Kurt Busch took advantage of a strong restart during the final green-white-checkered flag attempt to take the victory in Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, a win that marked a second consecutive spring race victory at the 1.54-mile quad-oval.
The race victory, along with his impressive on-track performance, earned Busch both the “Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race” and “Sunoco Diamond Performance” awards.
The Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race is awarded to the highest finishing eligible driver while the Sunoco Diamond Performance award goes to the race winner each week.
Both awards are part of the NASCAR Prize Money and Decal Program, also referred to as the contingency program, which provide teams prize money and weekly awards based on performance in several categories.
The 2010 NASCAR season marks the eighth consecutive year in which Mobil 1 is the “Official Motor Oil of NASCAR” and their nineteenth consecutive season as a major sponsor of Penske Racing. Sunoco has been the “Official Fuel of NASCAR” since 2004, powering every race car that hits the track in NASCAR’s top three series.
Sunday marked Busch’s third victory and seventh top-10 finish in 19 races at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He credited new crew chief Steve Addington and the entire No. 2 team for the win.
“I feel like we won the race outright today,” said Kurt Busch during his Sunday post-race interview at Atlanta Motor Speedway. “No doubt we did our job on pit road, no doubt we did our job on long runs, and I think we hit the right combination for restarts. That’s what I’m most proud of. I’m happy to bring it home for Steve, this team.”
The win in Atlanta was Busch’s 21st victory in 332 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. The Las Vegas native has now won at least one race in nine consecutive seasons. Heading into the off weekend, Busch currently sits tenth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points standings, less than 150 points behind points leader Kevin Harvick.
Official winners of this week’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Prize Money & Decal Program special awards include:
* COORS LIGHT POLE AWARD: Dale Earnhardt Jr. (192.761 mph, 28.761 secs.)
* DIRECTV CREW CHIEF OF THE RACE AWARD: Brian Pattie (crew chief for Juan Pablo Montoya)
* GOODYEAR GATORBACK BELTS FASTEST LAP AWARD: Kyle Busch (187.215 mph, Lap 2)
* MAHLE CLEVITE ENGINE BUILDER OF THE RACE AWARD: Kasey Kahne
* MOBIL 1 “COMMAND PERFORMANCE DRIVER OF THE RACE” AWARD: Kurt Busch
* MOOG CHASSIS PARTS PROBLEM SOLVER OF THE RACE AWARD: Richard Labbe (crew chief for Paul Menard)
* O’REILLY AUTO PARTS POSITION IMPROVEMENT AWARD: Kevin Harvick (26 places)
* RAYBESTOS ROOKIE OF THE RACE AWARD: Kevin Conway
* SUNOCO DIAMOND PERFORMANCE AWARD: Kurt Busch
* TISSOT “PIT ROAD PRECISION” AWARD: Martin Truex Jr. (349.623 sec.)
* WIX FILTERS LAP LEADER AWARD: Kasey Kahne (144 laps)
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