Kurt Busch wins as leader wrecks, Chase tightens

FORT WORTH, Texas – A Busch brother won Sunday’s Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

But the payoff was a $1 million for a fan, not a new chapter in the NASCAR record book.

Kyle Busch, who had won the Nationwide and Truck series race at the track over the weekend, was looking to become the first driver in NASCAR history to sweep a race weekend but ran out of fuel while leading with three of 334 laps remaining.

Ready to jump on the opportunity was Kyle’s older brother, Kurt, who coasted across the finish line a whopping 25-plus seconds ahead of runner-up Denny Hamlin.

“This is the first time Kyle and I raced each other hard,” said Kurt. “It’s bittersweet. I was rooting for him, but at the same time this is for us.”

There was no record for Kurt, just his second Sprint Cup Series win of the season and first in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. But there was a significant payoff.

Michael McGee, an agricultural teacher from Broken Bow, Okla., earned the right to randomly pick a Chase driver as part of contest by the race sponsor. On Friday, McGee picked driver of car No. 2 – Kurt Busch. On Sunday, the little bit of fuel left in Busch’s Dodge brought a lot of cash to McGee.

"He won more money than I did tonight,” said Busch in Victory Lane. “We got a big piece of hardware. I’m happy.”

Added McGee: “I can’t believe this is happening.”

Those words nicely sum up most of the race.

Series points leader Jimmie Johnson, who was on the verge of wrapping up his fourth consecutive series title, wrecked out on Lap 3 after getting hit by Sam Hornish Jr. Johnson spent more than an hour in the garage as his team worked feverishly to repair his car.

He returned to the track on Lap 115 and was able to gain five positions, but his 38th-place finish was his worst of the season.

“The guys did a great job getting this car back on track to pick up a couple more spots and we'll go to Phoenix and race,” Johnson said.

“We’ve got two great race tracks for us. We didn’t want this by any means, but we’re still in a great position.”

Johnson’s misfortune opened the door for several title contenders, but two – Carl Edwards and Juan Pablo Montoya – got in wrecks of their own and couldn’t capitalize. Jeff Gordon, who won the spring race at Texas, spun once during the race, struggled with handling and finished 13th.

That left Mark Martin, who entered the race trailing Johnson by 184 points for the championship, back in the hunt, down 73 with two races remaining.

“I’m not really sure why everybody counts everything out. When it comes right down to performance you know you can’t beat those guys, Jimmie Johnson and those guys,” Martin said. “But it’s not over yet.”

For Kyle Busch, who inched ever closer to capturing the Nationwide series title with his win on Saturday, Sunday’s finish was hard to accept.

Busch didn’t make the Chase this season and was in his first week working with new crew chief, Dave Rogers. The completion of a sweep of wins in NASCAR’s three national series in the same weekend would have been a nice kickoff.

Instead, a disappointed Busch left the track without comment.

For the older Busch, Sunday’s win bolted him two spots in the series standings to fourth and a strong desire to finish out the year with momentum to carry into 2010. Although that comes with a caveat – Busch’s crew chief, Pat Tryson, is moving to Michael Waltrip Racing at season’s end.

“Right now, with the way that we’re situated, it’s bittersweet because, hey, Pat is leaving. We wish that we could stick together,” Busch said. “We want to get the best we can out of these last few races.”

Team owner Roger Penske made a point to single out Tryson during the post-race news conference.

“Pat – great job for you. I appreciate the commitment you made in these last races. I want to say that publicly,” Penske said. “I know you’re a first class guy. What a great win for you and for the team.”

Replied Tryson: “I appreciate it, Roger. Thank you.”

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