DARLINGTON, S.C. (May 10) - The crowd booed him. He called his car pathetic. His crew missed a lug nut, and he couldn't stay off Darlington Raceway's wall. Despite it all, Kyle Busch found Victory Lane once again.
They don't call him "Rowdy" for nothing. Kyle Busch shrugs off boos from the crowd, scrapes with the wall, and the advice of his own spotter to surge to his third Sprint Cup Series victory of the year at the Dodge Challenger 500.
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The aggressive 23-year-old star has emerged as the hottest driver this season, with eight wins spanning NASCAR's top three series. Busch's victory at Darlington Raceway was delivered in typical convincing fashion, as he led a race-high 169 of the 367 laps.
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Despite the stellar performance, the unpopular Busch seemed to only anger the crowd more. Fans viciously booed him in prerace introductions and even tossed cans of beer at his car after he took the checkered flag.
Daniel Plassmann, AP
Dale Earnhardt Jr., who saw his winless streak stretch to 73 races, was one of the stars Busch supplanted in his sprint to the finish. Busch became Public Enemy No. 1 when he wrecked Earnhardt as they raced for the win last week in Richmond.
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Busch sustained heavy damage due to several collisions into the wall, but that didn't keep him from his reckless style. "How many times did I hit the wall? I don't know, one, two, three, four, probably five or six," Busch said.
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Busch, who established his first lead early in the race, was hit with a penalty when his crew left a lug nut off his rear wheel following a pit stop. The gaffe dropped him to 29th, but he battled his way back to the front.
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Tony Stewart, right, wasn't nearly as fortunate as Busch in overcoming early troubles. Elliott Sadler lost control of his car on the second lap of the race and squeezed Stewart into the Turn 1 wall. Smoke was unable to recover from the crash and finished a frustrating 21st.
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Stewart's rough night paled in comparison to what pole-sitter Greg Biffle experienced at Darlington. After leading 95 laps, Biffle's hopes were dashed by a broken timing belt and crew errors which left the the embattled star seething after the race.
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Seven-time Darlington winner Jeff Gordon, bottom, couldn't keep up with the physical Busch, but managed a third-place finish. "I can't tell you how many times he tried to give the race away by slamming into the wall," Gordon said.
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Overall, the newly repaved surface at Darlington Raceway caused problems for numerous stars. Between the smooth track and narrow racing line, several drivers were forced into the wall for the infamous "Darlington stripe."
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NASCAR's least popular driver raced to his third Sprint Cup Series victory of the season Saturday night, winning a battle of attrition at the track "Too Tough to Tame."
"How many times did I hit the wall? I don't know, one, two, three, four, probably five or six," Busch said. "I've got to thank my team, they build them as strong as they can for me, 'cause I like to knock the walls down with them."
Busch's victory hardly thrilled the crowd, which viciously booed him in prerace introductions and hadn't softened by the time he took the checkered flag. Already loathed by many, he enraged Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s massive fan base by wrecking him as they raced for the win last week in Richmond.
It created a frenzy of hatred toward Busch, but the 23-year-old driver tuned it out and focused on what he does best: winning races.
The win was his eighth of the season spanning NASCAR's top three series, and he has won most of them in very convincing fashion. This one was no different, as Busch led a race-high 169 of the 367 laps in a Toyota he described early in the race as the "most pathetic" he'd ever driven.
He also overcame every speed bump thrown his way to become the youngest winner on NASCAR's oldest superspeedway.
"Darlington showed again tonight it's one of the hardest places. Always has been, always will be," Busch said in Victory Lane. "We're going to go through a lot of Mac tools trying to fix this thing, but that's OK. They gave me such a race car."
An offseason repaving project smoothed the asphalt on the egg-shaped, 1.366-mile superspeedway, and the new surface gave the entire field fits. It made the track extremely fast and grippy, forcing Goodyear to bring a very sturdy tire that could handle the speeds and survive long runs.
