Busch wins in Sonoma

Published 1:18 pm Monday, June 27, 2011

SONOMA, Calif. — Kurt Busch checked a number of things off his personal to-do list Sunday with his victory in the Toyota Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway.
Busch won for the first time on a road course in the Sprint Cup series.
He ended a 38-race winless streak which dated back to the 2010 Coca-Cola 600.
And, he beat runner-up Jeff Gordon who apologized to several drivers for his rough racing here last year but_pointedly_did not apologize to Busch who said this week he felt slighted by Gordon who wrecked him last year.
“To win a road course race and to beat him, he’s one of the best and always will be,” Busch said. “To get a road course race is a big check mark in my career.”
Busch dominated the race, leading 76 of the 110 laps, while operating on a pit strategy that required only two fuel stops.
xsAfter starting 11th, Busch had the lead by lap 13 and clearly had the best car in a race that featured a handful of dust-ups between drivers.
The most dramatic was between Tony Stewart and Brian Vickers, who tangled twice with Vickers putting Stewart into a pile of tires late in the race in retribution for an earlier spin caused by Stewart. There were others, including a couple involving Juan Pablo Montoya.
After the race, though, the Busch-Gordon incident last year_and how they handled it this year_added another element to a sometimes fiery afternoon. Gordon made a point of stopping by Victory Lane to congratulate Busch on his 23rd career win but there was no apology coming. Gordon said he felt Busch had run him off the track earlier in the race last year.
Asked if that’s how he remembered it, Busch_fourth in points_said no.
“My recollection is a flat right rear tire,” Busch said. “That’s last year. We got him back at Martinsville in October. It wasn’t my normal style to pay somebody back like that.
“I respect him. He’s third on the all-time list. I’m not going to get sideways with a guy like that but I’m going to let him know he can’t walk all over me.”
Gordon, delighted by an unexpected second-place finish after wrestling an ill-handling car throughout the race, wasn’t backing down on Sunday.
“I didn’t think I owed him an apology,” Gordon said. “He’s done things to me I didn’t get apology for. It’s just the kind of relationship I have with Kurt. I see no reason to apologize.
“But those guys have been on a mission here lately. They were strong all weekend long.”
Busch’s team has been on a roll for several weeks. They had won three straight poles before qualifying 11th on Friday.
In the previous four races, the No. 22 Penske Racing team had finished fourth, ninth, second and 11th. All that was missing was a victory_and that came on Sunday.
“They definitely have turned things around,” said Carl Edwards, who maintained his points lead with a third-place finish.
“One year ago after this race we turned things around and got on a roll. I’m sure they’re hoping they can keep this going through the whole season.”
During practice, Busch and crew chief Steve Addington formulated a plan that would make it possible for Busch to go the distance with only two fuel stops. It was a calculated gamble but one they were comfortable with.
Starting 11th, Addington said he hoped Busch could gain a couple of spots before other teams began making pit stops. What Addington saw was his driver ripping through the field, his car handling beautifully through the twisting turns in the northern California hills.
“We had a game plan and we stuck to it,” Addington said. “We drove by them and took the lead. That made it easier for me and our guys to go to our (planned stop). It didn’t matter what anyone else was doing.”
It became clear early that Busch had the car to beat and no one was capable of doing that. Protecting the car, Busch said, was his primary goal.
“The car would allow me to do everything on an A level,” Busch said.
That included getting past what happened at the same place last year.
“I wanted to get that revenge of a win over those guys,” Busch said. “To beat Jeff Gordon on a day like today makes it that much sweeter.”