For the second week in a row we had the Roush Racing version of total domination….this time it was Kurt Busch presiding. Busch led six times for 219 laps tonight at Phoenix International Raceway and took the victory in the Subway Fresh 500 by 2.315 seconds. This was career win #12 for Busch (he’s now solo in 47th on the all-time list) and #78 for Cactus Jack and Company. The defending Cup Champion’s first win since Loudon last September was worth $264,000 from the almost $4.8M in posted awards.
Since we seem to have such a controversy over the new pit-road timing system, maybe somebody should remind NASCAR why we have a pit-road speed limit at all. It was put into place after we lost Mike Rich at Atlanta years ago to protect the over-the-wall guys…..so I just don’t see the need to time the space between the last pit and wherever the arbitrary line that they choose to use is. I can understand using it upon pit-entry (a safety issue for the pit crews for sure), but it sure looks like NASCAR could adjust the pit-out and eliminate a lot of the problems.
Michael Waltrip (2nd) had his best finish since he was the runner-up at Lowe’s Motor Speedway last May.
Jeff Burton (3rd) had his best finish since he was runner-up at Daytona last July.
Brian Vickers (5th) had his career-best finish tonight. His previous best was 6th at Atlanta in March. The Top-5’s by Waltrip, Burton, and Vickers give us 22 drivers to score a T-5 this season…..last year’s number was 31.
Bobby Labonte (6th) had his best finish since he was 3rd at Pocono last June.
Johnny Sauter (9th) had his career-best finish tonight. His previous best was 14th twice….at Rockingham in February of 2004 and at Talladega in April of 2004. The Top-10’s by Burton, Labonte, and Sauter give us 31 drivers to register a T-10 this season…..last year’s number was 39.
Stanton Barrett (30th) tied his career-best finish tonight. He was also 30th at Las Vegas in March of 1999!
STREAKIN….Dale Earnhardt Jr has 3 Top-10’s in the last 4 races.
This Week’s Elevator….UP: Operator of the Week is Michael Waltrip (+26), followed by Elliott Sadler (+22). DOWN: The Big Dropper was Greg Biffle (-38), followed by Tony Stewart (-27), Rusty Wallace (-27), and Matt Kenseth (-25). This is the Mikey’s second Op of the season.
Scott Riggs led a lap tonight for the first time since he led one lap at Talladega last October. We’ve had 36 different drivers lead a lap this year vs 50 last year.
Kurt Busch’s victory coupled with Greg Biffle’s troubles moved Busch into the second spot in the point standings this week….he’s 173 markers behind Jimmie Johnson. Every position from 2nd to 15th changed hands this week. We also picked up one driver above the “Stayin’ Alive” line as Waltrip’s fine run moved him into the “Chase” by 6 points.
Michael Waltrip (24th to 18th) made the best move forward tonight, while Casey Mears (17th to 26th) fell nine spots in the points. Mike Wallace’s time on the “exempt” list was short-lived….he’s out of the Top-35 in Owner Points this week by two points. Bobby Labonte now moves into his spot.(Stockcarfans.com)(4-23-2005)
