Kurt Busch completed a Penske Racing turnaround with a convincing win at Infineon Raceway staying away from accidents and paybacks behind him.
Busch who had won poles in the preceding three races but had complained about how the team was performing before that was delighted in victory; his first road course win and 23rd in Sprint Cup.
"It was just about having a game plan going in, great calculations by the guys. A solid effort in the pits and on the track. The car drove itself," said Kurt Busch.
Crew chief Steve Addington added "we didn’t play attention to what was going on, we just stuck with our plan."
His dominance came only on race day as he started 11th. "It was an unbelievable," said Busch. Especially "after what we’ve been through," referring to the struggles earlier in the year.
Explaining the race winning strategy Busch said "we just had to conserve our rear tires. Once we had enough fuel to make it, I was able to pick up my pace."
And the win was sweeter after considering his problems with Jeff Gordon here last year, "I’ve been part of that chaos. I had to protect the car and bring the car home. I got to beat Jeff Gordon. On day like today was sweet revenge."
Jeff Gordon finished second after struggling early, and was surprised by that he finished ahead of Carl Edwards who chose to concentrate on the Cup race (instead of running the Nationwide race in Road America) and finished third.
"I never thought I would come back and finish second or not even top-ten," said Jeff Gordon. "I don’t believe that we struggled here as much as we did today. I can’t believe we finished second."
Describing the multiple crashes Gordon said "it was nuts, it’s crazy from the time they dropped the green. There are two places to pass seven and 11 (the hairpin). Everybody waits for turn 11. Guys block the inside lane, it gets where this is the only shot to make a pass."
Busch who had won poles in the preceding three races but had complained about how the team was performing before that was delighted in victory; his first road course win and 23rd in Sprint Cup.
"It was just about having a game plan going in, great calculations by the guys. A solid effort in the pits and on the track. The car drove itself," said Kurt Busch.
Crew chief Steve Addington added "we didn’t play attention to what was going on, we just stuck with our plan."
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| Kurt Busch leading the race - Photo: nascar.com |
His dominance came only on race day as he started 11th. "It was an unbelievable," said Busch. Especially "after what we’ve been through," referring to the struggles earlier in the year.
Explaining the race winning strategy Busch said "we just had to conserve our rear tires. Once we had enough fuel to make it, I was able to pick up my pace."
And the win was sweeter after considering his problems with Jeff Gordon here last year, "I’ve been part of that chaos. I had to protect the car and bring the car home. I got to beat Jeff Gordon. On day like today was sweet revenge."
Jeff Gordon finished second after struggling early, and was surprised by that he finished ahead of Carl Edwards who chose to concentrate on the Cup race (instead of running the Nationwide race in Road America) and finished third.
"I never thought I would come back and finish second or not even top-ten," said Jeff Gordon. "I don’t believe that we struggled here as much as we did today. I can’t believe we finished second."
Describing the multiple crashes Gordon said "it was nuts, it’s crazy from the time they dropped the green. There are two places to pass seven and 11 (the hairpin). Everybody waits for turn 11. Guys block the inside lane, it gets where this is the only shot to make a pass."