What a difference one week makes.
Last week, at New Hampshire, Kurt Busch finished 22nd. On Sunday, the 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion got the jump on five-time Champ, Jimmie Johnson, on a late race restart and held on to win at Dover International Speedway.
“To win in a Sprint Cup race in the Chase, this is what it’s all about,” Busch said. “This is the playoffs. We had everything go wrong for us last week; we had everything go right for us this week. We just need nice, smooth races from here.”
Jimmie Johnson who finished 18th last week also bounced back finishing runner-up. Both Busch and Johnson moved up five places in the standings with their finish at the Monster Mile. Third place Carl Edwards also bounced back, on the day, from a pit lane speeding penalty to finish third.
Now Edwards and Harvick are tied for the points lead, with other seven drivers within a 19-point striking distance.
Other Chase drivers Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch ended up fifth and sixth, respectively. Harvick finished 10th.
Tony Stewart, who won the first two Chase races, lost the points lead when he finished 25th.
Kurt Busch grabbed the lead final restart with 42 laps to go leaving Johnson behind. Johnson led a race-high 157 laps.
"Giving up a win by not getting a good restart, I'll think about it tonight," Johnson said. "But big-picture wise, we'll take it."
Carl Edwards, a pre-race favorite, had won Dover’s Nationwide race on Saturday, and looked ready to sweep the weekend until that pit road speeding penalty cost him a lap.
“We were very, very fortunate. As frustrated as I am with myself for messing that up, I'm really, really grateful for the gift that was given to us with that caution and the ability to come back up there. And the other thing that was really important to me was my guys sticking behind me, because they had every right to be really, really upset with me. So it ended up being a good finish," said Edwards.
It was Busch’s, 24th career Cup win and first time at Dover. Still there are seven races to go. "We've got such a long way to go in this Chase," Busch said. "That's what we're really focused on."
If the victory wasn’t enough for Busch, beating Johnson fair and square was a bonus, especially since their history of tangling with one another.
"To beat your arch nemesis, that's just icing on the cake. That's pretty sweet," Busch said.
Point standings after Dover (top 5)
1-Kevin Harvick, 2122 points
2-Carl Edwards 2122
3-Tony Stewart, 2113
4-Kurt Busch, 2113
5-Jimmie Johnson, 2109
Last week, at New Hampshire, Kurt Busch finished 22nd. On Sunday, the 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion got the jump on five-time Champ, Jimmie Johnson, on a late race restart and held on to win at Dover International Speedway.
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| Start of the race (Photo: Getty/NASCAR) |
“To win in a Sprint Cup race in the Chase, this is what it’s all about,” Busch said. “This is the playoffs. We had everything go wrong for us last week; we had everything go right for us this week. We just need nice, smooth races from here.”
Jimmie Johnson who finished 18th last week also bounced back finishing runner-up. Both Busch and Johnson moved up five places in the standings with their finish at the Monster Mile. Third place Carl Edwards also bounced back, on the day, from a pit lane speeding penalty to finish third.
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| Kurt Busch leading Jimmie Johnson. (Photo: nascar.com) |
Now Edwards and Harvick are tied for the points lead, with other seven drivers within a 19-point striking distance.
Other Chase drivers Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch ended up fifth and sixth, respectively. Harvick finished 10th.
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| AJ Allmendinger doing some drifting! (Photo: Getty/NASCAR) |
Tony Stewart, who won the first two Chase races, lost the points lead when he finished 25th.
Kurt Busch grabbed the lead final restart with 42 laps to go leaving Johnson behind. Johnson led a race-high 157 laps.
"Giving up a win by not getting a good restart, I'll think about it tonight," Johnson said. "But big-picture wise, we'll take it."
Carl Edwards, a pre-race favorite, had won Dover’s Nationwide race on Saturday, and looked ready to sweep the weekend until that pit road speeding penalty cost him a lap.
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| Kurt Busch celebrating (Photo: Getty/NASCAR) |
“We were very, very fortunate. As frustrated as I am with myself for messing that up, I'm really, really grateful for the gift that was given to us with that caution and the ability to come back up there. And the other thing that was really important to me was my guys sticking behind me, because they had every right to be really, really upset with me. So it ended up being a good finish," said Edwards.
It was Busch’s, 24th career Cup win and first time at Dover. Still there are seven races to go. "We've got such a long way to go in this Chase," Busch said. "That's what we're really focused on."
If the victory wasn’t enough for Busch, beating Johnson fair and square was a bonus, especially since their history of tangling with one another.
"To beat your arch nemesis, that's just icing on the cake. That's pretty sweet," Busch said.
Point standings after Dover (top 5)
1-Kevin Harvick, 2122 points
2-Carl Edwards 2122
3-Tony Stewart, 2113
4-Kurt Busch, 2113
5-Jimmie Johnson, 2109