Kyle Busch is making his move for the race for the Chase

Kyle Busch was able to bring the goods when he needed it but can he do it again. He still needs to run fast and smart to make enough points to make it to the Chase. Busch did move up two positions to 13^th position in the race to the Chase with this win in the Sharpie 500. He’s now just 34 points behind Matt Kenseth in 12^th place and is just 60 points behind Mark Martin in 10^th place. He can still easily make it to the Chase but it’s going to come down to the final races. This is just the way the Chase was designed to add energy and excitement to the end of the year and it appears to be working quite well. The top twelve racers after the Richmond race on September 12 qualify for the Chase and will get to try their luck in the showdown.

Kyle Busch had a lot of good things to say about the class act Mark Martin after the race. He commented that he believes Mark could have made it past him if he had decided to do a little dirty racing but Martin is such a class act he just won’t do these things. Mark Martin of course down plays any such notions and says he couldn’t race any harder. Humility seems to be a common affliction with NASCAR racers and it’s a nice characteristic to see at work.

Mark Ambrose finished third, followed by Greg Biffle, Denny Hamlin and then Ryan Newman in sixth place. Kurt Busch had another strong race and finished seventh, Jimmie Johnson came in eighth, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was ninth and the top ten was completed by Matt Kenseth.

“Image: Zuma Press”

Post from: EveryJoe

Kyle Busch Wins the Sharpie 500

Tony Stewart has clinched a position in the Chase

Kyle Busch on the other hand is watching the sand fall in the hour glass and with only three races remaining before the showdown. He’s starting to realize that he has to make a move if he wants to make the Chase and avoid the embarrassment of not making the Chase. He’ll have to deal with a hard charging and confident Brian Vickers, who sees a position in the Chase within his reach. Juan Montoya only needs to coast to make it to the Chase, so he’ll probably just stay out of the way of any trouble. Mark Martin has been hanging on the last few races and he probably just needs to have an average race and keep his car out of trouble to make it to the Chase.

The jostling for position has definitely started, we can expect a little energy and excitement in the three remaining races as the drivers who need to make up ground push the pedal to the floor. The Chase is doing what it was designed to do and adding energy and excitement to the end of the year. The Chase has been a good thing for NASCAR but even good things can be better. Without the Chase, Tony Stewart would be 284 points in front of his nearest competitor and you wouldn’t be hearing the sound of screaming engines when you walk in the room, just the sound of the channel being changed.

The owners and operators of Bristol can smile at full stands of NASCAR fans anticipating a battle for the Chase and Atlanta in two weeks can hope for the same. Add to this the fact that the television ratings for last week’s Michigan race were increased over last year’s numbers and the Chase is a good thing.

“Image: Zuma Press”

Post from: EveryJoe

The Race for the Chase is Heating up

Kevin Harvick races in the Food City 250 at 730 ET on ESPN 2

Kevin Harvick’s KHI has had a very strong season that included five straight wins for Ron Hornaday in the Camping World Truck Series, the longest winning streak in a NASCAR Nationwide Series car in 38 long years. Tony Stewart and Bobby Labonte have also won a Nationwide Series race sitting behind the wheel of a Kevin Harvick Nationwide Series car. Harvick’s first win in March driving his own Nationwide Series car must have been special but a second win today would probably be like a double layer of icing on your cake.

Harvick and his wife DeLana built KHI up from the dirt to be more than just a hobby and the pressure has been on the last year to make KHI a success. This husband and wife combination is starting to see a little daylight in their journey and hopefully this is just the beginning of years of racing success for the team. They might be able to take a deep breath after the Food City 250 and release the pressure on the cooker that has been working for a year. KHI appears to be a team on the rise and if they can win today on a track that has always been a good one for Harvick, then they’ll have something that’s important with any sports athlete, confidence they can win.

Kevin Harvick isn’t the only car to be watching for if you’re out on the track of Bristol today. You should also look for the No. 5 of Ryan Newman, who has five to ten finishes after just six races at Bristol. The No 18 of Kyle Busch will be out on the track of Bristol, as well as the No 88 of Brad Keselowski, last week’s surprise winner over Busch and Vickers.

“Image: Zuma Press”

Post from: EveryJoe

Kevin Harvick and Bristol Motor Speedway

I’d like to welcome Bruce Simmons back to the forum this week as he is now officially back from his trip. Bruce, it’s good to have ya back. I’d also like to thank Roc for stepping up to the plate for us last week in his absence and keeping this alive. And, of course, with us as always is Charlie Turner from On Pit Row. Now, let’s get started.

