in the races when Sam Hornish Jr's #77 Dodge slid hard into the backstretch wall. The caution ultimate setup a 5-lap shootout between the lead car of Jeff Gordon and the ultra-fast Kyle Busch.

Lane choice turned out the be a final deciding factor as Jeff Gordon elected to stay on the inside for the restart. The restart was a dead heat as both Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch read the green flag perfectly. Heading into turn 1, Kyle Busch on the outside was able to maximize his roll through the corner as an advantage over the #24 car. With four laps remaining, Busch regained the 1st place position for the final time as he took victory for the second year in a row in the spring race at Richmond International Raceway.



Photo Credit: Al Bello/Getty Images

Jeff Gordon finished second for his highest placement in a 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup race. Losing in the late laps of Las Vegas and Martinsville rounds prior to the Richmond International Raceway race, Gordon and the #24 Dupont Chevrolet looks at this race as being another missed opportunity to celebrate in victory lane this year.

In 3rd, Kevin Harvick mounted a strong enough run to unseat the #48 Chevrolet of Jimmie Johnson from the lead in the NASCAR Sprint Cup points standings. In contrast to several races this season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series where Kevin Harvick overcame deficits of unremarkable qualifying runs, Harvick in the #29 Chevrolet remained in the front since the start of the race. In retaking the points lead, Harvick now stands 10 points ahead of Johnson heading into Darlington next Saturday night.



Crown Royal Presents the Heath Calhoun 400
NASCAR Sprint Cup
Final Results

Pos # | Car # |Driver | Sponsor/Car Make

1) 18 Kyle Busch       M&M's Toyota
2) 24 Jeff Gordon      DuPont Chevrolet
3) 29 Kevin Harvick    Reese's Chevrolet
4) 31 Jeff Burton      Caterpillar Chevrolet
5) 99 Carl Edwards     Scotts EZ Seed Ford
6) 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet
7) 56 Martin Truex Jr. NAPA Auto Parts Toyota
8) 39 Ryan Newman      Army Medicine Chevrolet
9) 47 Marcos Ambrose   Bush's Best Baked Beans / Kingsford Toyota
10) 48 Jimmie Johnson    Lowe's / KOBALT Tools Chevrolet 
11) 11 Denny Hamlin     FedEx Ground Toyota
12) 33 Clint Bowyer     BB&T Chevrolet
13) 17 Matt Kenseth     Crown Royal Ford
14) 12 Brad Keselowski   Penske Dodge
15) 00 David Reutimann   Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota
16) 20 Joey Logano      The Home Depot Toyota
17) 43 A J Allmendinger Valvoline Ford
18) 2 Kurt Busch       Miller Lite Dodge
19) 1 Jamie McMurray   Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats Chevrolet
20) 83 Brian Vickers    Red Bull Toyota
21) 9 Kasey Kahne      Budweiser 25th Anniversary Ford 
22) 16 Greg Biffle      3M Ford 
23) 14 Tony Stewart     Office Depot / Old Spice Chevrolet
24) 6 David Ragan      UPS Ford
25) 5 Mark Martin         Hendrickcars.com / GoDaddy.com Chevrolet
26) 36 Casey Mears      H.D. Segar Inc. Insurance Chevrolet
27) 98 Paul Menard      Schrock / /Menards Ford 
28) 7 Robby Gordon     BAMVIP.com / James Otto / Whitney Duncan Toyota
29) 26 David Stremme     Air National Guard Ford
30) 78 Regan Smith      Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 
31) 37 David Gilliland         Taco Bell Ford
32) 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. National Guard / AMP Energy Chevrolet
33) 71 Bobby Labonte     TRG Motorsports Chevrolet
34) 34 Travis Kvapil     Long John Silver's Ford 
35) 82 Scott Speed      Red Bull Toyota 
36) 77 Sam Hornish Jr.   Mobil 1 Dodge
37) 38 Kevin Conway     Extenze Ford
38) 19 Elliott Sadler    Reynolds Ford
39) 46 Terry Cook       The Atlantic Company Dodge
40) 09 Mike Bliss       Phoenix Construction / Graceway Chevrolet
41) 32 Reed Sorenson    Braun Racing Toyota
42) 64 Tony Raines      Gunselman Motorsports Toyot
43) 87 Joe Nemechek     NEMCO Motorsports Toyota

