Parks Pit Report: Toyota/Save Mart 350

This weekend’s race was unique in that NASCAR was making drivers turn right, on purpose.  Road course events happen just twice a year, one at Sonoma in California, and the other in Watkins Glen in upstate New York.

Each track is unique for different reasons.  Watkins Glen may only have seven turns, but what makes it a challenge is the fact that it is incredibly fast.

Sonoma, on the other hand, is more about control, because the 11-turn course keeps drivers on the wheel, and controlling the pedals with each lap and each corner.

But imagine if the one driver who won the race was one that at a time this year had to wait to get behind the wheel.

Let’s go back to February 21, the Xfinity race at Daytona.  Just a few laps remaining, and Kyle Busch is trying to go for the lead and suddenly gets turned hard to the inside.  At three-digit speeds, he slams into the inside wall, and immediately on getting out of the car, he’s in pain…extreme pain.  He requests track workers to help him out, because he knew something was not right.

Turns out, it was worse than even he thought.  A broken right leg, plus a broken left foot, meant that his weekend was done, and his NASCAR season was in serious jeopardy.

His wife, Samantha, was pregnant with their first child, but her first concern went to her husband.  The entire team had to swap strategies, as they had Brendan Gaughn get behind the wheel for the Daytona 500, then David Ragan took the wheel from Atlanta up through Martinsville.  Erik Jones then took over at Kansas for one race.  All the while, Busch is at home, in a wheelchair with casts on his legs.  The only driving he was doing was turning his chair around his house, and into the hospital.

Sure, he got out of it, after healing, but he still wanted to get back at the wheel.  He did so at Charlotte, getting his feet wet to see if he was ready to come back in the All-Star Race.

With a medical waiver to make the Chase, the man nicknamed “Rowdy” was back.  But the real test would come when cars came to Sonoma, where one’s feet and legs are just as critical as the hands.  But, when the time came to show what he could do, Rowdy and his team made the right calls, and the right moves, to make it to the front.  When he crossed the line, seeing the checkered flag, it was the culmination of all the efforts to get back to what he does best.

With a victory, he is Chase eligible, however the work is far from done.  He got a medical waiver to make the Chase, but with one catch.

He must, even though he missed two and a half months of action, make the top-30 in points as is required for all other drivers.  Currently, he sits 37th.  On average, he must finish 13th or better in the remainder of the regular season to qualify, but one mistake could take him out of it.  He already had a bad finish at Dover, and his last-place effort at Michigan, he cannot afford another bad race.

Still, seeing him hoist the trophy in victory lane, the one thing he’s missed more than anything, is what made all the rehabilitation worth it.  On Sunday, everyone was able to get a little bit rowdy, but not more than Busch.  Welcome back, Rowdy.

RESULTS:  1-Kyle Busch  2-Kurt Busch  3-Bowyer  4-Harvick  5-Logano  6-Johnson  7-Earnhardt Jr.  8-Kahne  9-Newman  10-Hornish Jr.

NOTABLE FINISHES:  12-Stewart  16-Gordon  18-Hamlin  19-Keselowski  21-Kenseth  42-Truex Jr.

CAUTIONS:  5 for 21 laps.  Laps: 23-26 (#38 accident-T10); 30-33 (#78 accident-T8 [Red Flag: Lap 32, 10 mins, 30 secs.]); 75-78 (#23 accident-T10); 80-84 (#19, 55 accident-T8); 100-103 (Debris from #13-T11).

LEAD CHANGES:  9 among 5 drivers.  A. Allmendinger POLE; Kurt Busch 1-22; A. Allmendinger 23; C. Bowyer 24-27; Kyle Busch 28-39; Kurt Busch 40-52; J. Johnson 53-66; Kurt Busch 67-74; J. Johnson 75-105; Kyle Busch 106-110.

TIME OF RACE:  2 Hrs, 55 Mins, 39 Secs.

AVERAGE SPEED:  74.774 MPH

MARGIN OF VICTORY:  0.532 Seconds

CHASE GRID:  1. Johnson-546 (points), 4 wins; 2. Harvick-616, 2 wins; 3. Kurt Busch-469, 2 wins; 4. Truex Jr-563, 1 win; 5. Logano-559, 1 win; 6. Earnhardt Jr-545, 1 win; 7. Keselowski-505, 1 win; 8. Kenseth-479, 1 win; 9. Hamlin-438, 1 win; 10. Edwards-405, 1 win; 11. Kyle Busch-125, 1 win*; 12. McMurray, -119 (from 1st); 13. Kahne, -133; 14. Gordon, -154; 15. Menard, -164; 16. Newman, -181.

*Must make top-30 to be in Chase, currently sits 37th.