At the end of April, future NFL Hall of Famer, Randy Moss, announced that he was looking to break into NASCAR as a team owner, more specifically in the Craftsman Truck Series in 2009. With Moss’ announcement immediately came speculation that he would get his team into a few races prior to the end of this season, and rumors began to fly surrounding the team’s manufacturer, sponsor, and affiliates. Many even believed that Moss would land one of the bigger stars from the Sprint Cup Series to debut his truck.

The rumors were finally laid to rest two months later when Moss announced that he had bought into Morgan-Dollar Motorsports as a part-owner, and that the team would be renamed Moss Motorsports. They renumbered the truck #81 in favor of Moss’ jersey number, and the new team debuted at Kentucky Speedway in July with Willie Allen behind the wheel, finishing 15th.

Things continue to evolve for the race team, however, as they have recently announced an agreement that will put two-time Sprint Cup champion, Jimmie Johnson, behind the wheel of the no. 81 truck at Bristol on August 20th. Johnson has never in his career competed in a Craftsman Truck race, and some feel that it may be the result of the partnership between Lowe’s – Johnson’s Sprint Cup sponsor – and Kobalt Tools, which will sponsor the #81 entry in the truck race.

Q: Is Randy Moss’ recent 50% purchase of what is now Moss Motorsports good for the sport?

TZ: I know there’s a lot of fans out there that probably only see this deal go down on the surface and immediately think to themselves, ‘oh, that’s crap’. Let me tell you, I don’t care if he’s white, black, or yellow, Randy Moss is a smart businessman, and he’s grown up an avid fan of racing. I also like the non-NASCAR star power that he brings to our sport, and it’s already taking its effect by putting Jimmie Johnson in a Craftsman Truck race for the first time in his career next month at Bristol. In my book, kudos to Randy Moss for venturing down this path.

Bruce:  I think it will bring a different demographic to the sport to some degree as Randy Moss fans might just tune in to see what this is about.  Right?  Maybe?  We can hope.  New fans are always a good thing, regardless of how many or few.

Charlie:  It is a step forward in NASCAR’s drive for diversity. But Randy Moss is an OWNER. He isn’t going to bring any star power to the sport beyond this initial slash of publicity as his new venture is announced. Do you doubt this. If so, name for me  – quick – three other Craftsman Truck team owners. If you can do it, look at the names and then quantify how many fans those owners bring to the races. Did Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman bring a bunch of Cowboys football fans to NASCAR? If Moss can hang in  for more than three years and build his team into something more than it is today, then he will have accomplished something significant.

Want more? The “Loose in Turn 3″ trio answers three questions each and every week, so be sure to check out the other sites to get the rest of our weekly discussion.

Over at On Pit Row, we answer “Should Tony Stewart look for the hot, young prospect, maybe someone from the open wheel ranks, instead of a current, high dollar star like Ryan Newman for his second car at Stewart-Haas?”

And, we conclude our talks over at Bruce’s Bits ‘n’ Pieces, where the question was posed, “With Tony Stewart acting out over in USAC, what’s that about? I thought he had gotten a grip on his outbursts? Do you think the stress of starting up a new team might be getting to him?”

Post from: EveryJoe

Randy Moss Runnin’ Loose in Turn 3 Along With Jimmie Johnson

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About a month ago, rumors started to surface that Jamie McMurray had been handed his walking papers from car owner, Jack Roush, and that this would be his final season with Roush-Fenway Racing. Despite immediate denials by both McMurray and Geoff Smith (President of Operations at Roush-Fenway Racing), most of us – myself included – still bought into the rumors and pegged McMurray as a sure bet to be one of the drivers petitioning for a ride this off-season. But, a month later, after seeing how some of the other Silly Season rumors and deals have panned out, I’ve got to ask, does it really make sense for Roush to give him the boot?

McMurray’s certainly had a rough go of things since joining Roush, and I don’t think anyone would deny that. Once thought to be a solid Chase contender, McMurray had the worst season of his career in 2006 – his first year with Roush – when he tallied only 7 top-ten finishes en route to a 25th place finish in the standings. Things got mildly better in ‘07 when Jamie picked up the second win of his career and finished 17th in points, but they started 2008 right back at square one when the no. 26 team dropped outside of the top-35 in owner’s points immediately following Bristol.

