On a day when many of his fellow competitors were anything but patient, Kyle Busch was one cool customer en route to an 11th-place finish in Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350k NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.
The driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Pretzel Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) was in seventh place with seven laps remaining and appeared to be on his way to a solid top-10 finish until he was caught up in a late-race accident not of his making.
On lap 103, Juan Pablo Montoya and Brad Keselowski were battling ahead of Busch for fifth place when Keselowski’s car made contact with Montoya as the two entered turn three of the 10-turn, 1.99-mile road course. That caused all three cars to get bunched up, which sent Busch spinning off the track and down the leaderboard, as he fell to 15th. Busch refused settle for 15th, however, and rallied back to gain four more positions before the checkered flag dropped.
“Overall, it was a really good day,” said Busch, who won at Infineon in June 2008. “Early on in the race it seemed like we had a pretty good M&M’s Pretzel Camry that could come up through the field and pass a few guys. A couple guys started making pit stops and getting their cars a little better and we sort of fell back. We were a little bit mediocre. We were still fast, we just didn’t have the speed like the ‘22’ (Kurt Busch) did all weekend. We were like a fourth- or fifth-place car.
“We had the opportunity to finish (well), but unfortunately with about five to go, we were involved in some other guy’s wreck and spun out. We gathered it back up and got going again, and salvaged an 11th out of it. We’ll take it and go on to Daytona.”
Busch qualified a disappointing 19th during Friday’s time trials, but wasted no time working his way toward the front of the field when the green flag dropped on Sunday. He was in the top-10 by lap 16 and cracked the top-five by lap 50 before settling into fourth place on lap 65. But in a race that saw some very rough driving by competitors who were quick to use their bumper, caution periods began to change the complexion of the race, namely, by how team’s would utilize fuel and tire strategy in the second half of the 110-lap race.
With Busch running seventh when the final caution of the day came out with just 21 laps remaining, he and crew chief Dave Rogers had a decision to make. Even though their M&M’s Pretzel Camry had enough fuel to go the distance, the duo had to ponder several questions. Would they benefit from four fresh tires throughout the final few laps? Should they pit for tires and hope that several teams behind them did the same? Or, should they stay out and guard the track position they fought so hard for throughout the race?
Rogers conferred over the radio with Busch, and the decision was made to pit. After pitting on lap 89 for the final time, the talented 26-year old restarted in 17th on lap 91. Quickly, he made Rogers look like he made the right choice, as Busch worked his way up to 14th by lap 92, 10th by lap 96 and seventh by lap 99.
With less than 10 laps remaining, however, the spin caused by the dustup between Keselowski and Montoya ended Busch’s chance at a top-10 finish.
Busch’s JGR teammates – Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin – finished sixth and 37th, respectively.
Kyle’s older brother, Kurt Busch, won the Toyota/Save Mart 350k to score his 23rd career Sprint Cup victory, his first of the season, his first at Infineon and his first on a road course.
Jeff Gordon finished 2.685 seconds behind Busch in the runner-up spot, while Carl Edwards, Clint Bowyer and Marcos Ambrose rounded out the top-five. Logano, Jimmie Johnson, Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski comprised the remainder of the top-10.
There were five caution periods for 17 laps, with five drivers failing to finish.
With round 16 of 36 complete, Kyle Busch continues to lead the JGR trio in the championship point standings. He dropped one spot to fifth and now has 536 points, 37 markers back of series leader Edwards. Hamlin fell two spots to 11th. He has 463 points and is 110 markers back of the top spot. Logano held steady at 23rd in the standings with 398 points, 175 points behind Edwards.
TSC/Kyle Busch PR
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