Penske Racing
Midway through Saturday’s Budweiser Shootout, Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman appeared to have picked up where they left off in last year’s Daytona 500, drafting and moving towards the front, but then suddenly, on lap 47, everything changed for Newman.
With 23 laps remaining in the 70-lap race, the engine in Newman’s Alltel My Circle 500 Dodge Charger expired. Busch continued, finishing third in his Miller Lite Dodge Charger.
“That was a lot of fun, “ said Busch, who led twice for six laps after starting 19th in the 21-car field. “I keep building my restrictor-plate resume and my feel out there with the other drivers and the team is doing the same thing. I feel like we get closer each time. I don’t know what I need right now to beat the No. 20 (Stewart) and the No. 5 (Kyle Busch), but we’re very, very close and this Dodge was superior tonight. “
Newman, who started ninth, said his car was also good.
“The balance was great, “ Newman said after walking back to the team transporter. “We had to make very minor adjustments on the car during the mandatory pit stop (after the first 20 laps) and that was only to try to make a good car even better. “
Busch displayed his car’s strength early in the race. He had broken into the top 10 by the sixth lap and was up to second by lap 13. He remained at the front of the pack for the rest of the 20-lap segment, finishing third.
Newman, however, fell to the rear of the field early because he was unable to get any drafting help. He finished the 20-lap segment in 14th.
When the final 50 laps started after the 10-minute intermission, Newman received some drafting help once he cracked the top 10, but only for short bursts.
“At restrictor-plate tracks, you have to have help, “ Newman said. “I believe I’ve helped a lot of drivers in the last six years, but for some reason, I don’t get the same help in return. I’m not sure what else we can do. “
With the race’s halfway point approaching, Newman maneuvered his Dodge into third. He then maintained his top-10 position until his car’s engine soured, leaving him with his worst finish in the non-points race for last year’s pole winners and previous victors of the event.
Meanwhile, Busch was shuffled back to seventh on lap 33. He fought his way back up to fourth before a yellow flag flew on lap 53 for debris. When the field pitted on lap 54, Busch received four tires and fuel in 13.882 seconds, and returned to the track in fourth.
After the lap 58 restart, Busch was battling for the lead when he got stuck in the middle lane of a three-wide pack and shuffled back to eighth. He had fallen to 14th by the time he found another drafting partner. With 10 laps remaining, Busch had made it back to 11th. He then used the inside line to advance to fifth on lap 63 and on lap 64 he was running in fourth, single-file behind Tony Stewart, David Gilliland and Elliott Sadler, respectfully. They remained in those positions until the final two laps.
Busch then dove underneath Sadler entering turn 1 to grab third, with Kevin Harvick tucked in closely behind. The top-three stayed intact for the final circuit around the 2.5-mile track.
