CONCORD, N.C. — Kurt Busch used a lightning-fast final pit stop to chase down the leaders and give team owner Roger Penske a coveted Memorial Day weekend victory.
That the win came in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and not at his beloved Indianapolis Motor Speedway, probably didn’t matter to Penske.
After all, it came at the expense of Chip Ganassi, Penske’s top rival in open-wheel racing and the winning car owner of the Indianapolis 500 earlier Sunday.
“Roger, this one is for you,” Busch said.
Busch and Ganassi driver Jamie McMurray were the class of the field at the end of NASCAR’s longest race of the season, and McMurray was hoping to give Ganassi a sweep of the two prestigious Memorial Day weekend races. Earlier Sunday, Dario Franchitti won in Indianapolis and, after the celebration, Ganassi flew to North Carolina to catch the second half of the NASCAR race.
He arrived in time to see McMurray work his Chevrolet through the field and ultimately take over the lead from Busch.
But a late caution for a Marcos Ambrose crash with 24 laps to go took it out of McMurray’s hands. He led most of the leaders down pit road but was beat back onto the track by Busch and Matt Kenseth. Jeff Gordon was the first of three cars not to pit, and restarted as the leader with 19 laps remaining.
Busch blew past the three lead cars and steadily pulled away from the pack. McMurray quickly moved into second, but ran out of time to run down Busch, who held on to sweep the May races at Charlotte. Busch won the $1 million All-Star race last weekend.
“I thought about the Ganassi car behind me,” Busch said in Victory Lane. “He wasn’t getting by us.”
Ganassi didn’t seem to mind the defeat.
“It was a great race. Jamie did a great job,” he said, smiling. “My old buddy Penske beat me tonight.”
Key to victory
A quick final pit stop provided Kurt Busch a chance to catch the leaders. And catch them he did to win the Coca-Cola 600. Jamie McMurray was leading with 24 laps left, but after a caution for a crash, he and the other leaders went for a pit stop. But Busch and Matt Kenseth got out quicker. Jeff Gordon briefly led because he didn’t pit, but soon Busch caught him and rolled to the win.
Smith finishes 19th
How Regan Smith, racing for Denver’s Furniture Row, fared Sunday:
• After Thursday’s time trials at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Smith began the ace in 32nd.
• Smith was 19th, his fourth top-20 finish of the season. He sits in 31st place in the overall standings.
