Kurt Busch left a rocky start to the Chase and his fiercest rival behind him.
Busch stormed into contention for a second Cup championship, holding off fellow Chase drivers Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards to win Sunday at Dover International Speedway, tightening the leaderboard in a playoff in which no driver has emerged as a clear-cut favorite.
Busch, though, is in the mix.
His No. 22 Dodge seemed only to get stronger over the 400-mile race and he beat Johnson, his longtime antagonist, on the final restart to take the checkered flag for the second time this season. The win pushed Busch from ninth to fourth in the points standings, only nine points out of first.
Busch, the 2004 champion, earned his 24th career victory and won for the first time at Dover. Los Angeles Times
For Busch, the victory was redemption after a frustrating 22nd-place finish a week earlier at New Hampshire.
“It was just perfect execution today, with pit stops and with making the car better during the race,” Busch said. “I couldn’t be happier right now. To win a Sprint Cup race in the Chase, this is what it’s all about. 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.”
Kasey Kahne ran fourth Sunday, followed by Chase drivers Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch. A.J. Allmendinger, Clint Bowyer, Marcos Ambrose and Harvick completed the top 10. NASCAR.com
Carl Edwards dominated in the early going, but Johnson took over from there, leading 157 laps, before giving up the lead to Busch after the lap 359 restart.
“I just got a poor restart when I was the leader,” Johnson said.
Johnson’s second-place run at Dover allowed him to rebound in the Chase as well. Johnson, who is attempting to win his record-extending sixth series championship, moved from tenth to fifth in the point standings.
“It just gets us back in the thick of things,” he added.
Johnson has won six races at Dover, including last year’s fall event here. MiamiHerald.com
Tony Stewart, who won the first two Chase races, continued his dismal Dover track record, finishing 25th and falling to third in points.
“Just the whole package (was off),” Stewart said. “Even when we got the balance halfway decent, it didn’t have speed. So we just missed it.” USA Today
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