Though their season has mildly improved since Bristol and the team has worked their way up to 23rd in the standings, McMurray continues to be viewed by many as the weak link in the organization and that the team is still under-performing. But, still … does it make sense to let him go at this point? The fact of the matter is that Roush will be forced to cease operations on one of their five race teams at the completion of the 2009 racing season, and therein lies the problems. Roush has five drivers, but only four cars ….. you do the math.

With all the names that have been tossed around as potential movers for next year, Roush-Fenway has very quietly perhaps led the way in this year’s Silly Season negotiations, locking up Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, and Greg Biffle to extensions to continue racing for the organization. That leaves just McMurray and the young David Ragan vying for that final ride, and it’s already been made clear that they’re trying to lock up David to a long-term deal as well. Okay, so now that I’ve given you all the evidence you need to conclude that McMurray is in fact the odd man out, it probably looks like I’ve contradicted my entire argument, right? Wrong.

So what if they already know that they’re going to have to get rid of McMurray by the end of ‘09, the fact remains that they need somebody to drive that car next season. With Mark Martin already being nabbed up by Hendrick Motorsports, there’s not a single driver on the market that they could sign to a one year deal that would give them a better shot next season than McMurray could. What are they gonna do, get Ryan Newman or Martin Truex Jr. for a 2009 contract and then send them packing? Not very likely. At this stage in their careers, any marquee driver that could potentially become available is going to be looking to land somewhere that they can remain at until the latter stages of their career. They’re looking for a team that can give them long-term championship contending status, not a one year run with a number five car in the organization.

As for McMurray, while there are currently a couple of top-notch rides technically “available,” the ride at Joe Gibbs Racing will likely be assigned to Joey Logano, and many people also believe that should Ryan Newman leave Penske, the no. 12 car may wind up in the hands of current test driver, David Stremme. That would leave the no. 33 car at RCR as the remaining frontrunner, but that car will begin the season already outside of the top-35 in owner points. Jamie’s best bet may be to wait to make a switch until we try to sort through this all again next season, or he may actually be just as well off to see if something happens in a Roush-Yates deal that would send his team to racec for Yates Racing next season.

As has been proven time and time again in this crazy world of NASCAR, anything can – and probably will – happen.  But, again, I ask you ….. does it really make sense for either side for this tandem to split prior to 2009? No, it doesn’t.

Post from: EveryJoe

Jamie McMurray Likely to Remain at Roush

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With the Sprint Cup Series now just one week away from reaching the official halfway marker of 2008, DYN is going to take a look at the 5 most disappointing teams and drivers in the series so far this year:

5. Ryan Newman – no. 12 car – Penske Racing – After missing out on the Chase for the Cup playoffs in each of the past two seasons, Newman came into 2008 – his contract year with Penske – with high hopes of finding some of the magic that he and the no. 12 team had a little earlier in his career. Things got off to a great start when Ryan gave Roger Penske his first-ever restrictor plate win when he won the season-opening Daytona 500, but the season’s been downhill ever since. Newman’s finished inside the top-five only once more since then, and has slipped down to 15th in the standings.

4. Dario Franchitti – no. 40 car – Chip Ganassi Racing – Nobody should have been expecting this team to tally any marks in the win column in Dario’s rookie campaign in the Sprint Cup Series, but sharing a team with Juan Pablo Montoya, many believed that he would be able to use a lot of the second-hand information from JPM’s transition into stock cars last year to his advantage. That has not been the case thus far, however, as Dario has failed to finish inside of the top-20 in any of the ten races he’s competed in this year. Even more disappointing is the fact that he failed to qualify for the road course race in Sonoma, the place where Montoya picked up his first NASCAR win and many felt that Dario would get his best finish to-date. 

3. Elliott Sadler – no. 19 car – Gillette-Evernham Motorsports – Once considered a perrenial Chase contender while racing for Yates Racing, Sadler came to Evernham Motorsports with high hopes when he relieved Jeremy Mayfield of his driving duties in the no. 19 car. Things haven’t really panned out so far, though, as Elliott just recently picked up his first top-five of the season last weekend at Loudon. They have also been unable to improve on their points position from last year. In 2007 he finished 25th in the standings, which is also where he currently sits 17 races into 2008.

