Kyle Busch quashes slump talk

Points leader wins third road race

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. -- If Kyle Busch has a weakness, it's apparently going to be awfully difficult to find.

After rivals Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon said during the week they thought he was slipping after two straight lackluster finishes, Busch answered by making NASCAR history Sunday.

He led 52 laps from the pole and won the Centurion Boats at The Glen at Watkins Glen International to become the first driver in NASCAR's history to win three road course races in one season.

"That's pretty neat, pretty special to me," said Busch, who finished second Saturday in the Nationwide race at the track. "To be a force to be reckoned with means a lot. This year has just been phenomenal. It's just crazy."

Busch, who also clinched the top spot in the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup title, has won 16 races in NASCAR's top three series this season -- eight in Sprint Cup, six in Nationwide and two in trucks. His win Sunday completed a trifecta on road courses that includes the Nationwide race in Mexico in April and the Cup race at Sonoma, Calif., in June.

Busch also joined another select group. Only Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Robby Gordon had swept both Cup road course events in the same year.

"That kid's awesome," said Steve Addington, Busch's crew chief. "I can't believe we don't win a race in three or four weeks and we're in a slump."

Actually, Busch has won four of the past seven races, and Sunday's victory gives him 80 bonus points for the Chase, 50 more than Carl Edwards with four races remaining before the postseason. Drivers get 10 bonus points for a victory.

After a 43-minute red-flag stoppage because of a multicar pileup with eight laps to go, Busch held off Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Stewart, who was bidding for his fifth win on the track in seven starts. Stewart settled for his second straight runner-up finish and moved to 10 points behind Jeff Gordon for sixth in the standings.

"I never could get the runs in the right spots," said Stewart, who also has finished second twice here in the past three years. "I needed to stay with him to be close enough to try to make a move in a braking zone. We never could get close enough to get an opportunity."

Marcos Ambrose of Tasmania, who started last in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford, finished an amazing third a day after winning the Nationwide race.

"It's just a great weekend all around," Ambrose said after only his third Cup start of his brief NASCAR career. "I hope I can give the Wood Brothers a shot in the arm that they need to really get the momentum to move forward."

Ambrose was followed by Juan Pablo Montoya and Martin Truex Jr.

Kevin Harvick was sixth, followed by Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Edwards and Kurt Busch. Matt Kenseth finished 12th to move into 12th place in the standings, 22 points ahead of Clint Bowyer in the race for the final slot to make the Chase championship playoff.

Jeff Gordon, a four-time winner at Watkins Glen, began the day sixth in points, but he faded quickly after a strong start and finished 29th.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., who has never won a Cup race on a road course, took off to a big lead after passing Busch on the second lap and figured to be a strong contender. But poor pit strategy derailed his effort and he finished 22nd after leading 33 laps and fell two slots in the standings to fourth.

Johnson had a stout car, too, but an unscheduled pit stop for a tire problem spoiled his chances of notching the first road-course victory of his career.