Kurt Busch is Peachy After Winning Sprint Cup Race in Atlanta

Photo Credit: Chris Trotman/Getty Image

Referred to as Hot-lanta for the region's intense summer heat, NASCAR has always scheduled a race before spring on the 1.54 mile speedway has classically allowed Atlanta Motor Speedway to host an early race to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series tour. On the first week of March, some past events would see the grounds of Atlanta Motor Speedway blanketed with snow. However, for the running of the 2010 Kobalt Tools 500, a 60 degree Fahrenheit day brightened the NASCAR Sprint Cup cars paint schemes with constant late winter sunlight.


Photo Credit: Brian Lawdermilk/WHP -Pool/Getty Image for NASCAR

Taking a popular pole position after a Friday night qualifying session, Dale Earnhardt Jr led the 43-car NASCAR Sprint Cup series field to the green flag with the Amp Energy #88 Chevrolet. Earnhardt's prime starting position would not even net the Hendrick-owned Sprint Cup car a single recorded lap in the lead. Asserting some muscle on the outside front row, the #18 M&M Toyota piloted by Kyle Busch flew around Earnhardt for the race lead on lap 1 holding the top spot for 13 circuit. Kyle Busch's stint in the Atlanta lead would be broken by the fast #9 Ford of Kasey Kahne. Coming off a 9th place finish in Las Vegas after starting the 2010 year with two disastrous start, Kahne and the Richard Petty Motorsports team is eager to reverse their racing fortunes. Atlanta Motor Speedway would in fact result a memorable turning point for the 4-car Ford effort.


Photo Credit: Geoff Burke Getty Image for NASCAR

Busch recaptured the lead of the Kobalt Tools 500 just before a caution for debris forced the field to slow. With the field bunched on the restart, the jockeying for position figured heavily on the very brief green flag period which ended 2 laps later. Out of turn 1 of lap 43, an aggressive #12 Dodge driven by Brad Keselowski nosed into the rear of Carl Edwards driving a "retro-themed" #99 Ford (Edward's paint scheme and Scotts Lawn Care sponsor was a throwback to his maiden 2005 Cup victory. Five years being classified as retro is quite a stretch). As Edward's Ford swung up the track, he collide with the Toyota of Joey Logano damaging both machines as they grind the outer wall. While Logano and Edwards would require time-consuming repairs, Keselowski faired better even being a firm front-runner as the race endured.

After the lap 43 restart, a new contender for the day emerged in Atlanta as Penske Racing's lead driver Kurt Busch added some intensity to the Kobalt Tools 500. Starting 11th, Busch advanced his #2 Miller Lite Dodge skillfully, taking the race lead for the first time on lap 82 thanks to a well-executed pit stop as the majority of lead lap cars rushed for crew service. Between Kurt Busch and Kasey Kahne, the two drivers dominance kept the front of the race familiar leading 273 laps on the day. Coupled with the #17 Ford of Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin's #11 Toyota and Juan Pablo Montoya driving the #42 Chevrolet, the top-5 was secured between the same five cars following the first 300 miles.

Another car many hoped would be a top-5 contender through the day was, of course, the pole-sitting driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. Showing the ability to hold onto the top-10 in the Kobalt Tools 500's initial stage, the #88 fell to misfortune as Earnhardt began reporting a suspected loose rear wheel. Making it to the pits for unscheduled service, the #88 Chevrolet continued but was well down the race's running order. The problem compounded when a caution was thrown just a few laps later when Hendrick teammate Mark Martin spun when his #5 blew a tire. Interesting enough, almost every Hendrick-supported team (including the Stewart-Haas Racing cars) suffered some kind of tire problem. Mired around 31st position through the mid stages of the Atlanta race, Dale Earnhardt Jr and the #88 AMP Energy Chevrolet never returned to winning contention. However, he was able to use late race fitration to the competition as well as a wave-around opportunity to cycle back into the lead lap.

