Whenever the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series makes a trip down south to Texas, it is often expected to be a shootout. Coming out of the chaos that was at Talladega, expectations were running high. All eyes were on the Chase as Jimmie Johnson held a 184-point lead on his competition. With a bit of overcast skies, but not one rain cloud in sight, it was time to \”cowboy up\” as it was time to go racing at the Texas Motor Speedway for the Dickies 500.
Pole-sitter Jeff Gordon brought the field to green and went hard into the first turn with Kasey Kahne on his outside. Two laps later, the race, and the championship, took a dramatic turn. Coming out of turn two, David Reutimann made contact with Sam Hornish, who then slid up into Johnson. Try as he might, Johnson clipped the outside wall, then flew back across the track into Hornish.
Both ends of the car were torn up and it meant a long stay in the garage just to get the car repaired enough to make minimum speed.
Following the clean up, Gordon brought the field back to green and managed to get a jump on Kahne and Kurt Busch. Soon, the older Busch brother ran down the DuPont Chevrolet, taking the lead for the first time on lap 12. At that point, Busch began to pull away as Gordon began losing the handle on his car.
That would be alleviated as green flag pit stops would begin on lap 52, with many of the leaders coming in a few laps later. Kurt got a superb pit stop, while Gordon had trouble on the left rear and came out 11th.
The driver who made the most gain was Kurt’s brother, Kyle Busch, who took the lead as the cycle of pit stops concluded. This race would be extremely important for Kyle as he was going for a complete weekend sweep. He won the Camping World Truck race on Friday, then followed it up with a dominating win in the Nationwide Series. No driver has ever done the trifecta.
It certainly looked like he could do it as he built up a 2.5-second advantage on his brother shortly after pit stops.
The race’s second caution flag came out on lap 86 as Hornish got loose in turn 2, hitting the outside wall and flattening all four tires. The pit stops on the caution did not shake up the field much as the brothers came out in first and second yet again, with Kyle taking the front spot.
He would hold the lead until lap 145 as pit stops were the deal once again, giving the lead to Denny Hamlin. But, one lap later, the pit stops cycled through and once again Kyle found his way out front.
On lap 165, the caution flew for debris in the first turn. Despite having 20 laps on the tires, the teams were not taking any chances and came in for service. Once again, Kyle continued to hold the top spot as he made it out ahead of the field.
The fieldwent back to green on lap 172, but just as quickly got slowed. Coming into turn 2, Juan Montoya’s car snapped loose, getting into Carl Edwards and sending both hard into the wall. Gordon also spun out avoiding the two cars, but suffered only a broken splitter brace.
Seeing as cars had just pitted, no one decided to come back in. So, the field went back to green with Kyle out front, but he had a rough restart as he spun the tires, giving his brother the position. He would hold the lead until the caution came out on lap 206 as Reed Sorenson had a tire blow out, causing him to hit the wall in turn 2 then the inside wall on the back straightaway.
This would prove to be the race’s final caution and the front cars took advantage by coming in for service. Yet again it was Kyle Busch taking the top spot as he got off pit road in a hurry.
The final restart of the afternoon came on lap 212, and Kyle managed to get a better start, pulling away from his brother right away. The younger Busch was still chasing history as he pulled out on the field, but knew he would still need to come in for service.
That time would come on lap 269 as he peeled off turn 4 and made his stop, giving the lead back to Kurt. He would then bring his No. 2 Dodge in for service on lap 271, and brought the lead back to Kyle.
After the pit stops, things became a bit hairy for Kyle as he began reporting a vibration, thinking the crew did not get the wheels night. After reviewing the tape, crew chief Dave Rogers assured his driver that that wheels were tight and to stay on top of it. At the same time, all the leaders knew that their fuel mileage would become critical. Just like last year, teams began punching the numbers to see how close they would come.
The average of the leaders would turn out to be around 3-6 laps short, with the highest being 10. With this in mind, Kyle began to increase his lead to a comfortable margin so he could possibly conserve. That situation soon became obvious as he let off in the corners and let some cars go by that were laps down.
