Busch drives Dodge to victory at Texas
Posted on Monday, November 9th, 2009 at 2:11 PM EST. (Employee News)
Busch drove the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger to his second victory of the season and made an Oklahoma agriculture teacher a millionaire Sunday in the Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.
It was the Busch Brothers’ Show—Kurt and Kyle. Kurt dueled with his younger brother Kyle through most of the race and then stretched the fuel an extra couple laps over the final 20 circuits to take the win, the 20th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory of his career.
Busch was never outside the top six except during a green-flag pit cycle. He led six times for 89 laps including the last three as his brother, who led 232 laps, needed a trip to pit road for a splash of fuel to make it to the checkered flag. That was the case for all the challengers except Busch, the only driver that could stretch the fuel window 62 laps. He needed a push to victory lane, out of fuel.
“Unbelievable! I’m proud of our team and everybody pulling together hard. Racing my little brother head to head for the win is bitter sweet. I was rooting for him, but at the same time, we wanted to put our Miller Lite Dodge in victory lane. We raced hard. It was cat and mouse on those restarts. Then it came down to the crew chief, Pat (Tryson) putting in the right calls and getting us the fuel mileage to bring it home.”
The strategy started some 120 laps earlier for Tryson as he let Busch log a couple of extra laps to create the one-stop fuel window.
“It takes good adjustments,” Busch said. “It takes a fast car. At the start of the race we had one. It was a great Miller Lite Dodge today.”
Busch’s win turned a $50,000 prize into a $1 million payday for an agricultural teacher and horse training business owner form Broken Bow, Okla. Michael McGee was named the 2009 American Worker of the Year on Oct. 30 in Las Vegas by race-sponsor Dickies. He received a $50,000 prize and a trip to Texas for the Dickies 500. His opportunity to win a million came Friday when he randomly selected Busch’s number for the group of 12 Chase drivers as part of the sponsor’s promotion. Busch’s win left the teacher speechless and in tears.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” McGee said. “It was amazing to win the title of American Worker of the Year, and now this. At my age, it’s truly an honor to be recognized for my hard work and achievement from a respected company like Dickies.”
Busch made the presentation of an “extra large” check to McGee in victory lane.
“When your number is picked, you feel that special person riding with you,” said Busch. “Whether that’s an angel from above or what, we thank the Good Lord. He (Michael) won more money than I did tonight. We got a big piece of hardware. I’m happy. Most of all, Operation Home front, they come away the biggest winner tonight.”
Tryson, who will be leaving the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge team at the end of the season, told his driver they were one lap short on fuel and they would make it if he would save enough over the final 20 circuits to cover that final lap. Each time Busch asked Tryson “are you sure,” Tryson responded, “yes, we’re good. Just save enough for a lap.”
Tryson credited his team’s hard work. “It was just a great day,” he said. “The 18 was going to win it, but they didn’t get as good (fuel) mileage as us. We worked pretty hard in practice and Kurt (Busch) saved a bunch (of gas) there at the end.”
Busch, who started third, moved up two spots to fourth in the Chase standings. He’s 59 points out of third and 171 behind the point leader, Jimmy Johnson who was involved in a mishap on the second lap of the 334-lap event and finished 38th.
“A full team effort all the way around,” he said. “From the pit stops to pit strategy to the guys back in the shop building a fast race car that I was a little apprehensive to bring to the race track, it was a total team effort. It shows what I know and what they know. Just keep me in the car and let them do the engineering. In the end, this makes a real solid team. We were well rounded tonight with power, downforce, handling, and in the end, strategy. That played out for us to come out on top. A small bit of fuel mileage we had to play, but it wasn’t very much. For us, just one lap shy (of making it to the end). Our Dodge (R6) engine gave us the fuel mileage we needed to come out on top of everybody.”
The win was the 45th since Dodge’s return to NASCAR’s premier series in 2001. It was Team Penske’s 61st win. Roger Penske was on hand to witness the victory.
“I think it’s a real credit to Kurt,” Penske said during post-race interviews. “Great job tonight. He had to pick up a lap on fuel. We told him early on, Pat, it’s your call there to stay out. Kurt had a little vibration, but he stayed out longer. He had to race pretty hard to get back up there, but we were really picking up on the 18 and the 00. He took his time. At the end, I really wasn’t concerned because Pat said we only needed one lap. I knew Kurt could make at least one lap. You could see that.
“Pat, great job for you. I appreciate the commitment you made in these last races. I want to say that publicly. I know you’re a first-class guy. What a great win for you and for the team.”
Part of the Texas Motor Speedway victory lane tradition is to provide the winning team with cowboy hats. Both Busch and Tryson wore their black hats to the post-race interview session. Penske was asked why he wasn’t wearing his cowboy hat.
“I don’t know,” he responded to the media question. “Sorry about that. I got my Dodge hat on. I don’t know where it (cowboy hat) is.”
Busch added, “he’s got the more important one (Dodge hat) on. Any hat that he wears is more important.”
While Busch was cashing in, it wasn’t the same kind of results for the other Dodge teams including Kasey Kahne, the second Dodge driver in the Chase. Kahne started second in the No. 9 Budweiser Dodge Charger and ran in the top 15 until running out of gas in the closing laps. He finished 33rd. Only six cars finished on the lead lap.
“Overall, today was a tough day,” Kahne said. “The Budweiser Dodge team fought all day, but we ended up running out of fuel at the end. The guys did a good job making adjustments. We just couldn’t tighten it up enough to get out front and then we had an engine issue at the end.”
Kahne dropped two spots in the Chase standings, to 10th. He is 75 points out of ninth.
Bard Keselowski, making his first start in the No. 12 Penske Racing Dodge Charger, finished 35th after being caught up in an accident just past the halfway mark. The damage required a trip to the garage for repairs.
“I thought that we did a good job with our Penske Dodge,” said Keselowski. “We had some bad circumstances today, getting caught up in a wreck. That took our right-front out. After we got the car fixed, we moved up positions all race. I think that we had a top-15 car, but just got caught up in the wrong spot at the wrong time. That’s racing. I’m proud of my guys. Congratulations to Kurt (Busch) and the Miller Lite Dodge guys. That’s a great win for those guys and I’m happy for my new teammate. They definitely had a great car all night.”
Two races remain in the 2009 Sprint Cup Series season. The next stop is Phoenix International Raceway on Nov. 15 followed by the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 22.
Driver, team, finish
Kurt Busch, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger, Winner
Elliott Sadler, No. 19 Stanley Dodge Charger, 22nd
Kasey Kahne, No. 9 Budweiser Dodge Charger, 33rd
Brad Keselowski, No. 12 Penske Racing Dodge Charger, 35th
Reed Sorenson, No. 43 Valvoline Dodge Charger, 36th
Sam Hornish Jr., No. 77 AAA Dodge Charger, 40th
Chase point standings
(Race 8 of 10 in the Chase)
1. Jimmie Johnson, 6,297
2. Mark Martin, -73
3. Jeff Gordon, -112
4. Kurt Busch (Dodge), -171
5. Tony Stewart, -178
6. Juan Pablo Montoya, -236
7. Greg Biffle, -247
8. Denny Hamlin, -322
9. Ryan Newman, -324
10. Kasey Kahne (Dodge), -399
11. Carl Edwards, -440
12. Brian Vickers, -520
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