As closed on its final 2 laps, the effects of an earlier race incident weighed on Carl Edwards. At lap 323, the #12 car of Keselowski came into sight of the Roush-Fenway #99 Ford walking wounded with fresh memories of the lap 43 accident. As the two cars shot out of turn 4, Edwards might have viewed this as a window of opportunity open for paying back Brad Keselowski. Heading down the Atlanta Motor Speedway frontstretch, the #99 Ford purposefully swiped the left rear corner of the #12 Dodge as speeds reached over 170 miles per hour. As the #12 of Brad Keselowski was sent sideways towards the infield grass, air caught the underside lifting Keselowski's Dodge precariously airborne. Off the ground, the Dodge slammed into the outer retaining wall impacting the driver's side A-pillar section of the Dodge's roof. As the car rested upright, the fate of the driver was an immediate concern. Thankfully as the window nest dropped, it came as a relief (even to Carl Edwards) that Brad Keselowski was conscious as he hopped to the ambulance. Based on the evidence the Edwards intended to turn Keselowski, NASCAR ruled to park Carl Edwards for the remaining laps. There also exists the possibility that NASCAR may penalize Edwards farther as they are continuing to review the incident.

As the wreckage of the #12 Dodge had to be removed, the race was to be settled by a green-white-checker restart. With many of the leaders pitting, #33 Chevrolet of Clint Bowyer and #98 Ford of Paul Menard elected to stay out gambling on track position. Restarting the 339th lap (5 laps passed the race's scheduled distance), the Menard and Bowyer were quickly passed by Kurt Busch. As the #2 Penske Racing Dodge prepared to roll to victory, a 7-car wreck in the middle of turn 3 and 4 was sparked when Jamie McMurray's #1 Chevrolet took a low entry into the 3rd corner sliding out of control. Mark Martin, Denny Hamlin, and Martin Truex Jr were among the drivers collected in the late race crash.

Because of timing of the wreck, the race was thrown under caution just before Busch took the white flag. Disappointed but determined to win the Kobalt Tools 500, Kurt Busch's Dodge launched on the second attempt of a green-white-checker restart leading the final 2 laps to win at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Peforming his celebration at driving in reverse, Busch, the #2 Penske Racing pit crew, and the car owner Roger Penske were present in victory lane shortly after Kurt Busch finished.
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In second place of the Kobalt Tools 500, Matt Kenseth provided Roush-Fenway Racing team with the strongest run of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Behind Kenseth, Juan Pablo Montoya ran an outstanding Atlanta race where the Colombian driver was even eyed for victory. Kasey Kahne finished fourth while strategy helped Paul Menard claim an admirable top-5 position. Not only did Kahne and Menard register their best finishes for the new season, these cars share Richard Petty Motorsport affiliation. Just behind the pair the Richard Petty Motorsport Ford team became a trio as AJ Allmendinger brought the #43 car home in 6th place.

Other cars claiming notable runs include Kevin Harvick who emerged from 35th to 9th, Scott Speed in 10th outcoming a 32rd place qualifying effort, Marcos Ambrose in 11th and Regan Smith who brought his #78 Furniture Row Chevrolet in 14th place. Also worth mentioning is the effort of Dale Earnhardt Jr and #88 Hendrick Motorsport team. Through the race's latter stage, the AMP Energy car rose to 15th place recovering from two laps down.

Elevating himself up 9 spots in the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup points after 4 races, Kurt Busch sits 10th overall 142 points behind Kevin Harvick who continues leading the standings for the 3rd week in a row. Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Jimmie Johnson and Clint Bowyer currently follows Harvick, all within 86 points. The NASCAR Sprint Cup series has an off-weekend this coming week but will return on the 21st of March to run the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.


2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup
Kobalt Tools 500
Atlanta Motor Speedway