2. Jamie McMurray – no. 26 car – Roush-Fenway Racing: In a NASCAR season that’s been dominated with Silly Season headlines, McMurray is one of the remaining drivers that still finds his name on the potential chopping block. Even if he survives 2008 with a job in-hand, he can pretty count on ‘09 being his last year with the organization unless he performs anything short of a miracle. 17 races into the season, McMurray finds himself with only 3 top-ten finishes, and no top-five efforts to show. 2006 – McMurray’s first season with Roush – marked the worst points season of Jamie’s career when he finished 25th. After climbing up to 17th last season, many people felt that he and the no. 26 team were finally beginning to develop some chemistry, but that has not been the case. He dropped as low as 36th in the standings earlier in the year following Bristol. They’ve been able to find a level of consistency since then, but they still find themselves down in 24th in the points, with very little hope of making the Chase.

1. Kurt Busch – no. 2 car – Penske Racing: After the addition of Pat Tryson as the Crew Chief, the team made a late-summer charge in 2007 to get Kurt into the Chase for the Cup, and the they came into 2008 with high expectations across the board. Kurt just recently picked up his first victory of the season last weekend at New Hampshire, but the car still tremendously lacked the desired performance. Furthermore, the win gave Kurt only his third top-ten finish of the season. The team finished 8th in points in 2007, but currently sit 18th overall and find themselves 222 points behind 12th place, Kevin Harvick.

Post from: EveryJoe

List of the Week: Most Disappointing Runs Through the First-Half of ‘08

But, wait … I believe there’s two more, the most recent of which came this past Sunday at Infineon Raceway at the Toyota Save/Mart 350. With only a small handful of laps remaining and Stewart 2nd and Kevin Harvick in 4th, Harvick got into the turn to fast and clipped the no. 26 Ford of Jamie McMurray. McMurray then got into Stewart, once again taking a winning opportunity out of Smoke’s hands, though he did somehow manage to come back for a top-ten finish.

That wasn’t the first time that Harvick took the race out of Harvick’s hands this year, though. When the series ran at Bristol back in March, Harvick was racing Stewart for 2nd place in the last five laps of the race when Harvick got down on the apron going through turn 2, and he climbed up the track and got into Tony, sending him from 2nd to 14th just like that.

Despite attempts from the media, Stewart refused to show any angst towards Harvick following the incident at Sonoma this past Sunday, and all indications are that the two are still on good terms. But, of course, anytime they feel that their friendship has hit a rough patch, I’m sure Kevin will be more than willing to wax Tony again. Eeeewww.

Post from: EveryJoe

NASCAR Rivals: Kevin Harvick vs. Tony Stewart

By now, most of you are probably familiar with the many rumors surrounding the status of Casey Mears and the no. 5 team over at Hendrick Motorsports for 2009. Several sources are indicating that Rick Hendrick may have notified Casey last week that his tenure with HMS was coming to an end at the conclusion of this season, and already, the rumor mill has been lit up once again with all sorts of speculations.

The most intriguing, and for once, make-sense of these rumors comes from Lee Spencer over at Fox Sports, where she throws out the notion that Hendrick may be looking to promote Brad Keselowski from the Nationwide Series ranks, where he currently drives for Hendrick affiliate, JR Motorsports. Keselowski, who earned the first NNS win of his career earlier this season, could be Hendrick’s long-term solution to the Joe Gibbs Racing phenom, Joey Logano, but if these sources hold true, Hendrick would likely take a much different approach.

Whereas we could see a fourth team car implimented by JGR next season just to get Logano a full-time ride, Hendrick would approach it from a different angle, engaging Keselowski into a driver/mentor program, pairing him with the guy that’s done just that for a living since retiring from full-time action in 2006 … you guessed it, Mark Martin.

I never thought I’d see the day that Mark Martin would get behind the wheel of a Hendrick-branded car, but I’m seeing it now. ESPN is reporting that Mark has already confirmed that he will depart DEI after this year. In an odd twist to the story, though, they are also reporting that Martin will join the no. 5 team in an effort to make one last full-time run at the championship. That part of it I’m having a tough time buying off on for a couple of reasons. Aside from ESPN’s shakey and somewhat unreliable NASCAR reporting this year, I really feel that if Mark was going to take on another full season of racing, it would’ve been last year when he was well in position to make a bid for the Chase before finally stepping out of the car at Bristol.

Of course, we haven’t thrown nearly enough names into the fire to get the spicy rumor mill that we’ve grown quite accustomed to this year, so nascar.com decided to make sure we all took notice to the comments made by Juan Pablo Montoya on Sunday.

