Kurt Busch can now add a road course win to his already impressive Sprint Cup Series resume.
Busch led 76 of 110 laps and beat runner-up Jeff Gordon to the finish line by 2.685 seconds to win his first race of the season and the 23rd of his career, tying him with Ricky Rudd for 26th on the career win list. The victory, which broke a 38-race drought, was Busch’s first on a road course.
Gordon, who was mired in traffic for much of the day, parlayed pit strategy into his second-place finish by staying out on old tires late in the race. Series leader Carl Edwards did the same and came home third, extending his advantage in the standings to 25 points in front of second-place Kevin Harvick, who finished ninth Sunday. NASCAR.com
“It was an unbelievable setup,” Busch said. “Once we got into the groove with this car, it seemed to get better after lap five or six.”
He had won three consecutive poles prior to Sonoma. Busch moved from seventh to fourth in the point standings after his Sonoma victory.
“We’ve been on a high these past few weeks,” he added.
Joey Logano, the pole sitter, finished sixth, while Jimmie Johnson, who won his first road course race one year ago at Sonoma, took the seventh spot. Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick and Busch’s teammate, Brad Keselowski, placed eighth through 10th, respectively. MiamiHerald.com
FIN CAR DRIVER MAKE 1 22 Kurt Busch Dodge 2 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 3 99 Carl Edwards Ford 4 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 5 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 6 20 Joey Logano Toyota 7 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 8 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 9 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 10 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 11 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 12 34 David Gilliland Ford 13 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford 14 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 15 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 16 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 17 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 18 7 Robby Gordon Dodge 19 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet 20 4 Kasey Kahne Toyota 21 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 22 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 23 16 Greg Biffle Ford 24 0 David Reutimann Toyota 25 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 26 46 Andy Pilgrim Chevrolet 27 37 Chris Cook Ford 28 51 Boris Said Chevrolet 29 6 David Ragan Ford 30 66 Michael McDowell Toyota 31 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 32 32 Terry Labonte Ford 33 181 Brian Simo Ford 34 13 Casey Mears Toyota 35 71 Andy Lally * Ford 36 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 37 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 38 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 39 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 40 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 41 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 42 60 Mike Skinner Toyota 43 177 P.J. Jones Dodge
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