Kyle Busch's long weekend ends

Fourth-place 500 finish 'frustrating' for driver who raced in all three Daytona events

DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. -- Kyle Busch ran more laps than anyone during Speedweeks. He led a bunch of them, too.

Just not the ones that really mattered.

Busch finished fourth in the Daytona 500 on Sunday, ending a hectic weekend that also included strong showings in the Craftsman Truck Series and the Nationwide Series.

Busch was second in both of those.

He was considerably better in the big one, leading a race-high 86 laps and dominating most of the afternoon.

But several late cautions kept the field bunched together, and Penske Racing teammates Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch hooked up to prevent Busch from getting to Victory Lane.

"Just frustrating to come home fourth," Busch said. "But that's part of the Daytona 500 when you run as good as we had all day long. Those guys couldn't keep up with us, but there were all those cautions at the end that propelled them forward enough in order to get them ahead."

LIVING LEGENDS: Bobby Allison and Cale Yarborough sat next to each other Sunday, maybe the perfect pairing for NASCAR's celebration of the 50th running of the Daytona 500.

The two former series champions were at the center of an on-track brawl in 1979, the one in which Yarborough and Bobby and Donnie Allison were kicking, swinging and scuffling at the end of NASCAR's first live, flag-to-flag televised race.

Nearly 30 years later, Yarborough and Bobby Allison joined nearly two dozen Daytona 500 winners brought together by NASCAR before The Great American Race.

"They are the men that built this sport, they created this great event," said NASCAR board member Jim France, the brother of late NASCAR chairman and CEO Bill France Jr. "Their actions over the years have established the history of this place.

"If my brother was here today, he would say, 'They built it, they did a [heck] of a job and don't screw it up guys.' "

DODGE'S COMMITMENT: Chrysler Chairman and Chief Executive Bob Nardelli reaffirmed Dodge's commitment to NASCAR on Sunday.

He said racing is still "in our bones," even after a disruptive year in which DaimlerChrysler announced the end of a nine-year partnership with Chrysler and agreed to sell about 80 percent of Chrysler to a private equity firm.

"It's within the DNA of our legacy and we couldn't be more committed to it," Nardelli said. "We are here to win."

OLD SCHOOL: NASCAR went old school with its pre-race concert, bringing in some big names from the past.

Chubby Checker, Kool & The Gang, Michael McDonald and Brooks and Dunn all performed.

Asked whether NASCAR still had a tight bond with country music, Kix Brooks took a jab at the sport's most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

"Little E's turned his hat around backward, and he's into rock now," Brooks said. "We're going to go out there and hand out CDs and bring a few [fans] back."