Brooklyn, Mich. – Kurt Busch is staying out of trouble these days, no longer making waves as a NASCAR bad boy.
After Busch won for the second time in three races, prevailing in a rare Tuesday NASCAR event after two days of rain postponements at Michigan International Speedway, he gave most of the credit for the change of attitude to team owner Roger Penske.
“Working under Roger, finding his ways and how to deal with people, whether it’s internally or with our sponsors, it really gave me a better perspective what this racing thing is all about,” said Busch, who joined Penske Racing in 2005, replacing longtime star Rusty Wallace in the team’s No. 2 Dodge.
“Maybe before I pushed too hard thinking that maybe I could predict or control the outcome of races and not use the team atmosphere,” Busch said. “I’m happy flying under the radar and I’m happy delivering wins for our sponsors and, right now, the most important thing is getting into the Chase (for the Nextel Cup championship).”
Winning the 3M Performance 400, Busch took a big step toward that goal.
The 2004 Cup champion solidified his berth in the 12-man lineup for the upcoming Chase, holding off Martin Truex Jr. in the closing laps for the 17th win of his career.
NASCAR’s top circuit never had run on a Tuesday after a weather postponement during the modern era, which began in 1973.
The race originally was scheduled to be run Sunday, but two days of rain kept the cars off the track.
A spin by Greg Biffle, with just two laps to go, sent the race into overtime. But Busch easily pulled away from Truex’s DEI Chevrolet when the green flag waved for a two-lap sprint on lap 202.
Busch, who didn’t take his first lead until lap 101 and wound up leading four times for 92 laps, beat Truex to the finish by 0.495 of a second – about eight car lengths on the high-banked, 2- mile oval.
There were two cautions in the last 13 laps and Busch stayed on the track with worn tires while some of the cars chasing him pitted for fresh rubber. But he made two perfect restarts.
Reigning Cup champion Jimmie Johnson finished third, followed by Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin, Dave Blaney and Carl Edwards, who won here in June.
With just three races remaining until the start of the 10-race stock car playoff, Busch remains 12th in the standings, 33 points behind Truex. Dale Earnhardt Jr. jumped past Ryan Newman into 13th, but a slow pit stop late in the race cost him and he finished 12th.
Truex, Earnhardt’s teammate, was a bit frustrated finishing behind Busch, the driver closest to him in the battle for the Chase.
“I wanted it so bad, I could taste it back there behind Kurt,” Truex said.