“Is it really true that Casey Mears is out of the 5 car?” was the first thing he said when confronted by reporters following the Toyota Save/Mart 350 at Infineon.

I’ll admit – I’m not too privy to the details of Montoya’s current contract with Chip Ganassi Racing, but that deal’s about to expire, then Juan is a name that has floated under the radar with flying colors, and would certainly add a little more flavor to the silly season gossip. He’s already holding his own over at Ganassi – even in the midst of working with three different crew chiefs during the first 16 races of the season. You have to wonder what the former Formula One star could do in some Hendrick furnished equipment!

So, is Mears on his way out of the Hendrick camp? Yeah, I think he is. It’s a notion that we’ve toyed around with all season long – even before the recent rumors – and, to me, the deck is stacked against him on this one. It’s a make-sense move for HMS to let him go. Bringing Keselowski up through the ranks would allow them to concentrate their championship efforts on the trio of Gordon, Johnson, and Jr. next season … and, even a longshot deal like Montoya would expand their merchandise and fan base even more.

Now, where he could wind up is anyone’s guess. The fourth car over at Richard Childress Racing would be my first inclination, but there are several other possibilities still lingering out there. Even with Greg Biffle expected to announce a re-signing with Roush-Fenway Racing this weekend, a potential slot could still open up there if Jack were to release Jamie McMurray from the organization, as many people were speculating on just a few weeks ago. Meanwhile, issues still do not appear to be resolved between Ryan Newman and the Penske Racing organization, and I’ve even heard talk about Casey headed somewhere like Haas CNC Racing, or even a return to Ganassi.

Yes … Silly Season is still a mess.

*Credit photo to Newscom.

Post from: EveryJoe

Mears Leaving Hendrick? Martin to Replace Him? Que Wha …?

Through 55 years of racing at NASCAR’s top level, the Wood Brothers have established themselves amongst the all-time winningest teams in the sport’s history with an accumulated 97 wins amongst the organization. The organization has housed such legendary names as Cale Yarbrough, David Pearson, Davey Allison, AJ Foyt, Tiny Lund, Dale Jarrett, Ricky Rudd, and Dan Gurney. The team made history in the late 70’s when they were invited to the White House by former U.S. President, Jimmy Carter … Yet, Wood Brothers Racing has not visited Victory Lane since Elliott Sadler’s 2001 win at Bristol Motor Speedway, and the organization has been relegated to one of stock car racing’s proverbial laughing stocks in recent years.

With the team struggling, and the evolution of the NASCAR economy seeming to work against them and the Ford Racing program, team owner Glen Wood sought to keep the driving program afloat by signing veteran drivers Bill Elliott and Ken Schrader to drive the no. 21 Ford for the team in 2007. The end result, however, was less than desirable as the combination failed to net the Wood Bros. a single top-ten finish, and much hasn’t changed in 2008 with Elliott again behind the wheel this year, this time being complimented by Jon Wood on occassion.

So, what does a team do when they’ve fallen so far off of the mark of excellence that they themselves established so long ago? They go out and fetch themselves the 31-year-old Aussie that’s largely credited with the revival of Ford Racing in Australia - Marcos Ambrose. Adequately named the “Tasmanian Devil,” Ambrose, a former Formula Ford Euro Cup and 2x former V8 Supercar Championship Series champion, broke into the NASCAR scene in 2006 when the Wood Brothers / JTG Racing partnership signed Ambrose to compete in full-time in the Craftsman Truck Series. Not being cleared by NASCAR to compete in the first three races of the season, Ambrose was limited to 22 races in which he garnered 4 top-ten finishes, including a pair of 3rd place runs at Nashville and Kansas.

The team then set Ambrose’s sights on the Nationwide Series in 2007, where Marcos tallied 6 top-ten runs through 35 events and ultimately finished 8th in the overall points standings, and was the third highest ranked non-Cup regular in the standings. 2008 has gotten Marcos off to a bit of a slower start in the series, where he currently sits 13th in points, but a 2nd place run at the road course in Mexico earlier in the season prompted a callup from the Wood Brothers this past weekend at Infineon.

Slated to make his long-awaited Sprint Cup debut behind the wheel of the famed no. 21 Ford Fusion, Ambrose got the weekend off to a great start when he was the 7th fastest during qualifying, and then led the final practice session on Saturday. Looking to prove his road course prowess was no joke and that he belonged at NASCAR’s premier level, Ambrose then established himself as one of the top cars in the field and definitely one of the guys to beat on Sunday, though looking at the box score following the race, you’d have never known it unless you’d watched the race yourself.