Pos # | Car # | Driver | Sponsor/Car Make

1) 2 Kurt Busch       Miller Lite Dodge
2) 17 Matt Kenseth     Valvoline Ford
3) 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet 
4) 9 Kasey Kahne       Budweiser Ford 
5) 98 Paul Menard      CertainTeed/Menards Ford
6) 43 A J Allmendinger Best Buy/Insignia Ford 
7) 83 Brian Vickers    Red Bull Toyota 
8) 16 Greg Biffle      U.S. Census Ford 
9) 29 Kevin Harvick     Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet 
10) 82 Scott Speed      Red Bull Toyota 
11) 47 Marcos Ambrose    Lance/Tom's Toyota 
12) 48 Jimmie Johnson         Lowe's/KOBALT Tools Chevrolet
13) 14 Tony Stewart     Office Depot Chevrolet 
14) 78 Regan Smith      Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 
15) 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet 
16) 21 Bill Elliott       Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford 
17) 39 Ryan Newman      Tornados Chevrolet 
18) 24 Jeff Gordon       DuPont/National Guard Chevrolet
19) 19 Elliott Sadler         Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford 
20) 31 Jeff Burton      Caterpillar Chevrolet 
21) 11 Denny Hamlin     FedEx Office Toyota 
22) 71 Bobby Labonte    TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet Chevrolet
23) 33 Clint Bowyer     BB&T Chevrolet 
24) 36 Mike Bliss        Wave Energy Drink Chevrolet 
25) 18 Kyle Busch       M&M's Toyota 
26) 38 David Gilliland  Charter Air Transport/Taco Bell Ford 
27)     56 Martin Truex Jr. NAPA Toyota 
28) 77 Sam Hornish Jr.   Mobil 1 Dodge 
29)     1 Jamie McMurray         Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Chevrolet 
30) 34 Travis Kvapil     Long John Silver's Ford 
31) 37 Kevin Conway      Extenze Ford 
32) 26 Boris Said       Sacred Power/Southern Pride Trucking Ford 
33) 5 Mark Martin      Hendrickcars.com/GoDaddy.com Chevrolet 
34) 13 Max Papis        GEICO Toyota 
35) 20 Joey Logano      Home Depot Toyota 
36) 12 Brad Keselowski         Mopar/FLO TV Dodge Dodge 
37) 6 David Ragan      UPS Ford 
38) 87 Joe Nemechek      FrontRowJoe.com Toyota 
39) 99 Carl Edwards     Scotts Ford
40) 00 David Reutimann         Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota 
41) 66 Dave Blaney      PRISM Motorsports Toyota 
42) 55 Michael McDowell PRISM Motorsports Toyota
43) 7 Robby Gordon     Warner Music Nashville/Blake Shelton Toyota

Kurt Busch Takes Pole for Las Vegas Shelby 427 Cup Race

Photo Credit: Autostock/Penske Racing

Into the third race of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup, fans of the top stock car series have been treated to some unpredictable happenings in the first two events. The Shelby American 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is the second non-restrictor plate race of the season and has the potential to help establish some firm ground under where the Sprint Cup teams stand for 2010.

On Friday qualifying, Kurt Busch piloted has Miller Lite Dodge won the time trials for the Shelby 427 pole. Perhaps gaining some inspiration from the dominance of Penske Racing's IndyCar teams testing performances at Birmingham's Barber Motorsports Park, Busch shot around the 1.5 mile oval at an average speed of 188.719 miles per hour striping the #24 of Jeff Gordon from the top position. Scoring pole in his hometown race, the elder Busch brother will likely enjoy a repeat result from last season when Kyle Busch's won from the pole.

With Dupont/Pepsi Max #24 Chevrolet nailing down a tough mark to beat for Busch, Gordon was little more than 1/100th of a second short of successfully holding off Busch's fast Dodge. In 3rd, Ryan Newman has ridden his Tornados-sponsored #39 Chevrolet attempting to fight the turbulence of an unfair 2010 campaign so far. Falling victim to a last race crash at the Daytona 500 and an engine failure at Auto Club Speedway, Newman currently sits 36th in driver points.

Dale Earnhardt Jr took the top spot early in the qualifying session for the second time of the year. As qualifying concluded, Earnhardt Jr's #88 Chevrolet settled into a 4th place starting position for Sunday's event. JR Nation fans wanting to see a turnaround for the #88 Hendrick Motorsport car in 2010 will be pleased to learn this weekend's qualifying effort through Earnhardt Jr's average start of 28.6 place in the past four visits to Las Vegas.

In 5th and 6th, the 2 of the 3 Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch and Joey Logano can present a definite challenge to the lead at Las Vegas. With Kyle Busch the reigning race winner in the #18 Toyota, Logano has been showing some real promise through the early stages of the 2010 Sprint Cup campaign seated 9th in points.

