Thank you, Kurt Busch said, after screw-ups by Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards put Busch in position to win Sunday’s AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway.
While Busch celebrated his second victory of the season and the 24th of his career in victory lane at the Monster Mile, runner-up Johnson and third-place Edwards sat in the nearby media center castigating themselves in the postrace news conference.
Johnson stumbled on the last two restarts of the race, allowing Busch to take and retain a lead he held for the final 42 laps. Edwards trashed his own winning chances by speeding on pit road in a timed section he and crew chief Bob Osborne had discussed specifically before the race.
In a sense, though, all three drivers were winners. Busch, Johnson and Edwards took advantage of the struggles of Tony Stewart, who led the series after wins in the first two races of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Fighting the handling of his No. 14 Chevrolet throughout the afternoon, Stewart lost his advantage in the standings by finishing 25th, two laps down. That left Edwards and 10th-place finisher Kevin Harvick tied for the series lead, with Stewart and Busch each nine points back and Johnson alone in fifth, 13 points behind Harvick and Edwards.
Kasey Kahne ran fourth Sunday, followed by Chase drivers Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch. AJ Allmendinger, Clint Bowyer, Marcos Ambrose and Harvick completed the top 10.
Busch and Johnson, who had tangled at Pocono and Richmond during NASCAR’s 26-race regular season, raced each other cleanly Sunday with Chase points on the line.
For Busch, the victory was redemption after a frustrating 22nd-place finish a week earlier at New Hampshire.
“It was just perfect execution today, with pit stops and with making the car better during the race,” Busch said. “I couldn’t be happier right now. To win a Sprint Cup race in the Chase, this is what it’s all about. This is the playoffs.
“We had everything go wrong for us last week. We had everything go right for us this week. We just need nice smooth races from here.”