Minor damage not enough to deny Kurt Busch fifth-place finish at Daytona
Penske Racing's Kurt Busch finished fifth in Saturday night's NASCAR Sprint Cup Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway. // LaDon George, NASCAR Scene
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Kurt Busch’s Coke Zero 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race went from good to bad to surprising. And it ended with a fifth-place finish.
Busch’s No. 2 Dodge was decent for most of the race, but on lap 123, Roush Fenway Racing driver David Ragan swerved in front of Busch and slammed the wall for the race’s fifth caution.
Busch’s car was slightly damaged, and the goals for the race then changed.
“We definitely had a strong car,” Busch said. “Our Dodge was steady, and we bounced back from those mid-race troubles. We were not in contention for the lead. We were about a fifth- or sixth-place car. We had some damage, so we were just looking for a top-10.
“We definitely needed a solid run tonight just to give us that confidence we’re going to be OK, but we still have some work to do heading down this stretch run."
Busch remained fourth in the Sprint Cup standings, but he fell 111 points behind third-place Jimmie Johnson.
After the wreck with Ragan, Busch said his car went from “OK to bad right there.”
“We came in and made some changes to make the car looser,” Busch said. "You just have to let it hang out and let ‘er rip. I was just hoping to hang on for a top-10. We got fifth tonight and that was more than we expected.”
