Bristol battle between Mark Martin, Kyle Busch one for the ages
As Mark Martin and Kyle Busch battle for spots in the Chase For The Sprint Cup with two races left in the run up to the championship series, it’s worth revisiting their remarkable battle for the win last week at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Most of the 160,000 people on hand for Saturday night’s Sharpie 500 were on their feet as Martin and Busch raced side by side over the closing laps. It seems safe to say that the majority of the assembly wanted Martin, who was in second place, to bump-and-run approaching the finish, moving Busch out of the way en route to what would have been an immensely popular victory.
Martin had been honored in prerace ceremonies for his 1,000th NASCAR start, and the fans’ vibrant response to his appearance prior to the race had triggered an unusual and very public reaction by Martin.
To finish off the already remarkable night with a win would have produced one of the best nights of Martin’s long and productive career.
Instead, Martin raced Busch hard but clean, apparently never even considering the idea of the bump-and-run, a long-accepted and almost-always successful method of winning races at Bristol. And, to his credit, Busch gave Martin plenty of room to challenge.
Of course, Busch won the race, a victory that seemed to deflate most of the crowd.
Given the same circumstances, would Martin race the same way again? Almost certainly yes. His history has been that of a clean and smart racer, one who will run right up to the edge in pursuit of victory but one who won’t shove people around to get it.
On one hot August night, this was disappointing to a lot of folks. Over the long haul, it will produce even more respect for one of NASCAR’s finest racers.