Rounding out the top 10 in Friday's qualifying is the highest-starting Ford of Greg Biffle, the #5 Chevrolet of Mark Martin, Tony Stewart and Juan Pablo Montoya. Despite the aggressive performance that the Earnhardt-Childress Engine program has in the first two races of 2010, Montoya's #42 Target Chevrolet placement of 10th was the fastest of the group at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Current Sprint Cup points leader and fellow Earnhardt-Childress Engine runner Kevin Harvick could only muster a 34th place starting spot for Sunday's Shelby American 400 race.

In the middle of the field, multiple race winners Jeff Burton and Jimmie Johnson will be starting the event with not only their experience but with statistics on their side. Through the past 12 Sprint Cup races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the winner came from a starting position outside of the top 15 on 6 occasions. Four of those times became from between 23rd to 25st place.

With two 500 mile races launching the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, the 400 miles around Las Vegas Motor Speedway might seem like a breather to the drivers and teams. However, these shorter races basically compresses the intensity level of the competitors as fewer laps mean a more flat-out race. These shorter events for the NASCAR Sprint Cup series also leaves less margin of error making even one pit road penalty a considerably more costly occurrence.


2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup
Shelby American 400
Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Pos # | Car # | Driver | Sponsor/Car make

1) 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge
2) 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont / Pepsi Max Chevrolet
3) 39 Ryan Newman Tornados Chevrolet
4) 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. National Guard / AMP Energy Chevrolet
5) 18 Kyle Busch M&M's Toyota
6) 20 Joey Logano Home Depot Toyota
7) 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford
8) 5 Mark Martin GoDaddy.com Chevrolet
9) 14 Tony Stewart Old Spice / Office Depot Chevrolet
10) 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet
11) 17 Matt Kenseth Crown Royal Ford
12) 99 Carl Edwards Aflac / Kelloggs Ford
13) 33 Clint Bowyer Cheerios / Hamburger Helper Chevrolet
14) 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Mobil 1 Dodge
15) 87 Joe Nemechek FrontRowJoe.com Toyota
16) 12 Brad Keselowski Penske Dodge
17) 00 David Reutimann TUMS Toyota
18) 6 David Ragan UPS Ford
19) 9 Kasey Kahne Budweiser Ford
20) 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's / KOBALT Tools Chevrolet
21) 13 Max Papis GEICO Toyota
22) 31 Jeff Burton Caterpillar Chevrolet
23) 82 Scott Speed Red Bull Toyota
24) 1 Jamie McMurray McDonald's Chevrolet
25) 34 Travis Kvapil Long John Silver's Ford
26) 98 Paul Menard Moen / Menards Ford
27) 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Ground Toyota
28) 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet
29) 71 Bobby Labonte TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet
30) 36 Mike Bliss Kim Kardashian Fragrance Chevrolet
31) 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota
32) 47 Marcos Ambrose Kingsford / Scott Branded Products Toyota
33) 55 Michael McDowell PRISM Motorsports Toyota
34) 29 Kevin Harvick Pennzoil Ultra Chevrolet
35) 56 Martin Truex Jr. NAPA Gold Filters Toyota
36) 66 Dave Blaney PRISM Motorsports Toyota
37) 19 Elliott Sadler Stanley Ford
38) 38 David Gilliland Taco Bell Ford
39) 37 Kevin Conway  Extenze Ford
40) 43 A J Allmendinger Valvoline Ford
41) 26 Boris Said Southern Pride Trucking Ford
42) 7 Robby Gordon Monster Energy Toyota
43) 09 Aric Almirola Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 

NASCAR Nationwide: Kyle Busch Wins Big in Ford 300; Taking Race and Championship

Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR

In mid-day qualifying, the #60 Ford belonging to 2008 Ford 300 winner Carl Edwards took the top spot ahead of Ryan Newman and Jeff Burton. In spite of earning pole Carl Edwards knew that his efforts to capture the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Championship were exhausted the moment him and Kyle Busch took the green flag for the Ford 300. Needing simply to start the race, the #18 Toyota of Busch climbed his very first championship in a major NASCAR division. Coming off a frustrating Friday night finish in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, the newly-acclaimed 2009 Nationwide Series champion focused on an improved performance in Saturday's race. While Edwards led the first laps, Busch's #18 Z-Line Toyota quickly charged forward from his 5th place starting position. On a restart from a lap 9 caution for Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch took the lead on lap 12 for the 1st of 7 times during the 300 mile race distance.

