Tuesday’s victory in the twice-rain-delayed event at Michigan International Speedway helped Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge) strengthen his hold on 12th place in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup standings.
But now it’s grab-as-many-points-as-you-can with three races to go.
And only 163 separate Busch and 13th-place Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet), who finished 12th at Michigan. Right behind Earnhardt – by eight points – is Busch’s Penkse Racing teammate, Ryan Newman (No. 12 Alltel Dodge).
Fifteenth-place Greg Biffle (No. 16 Dish Network Ford) has a larger mountain to climb – he trails Newman by 125 points – but no one is particularly comfortable as the series heads for Saturday night’s Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
“The cleanest car usually has a shot going to Victory Lane,” Busch said of the .533-mile short track, which will host the 30th anniversary running of its night race on Saturday.
“That’s the approach I’ve taken there every year and I’ve had some wins.”
Expect Busch, who trails 11th-place Martin Truex Jr. (No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet) by 33 points, to be fierce at Bristol. He and standings leader Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet) lead all active drivers with five wins there.
Earnhardt has one Bristol victory.
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