Motorsports

Keep the drama; Busch gladly will take victory

After three runner-up finishes this season, once in door-banging fashion, he avoids trouble at the Food City 500.

©Associated Press
March 24, 2003

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- His tires were worn out, his gas tank was nearly empty and his crew chief wanted him to pit. Kurt Busch overruled him and the gamble paid off.

Busch, a runner-up three times this season, earned his first win of the year Sunday and defended his Food City 500 title by gambling on pit strategy and avoiding all but one of the 17 cautions at Bristol Motor Speedway.

"I'm out here having fun, living a dream and driving cars for a living," Busch said. "I don't know what it is about me, I don't know what it is about Bristol. I love this place and I love that I got another win."

Busch got this one without any bumping, banging or late-race dramatics.

Coming off last weekend's door-to-door battle with Ricky Craven that he lost, Busch had little competition as his Ford Taurus led the final 96 laps and easily held off Roush Racing teammate Matt Kenseth by .390 seconds.

"Kurt Busch is awesome, so awesome," crew chief Jimmy Fenning said. "He gets up on the wheel and drives the hell out of that race car, and he made a call today that won him the race."

Because of 17 cautions, three short of the race record, long green-flag runs were rare. When competition stayed clean long enough for 129 uninterrupted laps, cars started ducking off the track for pit stops.

Those who had enough fuel kept running, hoping for a caution, and the drivers who had to stop fell a lap behind the leaders.

When Dale Jarrett hit the wall 109 laps from the finish, there were only five cars on the lead lap and all needed to pit. It was the break they needed, and Busch capitalized by bringing his car in for service, then passing Bobby Labonte for the lead on the restart.

"We actually cut that closer than you think," Busch said. "I was told to pit two laps before and I saw debris in Turn 2. I took it upon myself to stay out on the racetrack. Sometimes it takes that gut instinct behind the wheel to know when to stay out."

Labonte was third in a Chevrolet, Ricky Rudd finished fourth in a Ford, Roush Racing rookie Greg Biffle was fifth and Sterling Marlin scored his highest finish of the season by coming in sixth in a Dodge.

The ending lacked the drama of last year, when Busch scored his first career victory by knocking Jimmy Spencer out of his way.

This year Busch remained patient as he coasted around the .533-mile bullring -- he spun out once midway through -- and let most of the bumping and banging go on behind him.

"You watch all these wrecks and the cars as they go by and you keep praying you are on the right side when the smoke clears," Busch said. "For the most part, we were."

Of the 17 cautions, only one was serious.

Kyle Petty needed help getting out of his car after he hit the wall with 75 laps to go. He walked tenderly away from the car and was taken to Bristol Regional Medical Center, where was treated and released.

Contact probably played a part in the finish. Kenseth and Labonte bumped on the final restart with 18 laps to go, preventing either from mounting a challenge for Busch.

"Me and Bobby had to go there a little at the end and I got my fender knocked in there a little," Kenseth said. "I was hoping I could make a run at Kurt before that happened."

But Kenseth's finish was good enough for him to retain his lead in the standings. He leads Busch by 138 points.

Labonte was satisfied with his finish after his share of problems.

"It was great, it was better than great," Labonte said. "I spun out twice and finished third. That's a pretty great day."

Spencer, one of the drivers who was caught out by the late caution and went a lap down, led 139 laps before fading to a 12th-place finish. Jeff Gordon, who led a race-high 174 laps, also went a lap down and finished ninth.

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