Kurt breaks up Kyle's triple

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

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

Kyle Busch, who had won the Nationwide and Camping World Truck series races at the track over the weekend, was looking to become the first driver in NASCAR history to sweep three races on a weekend. But he 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," Kurt Busch said. "It's bittersweet, I was rooting for him, but at the same time this is for us."

There was no record for Kurt Busch, 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 the 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," Busch said 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 summed up most of the race.

Series points leader Jimmie Johnson, who was on the verge of wrapping up his fourth consecutive series title, wrecked on Lap 3. Johnson was hit by Sam Hornish Jr. after Hornish was tapped from behind by David Reutimann and got loose. 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 into 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 Saturday, Sunday's finish was hard to accept.

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

Instead, Busch left the track disappointed and without comment.

For the older Busch, Sunday's win bolted him two spots in the series standings to fourth and gave him a strong desire to finish the season with momentum to carry into 2010. That comes with a caveat, though - 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."