Marcos ran with the leaders and stayed up around the top-five all day long, even when pit strategies shuffled several of the other race leaders back into the pack. Only some unprovoked contact from Elliott Sadler late in the race kept him from getting the finish he deserved, and yet, even after a 42nd place run, both Ambrose and the Wood Brothers organization were rather upbeat following the race.

“Just awesome,” he said. “I couldn’t believe it. Here I am, passing Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, racing with Earnhardt Jr, it’s just fantastic. It’s what I dreamed about, what I dreamed it would be like. It’s certainly like that. It’s just fantastic. It’s just a real shame we couldn’t finish the race.”

While most people probably find it tough to see the silver lining in a 42nd place finish, those that have followed the Wood Brothers throughout the years know that they’ve been far from competitive the last few years, and that even though the finish wasn’t indicative of the good run, it’s a huge morale booster for the organization to have a car run as well as Marcos did on Sunday. Ambrose is now scheduled to compete in seven more Cup events in the no. 21 car, including next weekend at New Hampshire and the August road course race at Watkins Glen.

*Credit photo to Newscom.

Post from: EveryJoe

Is Ambrose the Ticket for the Wood Bros.’ Return to Prosperity?

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Utter heartbreak and sheer disappointment. That’s the best way to describe Kurt Busch’s career in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series ever since younger brother, Kyle, joined the circuit full-time for Hendrick Motorsports back in 2005 … well, I guess you could throw subtle envy into that equation as well. Since then, it just seems as though the seasons have been getting longer and tougher for the 2004 Cup Series champ.

Okay, so maybe it has less to do with Kyle and more to do with Kurt’s jump from Roush-Fenway Racing over to Penske Racing, but the numbers don’t lie, and the numbers indicate to us that there’s something amiss with the no. 2 Miller Lite Dodge team these days. In his first four full seasons of racing in NASCAR’s premier series, Kurt tallied a total of 11 wins, 34 top-five’s, and 61 top-ten’s and won Jack Roush’s second consecutive Cup for him. Since the beginning of 2005, however, those numbers have taken a severe hit, as he’s put together only 6 more wins, 23 top-five’s, and 45 top-ten’s, with his best points finish in that span coming during his 8th place run last year after having to put together a late-season rally just to make the cut for the Chase field.

To add a little salt to the wound, since Kyle’s emergence onto the Cup scene, he’s beaten big bro in every major statistical category with the exception of pole awards – only due to the 6 poles that Kurt won in his 2006 campaign – and, Kyle appears to be in major contention to win the title this year while Kurt lags back in 21st place in the points standings.

After finding some success with the addition of Pat Tryson as his crew chief late in the ‘07 season – a move that many people feel salvaged the year for the team – many people expected a big year from Kurt this season, but that hasn’t been the case by any means. He was able to finish runner-up to teammate, Ryan Newman, at the Daytona 500 and received many kudos from around the racing nation for the big push that he gave Ryan at the end of the race to push him across the finish line and secure the first restrictor plate win for car owner, Roger Penske.

Since then it’s been downhill, though. He went onto score top-15 finishes at Atlanta, Fontana, and Bristol, but finished outside of the top-20 in the five events that followed, as Kurt plummeted down the points standings. They put together a decent run at Darlington, where they finished 12th, and then they got the car out front last weekend in Charlotte and appeared to be the class of the field through the early portions of the race before that heartbreak and disappointment kicked back in.

After leading 64 laps in the race, Kurt was running second behind race leader, Brian Vickers, on lap 161 when a blown right tire sent him flying into the wall and ended his bid for the win. He was able to get his car back out on the track without losing any laps, but the damage was severe enough to halter any progress he attempted to make towards the front, and ultimately settled for a 16th place finish.

Now, with only 14 races remaining before NASCAR sets their Chase field with the top-12 drivers, Kurt finds himself all the way down in 21st – 668 points back from his brother and current points leader, Kyle Busch, and 262 points separating he and 12th place, Kasey Kahne. This is the furthest back in points that Kurt has ever been at this point in the season. The good news for Kurt Busch fans, though, is that his average finish in races 13 through 26 last year was 13.07 and consisted of 2 wins and 7 top-ten finishes.

Post from: EveryJoe

What’s A Brother Gotta Do To Get Some Love?