Long Pond, Pa. – Kurt Busch dominated from the opening lap and raced his way back into championship contention, cruising to his first victory in 51 races Sunday at Pocono Raceway.
The win lifted Busch into the 12th and final spot of the Chase for the Nextel Cup standings – one ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr. – with five races left until the championship races start. Busch hadn’t been in the top 12 in points since a 100-point penalty for reckless driving in June knocked him six spots down to 17th.
Now he’s back and on his biggest roll of the season.
“I feel like a newborn,” Busch said. “I’m ready to run for the Chase.”
Busch, who had surged to 13th in the standings entering the Pennsylvania 500, led all but 25 laps and made his second career Pocono victory look easy. The 175 laps led constituted a Pocono record.
Not even a lug nut problem on pit road under caution late in the race and a hard-charging Earnhardt affected him much.
“You never for one instant think you have the race in the bag,” Busch said. “The only time I really thought about it was coming to the checkered, lap 199 coming to 200.”
The 2004 series champion needs to keep his hot streak going – three top 10s in four races – if he wants to keep his spot for the 10-race Chase for the Nextel Cup championship.
It was Busch’s first win since March 26, 2006, at Bristol, and he was second in both Pocono races last year.
Earnhardt was second and Denny Hamlin, who swept both races at Pocono last year, finished third. Points leader Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top five.
“Basically we’re racing for team morale and wins right now,” said Hamlin, second in the standings. “We’re racing to try and get the guys pumped up and ready for the Chase.”
Drivers often complain that the 2 1/2-mile triangle track with the longest straightaway in NASCAR can lead to one of the most boring races of the season. This one was no exception as Busch led nearly the entire race except for a short stretch near the end, when Earnhardt shook off early trouble with the No. 8 Chevrolet and temporarily took the lead.
But Earnhardt, who failed to capitalize on his first pole since 2002, couldn’t press him for long.
Nextel Cup/glance
Keys to victory: Kurt Busch fell to ninth on a restart on the 143rd lap, but quickly made up ground and passed Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the lead with 47 laps left.
What you might have missed: All Earnhardt got for second place was a drop in the points race. Busch leapfrogged Earnhardt from 13th to 12th for the final slot in the field, leaving Earnhardt with five races to qualify for the 10-race Chase.
“I think we’re a better team than 12th or 13th now,” Earnhardt said. “We’ve just had a lot of bad luck. And we cheated and we got caught. Those are the type of things that hurt us a lot in points. But we’re way better than this.”
Earnhardt’s 13-point lead over Busch turned into a seven-point deficit.
Back on track: Sunday, Centurion Boats at The Glen, Watkins Glen International, N.Y., ESPN, 11 a.m.
