Kyle Busch saw several cars clustered around the inside lane and another one crawling along in the outside lane.
He felt he had no choice but to swerve right, driving through the grass, passing several cars and taking the lead coming off pit road.
It turned out to be Busch’s best move of the race.
The risky maneuver propelled Busch to the front and eventually to his first NASCAR victory at Daytona International Speedway – a win in the rain-delayed Busch Series race Saturday morning at Daytona Beach, Fla.
“It was either that or stop,” Busch said. “Some of those guys were lost on pit road. I’m not sure what’s going on with that. It was kind of a cluster. I wasn’t sure if we were going to get busted.”
NASCAR officials reviewed the move but decided not to penalize Busch. They warned him, though, telling him not to do it again.
Busch obliged and picked up his eighth career series win – his first since March 26, 2006, at Bristol, Tenn.
NASCAR started reviewing another aspect of Busch’s car after the race. Officials confiscated the front springs from his Chevrolet and were sending them to the research and development center in North Carolina for review.
The sanctioning body said the spring rates were “slightly under” the minimum allowed by rule. Officials said results would be released next week.
It’s not likely NASCAR would strip Busch of his victory, but the inspection could lead to more sanctions for Hendrick Motorsports, which had two of its Nextel Cup teams fined and docked points two weeks ago. Crew chiefs for Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson also were suspended.
“It was definitely a good race car,” said Busch, whose only other win at Daytona came in a 2004 ARCA race. “All we had to do was keep it out front and keep the mistakes to a minimum. Really there were none today.”
Daytona 500 winner Kevin Harvick came from the back of the field several times and finished second, followed by Dave Blaney, Tony Stewart and Clint Bowyer. Series points leader Carl Edwards crossed the finish line 11th, three spots ahead of defending race winner Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Champ Car: If Sebastien Bourdais goes to Formula One next season, the Champ Car World Series will have plenty of reasons to remember him.
The 28-year-old Frenchman, aiming for an unprecedented fourth consecutive Champ Car title, grabbed the pole for today’s Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto by edging Justin Wilson with fewer than 10 seconds left in the final qualifying session Saturday.
It is his third pole of the season and the 28th of his Champ Car career, now in its fifth season.
IRL: Helio Castroneves has his third straight pole at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International. Now, if he can only escape his bad luck on race day.
In a near repeat of qualifying here two years ago, Castroneves bested Scott Dixon, covering the 3.4-mile, 11-turn road circuit at 136.021 mph (1 minute, 29.1919 seconds) during the Firestone Fast Six, a 10-minute showdown among the half-dozen fastest drivers in single-lap qualifying.
Formula One: Lewis Hamilton took the pole position for the British Grand Prix in his first Formula One race in his homeland at Silverstone, England.
Hamilton finished in 1 minute, 19.997 seconds in his McLaren to edge Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari by 0.102 seconds.
