Busch wins slippery race at Atlanta

HAMPTON, Ga. — Kyle Busch never believed getting Toyota’s breakthrough Sprint Cup victory would be so demanding.

After leading 173 laps during Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway and winning by more than two seconds in front of Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Tony Stewart, it appeared to be a walk in the park for the 22-year-old phenom.

Afterward, he insisted it was anything but.

“This race was a challenge,” said Busch, who has a 73-point lead over Greg Biffle after four races. “It was tough. It was like racing on ice. It was the worst I’ve ever felt in a race car. My hands are so sore from gripping the steering wheel so tight. It was, without a doubt, one of the toughest and hardest races I’ve ever run.

“Still, it’s pretty special to be able to give Toyota its first win. I’m sure they would have wanted it before now, but I’m glad to be the one to give it to them.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. followed Stewart home in third, followed by Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Brian Vickers and Jeff Burton. The driver who appeared to be Busch’s biggest challenger, Carl Edwards, finished 42nd after suffering a blown engine while leading late in the race. That ended his bid for three consecutive wins.

“Carl Edwards had the best car today by far,” Busch said. “Whatever they’re doing over there, it’s scary because he’s so fast every week.”

The race actually had four separate portions. An old track surface, coupled with a harder-than-usual Goodyear tire, made for very loose driving conditions. Therefore, when a team found a way to get extra grip, it took off and dominated.

The first to do so was Earnhardt, who soared out of the gate from his outside pole position and was lapping cars within 19 laps on the mile-and-a-half track. By lap 23, he had put 12 cars a lap down and 10 laps later, 17 cars were lapped, including Kenseth and Vickers. Only a caution at lap 39 for debris slowed Earnhardt’s momentum.

“The car was great at first, but we never could get it back to that,” he said. “We adjusted on it all day, but we went the wrong way before we finally made it better. The way we were out of control after a few laps, that was interesting. I’m glad it’s over with.”

Busch then took his turn at the front, leading for most of the next 100 laps before Bowyer took over and took off. After building a four-second lead on lap 188, a series of cautions slowed his pace.

Edwards then took over on a restart at lap 236 and he also built a four-second lead over Busch in just 13 laps. The lead grew to almost six seconds on lap 254, but after Elliott Sadler’s third spin of the day and a subsequent restart on lap 262, Edwards’ car began to smoke, finally sending him to the pits and garage with engine trouble.

Busch took over and never looked back, though Biffle managed to get within two seconds before a battle with Stewart slowed him over the final laps.

“Kyle Busch owes Tony Stewart part of that win,” Biffle said. “Tony sure raced the heck out of us at the end and I used the tires too much trying to hold him off. But that’s what teammates are for.”

Stewart wasn’t surprised to see his teammate win the slippery race.

“He likes a loose car and it doesn’t bother him to drive it that way,” he said of Busch. “He’s amazing to me. It’s fun to watch him drive, whether it’s in a Sprint Cup car, a Nationwide Series car or a truck. He will drive it far beyond what it’s capable of doing.”

Busch was the only driver to compete in all three series this weekend, winning the truck race and leading the majority of the Nationwide race before a blown tire ended his bid. He says the extra work paid off Sunday.

“That’s why I drive in the Craftsman Truck Series and in the Nationwide Series, to get the track time,” he said. “It allows me to see what the tires are doing with the track and it lets me understand what to tell my crew during a race. Today, it definitely made a difference.”