Penske Racing's Kurt Busch continues recent surge in performances with strong Phoenix run
Penske Racing's Kurt Busch finished sixth in Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway. // David Griffin, NASCAR Scene
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AVONDALE, Ariz. – Fresh off a win one week earlier at Texas Motor Speedway, Kurt Busch continued his recent string of strong performances with a sixth-place finish in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.
The outcome didn't match how well Busch ran earlier in the race, though.
Starting second, the Penske Racing driver took the lead from polesitter Martin Truex Jr. on the race’s opening lap and went on to pace the field three times for a total of 69 laps.
But as the race wore on and the sun began going down, the handling on Busch’s Dodge began to go away, and the Las Vegas native was no match for race-winner Jimmie Johnson and several other frontrunners.
“It was a good day, just not quite good enough,” crew chief Pat Tryson said. “We started out good, but as the track rubbered up, we weren’t quite as good as we needed to be. All in all, it was a good day.
“We would have liked it to have been a little better.”
Still, it was a solid outing for the 2004 series champion as he remained fourth in NASCAR’s Chase For The Sprint Cup and closed to within 42 points of third-place Jeff Gordon, who finished ninth.
“We had a great car in the beginning, a good feel, but lost the handle,” said Busch, who notched his sixth top-10 in nine Chase races. “A tough day for the [team]. We wanted to be right up there in the mix going for the win. Sixth place, we’ll take it. Last week was a win. We’re gaining points and we’re still doing a good job. Gordon is within distance going into Homestead for third place overall.”
Busch is already looking forward to next Sunday’s season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where his team will resurrect the car that just went to victory lane at Texas.
Busch would especially like to finish the season with a win since next weekend will mark his last race with Tryson, who is leaving to join Truex at Michael Waltrip Racing in 2010.
“We’re bringing back ‘Patriot,’ the car we won with at Texas,” Busch said. “It’s a great car. Our team has an upbeat feel.
“We’ve had a long year. We’ve had a successful year.”
