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Busch took advantage of others' mistakes
Points leader is in terrific position for championship chase
AP Photo
Kyle Busch (18) takes the Daytona lead as Jeff Gordon (24) and Carl Edwards (99) tangle.
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Published: July 7, 2008
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.
Carl Edwards, just a nose behind Kyle Busch at NASCAR's invisible electronic finish line somewhere down in the first turn very late Saturday night, has it right about Busch, the stock-car racing points leader: "Kyle's winning all these races, and he's really setting himself up for a great start to the chase.
"They're doing it right … and it's going to be hard for the rest of us."
With wins at Atlanta, Talladega, Darlington, Dover, Sonoma, Daytona now, and Mexico City, although that doesn't count in the Sprint Cup standings, Busch, 23, has made a very strong case that he's the man to beat for the title once the championship chase kicks off in September, that Toyota is favored to beat Chevy, Dodge and Ford in the title race.
The numbers Toyota teams are posting are amazing. And Busch is 182 points ahead of second-place Dale Earnhardt Jr.
However, Busch could have been beaten Saturday night. Chevy's Jeff Gordon and teammate Earnhardt had the better cars, and they were running together, sandwiching Busch down the stretch.
But Gordon and Earnhardt both found ways to lose, and Busch took advantage of their mistakes.
Still, it took a few moments after the caution-flag ending for NASCAR to confirm Busch was the winner over Edwards. They were side by side, in an impressive stretch fight that could have gone either way, depending on who was doing what right behind them. And the drivers right behind them -- Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch -- didn't really have a good game plan, either.
It was a strange ending, an unusual final 100 miles, with many cautions for driver mistakes. But then that's exactly what Edwards predicted -- that frustrated drivers would be taking it all out on each other. And that will likely be the case too at Chicago, this week's NASCAR stop.
There were 11 major incidents during the 400, which went two laps into overtime.
The key spins late, each triggering yet another incident:
□ Lap 123, David Gilliland and Ryan Newman, with Jeff Burton involved.
□ Lap 136, Newman and Denny Hamlin.
□ Lap 140, J.J. Yeley, tapped sideways, and Casey Mears tagging Jeff Burton in the jam-up.
□ Lap 150, Boris Said and Joe Nemechek.
□ Lap 157, Jimmie Johnson, the big loser in a melee when he got tagged and spun, and Hamlin and half a dozen more got caught.
□ On the restart on lap 161, for a green-white-checkered overtime finish, Busch brought the field to the line slowly, and that created some havoc, with Gordon the big loser when he spun while trying to block Edwards. NASCAR declined to throw a yellow, and Gordon then took off again, but at the rear of the field. Gordon finished 30th.
□ And finally, just after Busch and Edwards had reached the first turn after taking the white flag on lap 162, Michael Waltrip, Sam Hornish and several others tangled in thick, furious traffic.
During the moments it took NASCAR to turn on the race-ending yellow, it was briefly unclear if Busch or Edwards were in the lead. For one thing, NASCAR's crucial electronic-scoring loops are hidden in the asphalt and not clearly marked with white lines, which would be an easy way for drivers and fans to know what was going on.
"It was close," Busch said. "But when I did see the yellow light come on, I could barely see Carl's nose up by my right-front fender.
"I was hoping we were the winners. I know how Carl feels -- last year I lost it there.
"It's me that has to stay calm and get back into rhythm, and figure out what was happening.
"Late in the race I just made sure I drove a smart race and finished it out, and whatever came to us was going to come to us.
"I figured I was going to finish second to Jeff, but when stuff started happening behind us you've always got to be ready, and always be ready for your next move.
"I knew it was green-white-checkered, and I saw the 24 Jeff go around, and I was waiting for the caution, and the caution never came. I just kept my foot in it.
"I remember Juan Pablo Montoya dumping Clint Bowyer in February and I think Montoya got posted for aggressive driving. So if Carl had won this race, that was going to be a pretty crucial moment for NASCAR -- to decide what to do, if they were going to make a penalty. But I doubt they were."
Edwards, with three wins this season in Jack Roush's Fords, although up and down lately, is Roush's best title bet. Edwards' teammates, though, have been quite erratic. But the winged car is still a handful for just about everyone.
The line right now appears to be this: Toyota has an edge in horsepower, and that gives those teams leeway to create aerodynamics handling advantages, for better corner work, because they've got enough engine to push that extra drag through the air.
Since NASCAR hasn't done chassis dyno testing lately, it's hard to establish who has what, however.
And it's always difficult to read what NASCAR officials might do next to try to even the playing field.
But Toyota teams, principally the Joe Gibbs bunch, have won 25 of the year's 49 Cup, Nationwide and Truck events. That's better than 50 percent.
■ Mike Mulhern can be reached at mmulhern@wsjournal.com.
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