Race Rewind | Busch brothers own last four wins

DAVID POOLE and JIM UTTER

The Charlotte Observer

Sunday, Jul. 13, 2008

• Photos from Saturday at Chicagoland Speedway
• Kyle Busch sweeps to victory at Chicagoland
• Notes: Chiefs get proposed testing rules

REAR-VIEW MIRROR/David Poole

-- The only race Kyle Busch hasn't won in the past four was won by his brother, Kurt. The last time that happened was in 1955 when Tim Flock won at Montgomery, Ala., and Langhorne, Pa.; Fonty Flock won Raleigh; and then Tim won at Greenville-Pickens. The Flocks, with Bob also contributing, also won four straight in 1952. The Thomas brothers also did it in the final four races of that year, with Herb winning three of them.

-- This was TNT's last race. It seemed like it the network's first-ever. Viewers missed a restart early and significant action on pit road all night long during commercials. But, for absolutely no reason imaginable, fans did see Larry McReynolds attempt some Mickey Mouse magic. The only trick TNT pulled was making broadcasting competence disappear.

PIT STOPS

Big turnaround for Harvick

Kevin Harvick's third-place finish couldn't have come at more opportune time as he has been floating above and below the cutoff spot to make the Chase over the last several weeks.

He gained four spots in the series standings to ninth, but still needs good finishes over the next seven races to ensure his participation in the Chase. Harvick is 52 points above the 13th spot -- the top 12 qualify.

"We have made a lot of gains this month and I hope we have put ourselves in position with these new cars and new engines to get some momentum," said Harvick, who earned his first top-five finish since the March 16 race at Bristol, Tenn.

Harvick was running third on the final restart when Kyle Busch moved to the outside to pass Jimmie Johnson and was keeping an eye on the front two in case an opportunity presented itself.

"I thought I might be in the right spot there coming into the last corner," he said. "We just came up a little short." -- JIM UTTER

Stewart's big weekend ends with top-five

With all the hoopla around Tony Stewart's announcement he was leaving Joe Gibbs Racing at season's end and was now 50 percent owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, one wondered how Stewart would fare on the track.

Stewart ended up fifth -- his best performance in three weeks -- and gave himself a little breathing room in race to secure a spot in the Chase. He improved two positions to 10th.

"We weren't bad. We just got in a situation where we got free in the last couple runs and that's when we needed to be really good and we just fought loose for some reason," Stewart said.

"You look at the top of the board there and (Busch) is winning races. We ran with him the majority of the day. We just lost the handle on it at the end." -- J.U.

Strong night for Red Bull

Red Bull Racing teammates Brian Vickers and A.J. Allmendinger spent much of the race near each other and in the top 10.

Allmendinger was making his debut with new crew chief Jimmy Elledge. Vickers' engine blew just before the end of the race but he coasted across the finish line in sixth place, while Allmendinger was 13th -- one spot off his Cup career high of 12th.

"We definitely had a top-five car. Unfortunately, the engine blew on the last lap. We were down a cylinder on the restart, so those guys got a jump on us," Vickers said. "It could have been worse."

Allmendinger was nearly ecstatic about his first race with Elledge.

"I had more information than I ever could imagine. I knew exactly where I was running the whole time, what lap times I was running, and what the guys near me and behind me were running," he said. "It's everything I could ask for and it seems like it makes driving so much easier." -- J.U.

Kenseth overcomes early problem

Matt Kenseth spent the early part of the race in the thick of the battle for the lead but just as he seemed ready to settle in up front he was forced to pit road with a cut tire.

He fell a lap down at one point, got it back on a free pass under caution, and battled back for a seventh place finish which moved him up to a spot to eighth in the series standings.

"We just had a flat tire and there was a log of green-flag (racing) and it took us a long time to get our lap back and then we sort of ran out of time," Kenseth said.

"We were better than most, but it was still a huge advantage to be out front. When we were out front, we were running side-by-side with (Busch) and he ended winning the race." -- J.U.

Ignition problem hampers Hamlin

Denny Hamlin appeared to have a car capable of contending for a win Saturday night but fell off the pace early when he developed ignition problems and was forced to go to the garage for repairs.

Hamlin finished the race four laps down in 40th place which cost him five spots in the series standings. He is now 12th, the last position to qualify for the Chase, 27 points ahead of 13th place Clint Bowyer. -- J.U.

KEY MOMENTS

Lap 134

Matt Kenseth comes to pit road with a tire going down on his Ford. Kenseth had worked his car to the lead before that problem, but the unscheduled stop leaves him a lap down.

Lap 212

Shortly after taking the lead away from Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards comes to pit road thinking he's got a flat tire. What's actually wrong is that there's a broken brace on the nose of his Ford and his splitter has been dragging.

Lap 251

Two laps after a restart, Jimmie Johnson surges to the outside and takes the lead away from Busch. It looks like Busch, after having led 165 laps, is not going to pick up his seventh victory of the season.

Lap 261

David Gilliland's Ford begins spewing white smoke, its engine having let go. That brings out a caution without which Johnson would have clearly been on his way to victory.

Lap 266

Johnson leads coming to a restart with two laps left, but Busch isn't willing to settle for second. He makes his move to the outside going into Turn 1 and makes it stick. Busch completes the pass and holds off Johnson and Kevin Harvick to win.

NEXT RACE

Allstate 400 at the Brickyard

Where: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

When: Sunday, July 27, 2 p.m.

TV: ESPN

Radio: Indianapolis Motor Speedway network

Last year's winner: Tony Stewart

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