Joe Gibbs M&Ms Toyota team members push their driver Kyle Busch out of the infield after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Life Lock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois, July 12, 2008. REUTERS/Robert LeSieur (UNITED STATES)
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JOLIET, IL - JULY 12: Samantha Sarcinella and Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&Ms Toyota prior to the start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series LifeLock.com 400 on July 12, 2008 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. (Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)
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JOLIET, IL - JULY 12: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M's Toyota, races Matt Kenseth, driver of the USG Sheetrock Ford during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series LifeLock.com 400 on July 12, 2008 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. Busch went on to win the race. (Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)
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Kyle Busch spins his wheels in the soft grass after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Life Lock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois, July 12, 2008. REUTERS /Robert LeSieur (UNITED STATES)
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Kyle Busch (18) races Jimmie Johnson for the lead during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Life Lock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois, July 12, 2008. REUTERS/Robert LeSieur (UNITED STATES)
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Kyle Busch (L) talks with a crew member prior to the start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Life Lock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois, July 12, 2008. REUTERS /Robert LeSieur (UNITED STATES)
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JOLIET, IL - JULY 12: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M's Toyota leads the field to the start line during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series LifeLock.com 400 on July 12, 2008 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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JOLIET, IL - JULY 12: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M's Toyota drives through turn three during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series LifeLock.com 400 on July 12, 2008 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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JOLIET, IL - JULY 12: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M's Toyota celebrates after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series LifeLock.com 400 on July 12, 2008 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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JOLIET, IL - JULY 12: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&'s Toyota, races Matt Kenseth, driver of the #17 USG Sheetrock Ford during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series LifeLock.com 400 on July 12, 2008 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. (Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)
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The combination of the smooth surface, hard tires and narrow racing line put passing at a premium, and forced several drivers into the wall for the infamous "Darlington stripe."
Busch was no exception, bouncing hard off of it at least twice in what was an eventful fight to the finish. He was leading early in the race but was penalized when his crew left a lug nut off his rear wheel following a pit stop, dropping him to 29th.
He battled his way back to the front, patiently picking off Jimmie Johnson, Earnhardt and finally seven-time Darlington winner Jeff Gordon to reclaim the top position. From there, the kid who chases the checkered flag every time he's on the track pulled away, forcing spotter Jeff Dickerson to beg him to slow down a mere 50 laps from the finish.
"I know you are digging, dude, but you've got to take care of that thing there," Dickerson radioed. "You're scaring the fans. There's not enough security up the Turn 2 wall. Just nice and easy."
But Busch isn't capable of going slow, and he stayed on the gas until the finish while stretching his Sprint Cup Series lead to 79 points over Jeff Burton.
"I can't tell you how many times he tried to give the race away by slamming into the wall, his right side was destroyed," Gordon said.
Carl Edwards finished second and was pleased with the outcome after initially loathing the new surface.
"Kyle had the best car. He was pretty unbeatable," Edwards said.
He was followed by Gordon, who was happy with the finish but frustrated he's still searching for his first win of the season.
"We know we have some work to do," Gordon said.
Earnhardt finished fourth, David Ragan was fifth and was followed by Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin - Busch's teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing. Travis Kvapil, Dave Blaney and Burton rounded out the top 10.
Almost every driver struggled in some sense, and the problems started early, with Elliott Sadler losing control of his car on the second lap of the race - squeezing Tony Stewart into the Turn 1 wall.
"I just made a huge mistake," Sadler said. "I just went in too low into Turn 1. I was actually trying to give Tony more room and I just got loose under him and spun into him. I know he's pretty mad at me, but nothing I did intentionally. I've never had any problems with him, and don't want to start it tonight."
The incident prevented Stewart, winner of Friday night's Nationwide Series race, from ever running with the leaders and he finished a frustrating 21st.
But Stewart's angst was nothing compared to what pole-sitter Greg Biffle felt after leading 95 laps, only to end his night early with a broken timing belt. The part failed after he'd already overcome two loose wheels, and the crew errors had Biffle seething after his early exit.
"I give 110 percent as a driver all the time and you just want your equipment to last and be able to win these races," said Biffle, a highly sought after free agent who has yet to reach a contract extension with Roush Fenway Racing.
"You can deal with a flat tire or something like that, but when it's self-induced, it makes it even harder. It makes it so hard to swallow."
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