Meanwhile, many cars behind him that knew they would be short came in for fuel, some getting just right side tires. With 14 laps remaining, the Busch brothers decided to gamble as neither would elect to come to pit road. Kurt’s team thought they would be two laps short, and told their driver to not worry about his brother, thinking he would run out. Kyle’s team thought they would be three laps short, and told him to slow his lap times down even more.
Unfortunately for Kyle, all their efforts would prove to be not enough. With just three laps remaining, Kyle keyed the radio saying he was out of fuel. Problem was he reported it in turn 2, and had to go an entire half lap around the track to make it back in.
Kurt, meanwhile took advantage and gained the lead, but still had to stretch it out just a bit more. His efforts would bring great celebration as he managed to save just enough fuel to come across the line to win the Dickies 500, his second victory of the season.
Afterwards, Kurt had enough fuel to do a few donuts and do his backwards victory lap. At that point, out of turn four, the tank ran empty and his Penske team had to push his car to victory lane. His brother, Kyle, wound up 11th and quickly exited the track, not wanting to speak to his team or anyone.
Busch’s win would also prove to be big for Michael McGee, winner of the Dickies “Hardest Worker” contest. He randomly chose Kurt to win the race and if he succeeded, he would get a $1 million bonus. Needless to say, he was ecstatic. In victory lane, he said the money would be used to pay off his home and then for a new barn and stable for his horses.
Busch was excited about the win, but more excited how the entire race went for he and his brother.
“It was the first time Kyle and I have raced for a victory like this,” Kurt said in victory lane.
On the other end of the spectrum, Johnson managed to get the car on the track and limp to a 38th place finish, essentially erasing his point lead, now at 73 over Martin.
\”[I was] on the outside lane, driving by a couple cars, and I didn\’t really even see the 77 get loose. I got clobbered from the side. Around I went,” Johnson said of the accident.
With the points now closer and only two races remaining, the Chase certainly becomes rather interesting. Next Sunday is a trip out west to the desert of Phoenix, Arizona. The championship contenders will certainly be on top of their game and will be looking to close in or overtake Johnson heading into the finale.
Coverage of the Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 will be on ABC starting at 2:30 p.m. with NASCAR Countdown.
POST RACE NOTE: The No. 1 car, driven by Martin Truex Jr, failed post-race inspection, failing to meet the minimum height requirements. If penalties are handed out, they will be announced on Tuesday.
RESULTS: 1-Kurt Busch 2-Hamlin 3-Kenseth 4-Martin 5-Harvick 6-Stewart 7-Bowyer 8-Biffle 9-Burton 10-Allmendinger
NOTABLE FINISHES: 11-Kyle Busch 12-Newman 13-Gordon 19-Logano (R) 25-Earnhardt Jr. 26-Vickers 33-Kahne 37-Montoya 38-Johnson 39-Edwards
CAUTIONS: Five for 31 laps. Lap 2-7 (No. 48, 77 wreck-T2), 86-90 (No. 77 wreck-T2), 165-171 (Debris-T1), 174-180 (No. 99, 42 wreck plus No. 24 spin-T1 and T2), 206-211 (No. 43 wreck-BS)
LEADERS: Ten lead changes among four drivers. Gordon 1-11, Kurt Busch 12-55, Waltrip 56-57, Kyle Busch 58-145, Hamlin 146, Kyle Busch 147-181, Kurt Busch 182-206, Kyle Busch 207-268, Kurt Busch 269-270, Kyle Busch 271-331, Kurt Busch 332-334
CHASE STANDINGS: 1-Johnson, 6297 points 2-Martin, -73 3-Gordon, -112 4-Kurt Busch, -171 5-Stewart, -178 6-Montoya, -236 7-Biffle, -247 8-Hamlin, -322 9-Newman, -324 10-Kahne, -399 11-Edwards, -440 12-Vickers, -520