While Kyle Busch rode comfortably at the front, Sprint Cup teammate Denny Hamlin (driving the #11 CJM Toyota for this race) would use the finale of the NASCAR Nationwide 2009 schedule to back up a threat he made last week in Phoenix. Holding strong hatred for JR Motorsport's driver Brad Keselowski's aggressive bumping on a lap 157 restart that claimed Hamlin's car, Denny Hamlin exact wording in a post race interview said "There's a lot of guys that have a lot of chips that they're going to cash in, I'm just going to be the first to the pay window". Aptly enough for Hamlin, he found the #88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet on track by lap 36, cashing in his chips on an incident of contact out of the 4th corner. Spinning out Brad Keselowski, the #88 car avoided contact with the walls as he sled down the frontstretch. While Denny Hamlin considered himself entitled to payback NASCAR, having spoken with both drivers following the Phoenix Nationwide race, didn't share Hamlin's logic penalizing the #11 car one lap for the incident. Getting rewarded a rewarded the free pass after a later caution, Denny Hamlin did rebound to a 5th place finish. As for Brad Keselowski, his final race for JR Motorsports ended in 12th position after the early race drama.

On lap 47, Busch's car give up the lead to a suddenly revived Jeff Burton wheeling the #29 Holiday Inn Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. Burton held the lead until a lap 81 caution for debris. With the lead changing 20 times through the Ford 300, Joe Gibbs Racing allies Kyle Busch and Joey Logano trading the first position 4 times between lap 86 to lap 101.

As they battled, the Ford Fusion of Carl Edwards set himself in prime passing position taking lap 102 and holding up to the lead for 34 circuits. After 64 caution-free rotations around the Homestead-Miami Speedway, caution flew for the 6th time for the #6 car of Eric Darrell brushing the outer wall. Benefiting from a gain in track position, the deciding restart for lap 163 allowed Kyle Busch able to size up Edwards making the pass one lap later. Surviving a final challenge of a final restart after a lap 186 caution, Kyle Busch blazed to the finish line on lap 200 capturing the last race of the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide schedule and 9th for Busch this season.

Winning it all through the Ford 300, a jovial Kyle Busch finally finds cause to celebrate in what is this young driver's biggest victory in history able to wave both the checkered flag and championship flag after the 2009 campaign.


NASCAR Nationwide Series
Ford 300

1. Kyle Busch #18 Toyota
2. Carl Edwards #60 Ford
3. Jeff Burton #29 Chevrolet
4. Joey Logano #20 Toyota
5. Denny Hamlin #11 Toyota
6. David Ruttimann #32 Toyota
7. Ryan Newman#33 Chevrolet
8. Steve Wallace #66 Chevrolet
9. Scott Speed #99 Toyota
10. Matt Kenseth #16 Ford
    

Edwards wins Nationwide race in Pheonix, Busch all but claimed Championship

Photo Credit: Christian Peterson/Getty Image



With Carl Edwards sitting in 2nd place in NASCAR Nationwide series championship points behind Kyle Busch, the only thing he can do with his #60 Roush Racing Ford is earn maximum points through winning the last two races and lead as many laps possible. In the Able Body Labor 200, Edwards did exactly what was required on his part to hold challenge to Busch. Edwards O'Reilly/Valvoline Ford led much of the 200 lap distance with the only other leaders through the PIR event were polesitter Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski. Apart from sharing the lead of the Able Body Labor 200, Hamlin and Keselowski's later demonstrated they were unwilling to share room on the track.

Continuing a rivalry stretching from earlier in the season, aggressive stock car rubbing from a restart where Hamlin used his #20 Toyota to tap the #88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet of Keselowski was reciprocated on in lap 157 when Keselowski spun out Hamlin through turn 4. JR Motorsports driver Keselowski finished 5th at the race's completion, prevailing over Hamlin who came home 12th. After the race, Denny Hamlin expressed in an interview he was unwilling to provide a soundbite to the incident but ended up providing one. "There's a lot of guys that have a lot of chips that they're going to cash in, I'm just going to be the first to the pay window." Hamlin said setting up what could be a moment of possible redemption at Homestead-Miami Speedway. However, it would not be surprising if NASCAR shares a word with both drivers before the Saturday Nationwide series finale.

While much of the race's focus rested on Busch and the 2009 Nationwide crown, the Able Body Labor 200 produced many performances worthy of mention. Behind Carl Edwards, Phoenix truck race winner Kevin Harvick came home second and third place belonged to a masterful performance by 2010 free agent Reed Sorenson in the Dollar General Toyota. The top 10 finishing order in Phoenix involved 8 of those drivers are qualified for the Sprint Cup show tomorrow. Only Mike Bliss in 8th and Steven Wallace finishing 10th were the only exceptions.

Kyle Busch had hoped to heist the Nationwide championship trophy triumphant, some early race contact with the #29 Chevrolet of Clint Boywer. With a 9th place finish against Carl Edwards' win, the finish failed to allow Busch to secure the necessary points to clinch the title at Phoenix. Angered by the missed opportunity to lock the championship, a disgruntled Busch characteristically declined to comment following the race. However, by just starting the Nationwide race next week at Homestead-Miami Speedway Kyle Busch will become the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion regardless of Edwards' performance.

However, Pheonix International Raceway served up another memorable victory celebration by the charismatic Carl Edwards. unable to do his trademark back-flips due to a frisbee-playing injury which caused a broken right foot, Edwards trumbled sideways for the crowd in the desert.

Kyle Busch Repeats NASCAR Truck Win With Nationwide Victory

Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR


Kyle Busch did the two-step in Texas Motor Speedway victory lane for second time this weekend cruising to the checkered flag during the 200 lap O'Reilly Challenge for the NASCAR Nationwide series. Taking his #51 Toyota Tundra to victory in the WinStar World Casino 350 after dicing with Ron Hornaday and holding off a late race charge from Matt Crafton, Kyle Busch started in 6th place in his Joe Gibbs Racing #18 Nationwide series Toyota roughly 14 hours after concluding the truck series festivities. As Kyle Busch found the #18 Z-Line/WWE Raw Toyota to his liking, he quickly overhauled polesitter Matt Kenseth on lap 11 and would lead 179 of the race's 200 laps.

With Kyle Busch performing yet another driving clinic in his brilliantly-prepped Nationwide Toyota, the rest of the field fought amongst themselves. The 2nd place RCR #29 Chevrolet deserves honourable mention not only for being the best of the rest. With Jeff Burton feeling too hurt to drive the #29 Holiday Inn Chevrolet after a Friday Sprint Cup crash, the car was placed in the hands of RCR teammate Casey Mears. Mears delivered a stellar run for the team which could only help his own 2010 prospects as his Sprint Cup ride with RCR is effectively gone after this season.

Though leadership battles are seldom during the O'Reilly Challenge, enough action deeper in the field would contribute to 7 cautions including ones for Rookie of the year contender Justin Allgaier and Busch's younger teammate Joey Logano. Justin Allgaier rim-rode his #12 Verizon Dodge along the turn 2 wall losing control of the race car out of the corner. Sliding down the backstretch, Michael McDowell and Mike Wallace would be swept up by the spinning Allgaier. Driving amid a personal loss of his grandfather, Joey Logano ran well in the NASCAR Nationwide race until his #20 Toyota's left rear tire exploded down the Texas Motor Speedway backstretch on lap 152. Traveling at a speed of about 170 miles per hour, Joey Logano was hard pressed to save the from impact with the safer barrier in turn 3. While the #20 WWE Toyota took a rough body slam, Logano was thankfully unhurt.

As only two races remain, Carl Edwards is seeing his hopes for a second Nationwide Championship slip away. Though fighting to secure a 9th place finish at Texas, Busch's points lead over the 2nd place Edwards has grown to 272 markers. In fact, Carl Edwards' bigger will be to hold off the charge of Brad Keselowski who sits only 20 points back 3rd in the Nationwide points. Brad Keselowski has a good race running at the front for much of the day and even grabbed the lead briefly for lap leading bonus points (an advantage he gained over Carl Edwards on the overall points standings). Keselowski finished a steady 5th place at Texas Motor Speedway and will be looking forward to his first run in a Penske Dodge in tomorrow's Sprint Cup event.

In NASCAR Nationwide racing, the win at Texas Motor Speedway was the younger Busch brother's fourth straight win at Texas and his 8th victory on the 2009 schedule.