Busch reigns supreme at MIS

Autoracing Betting Lines

08/21/2007 - Brooklyn, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After two days of rain delays, Kurt Busch captured Tuesday's 3M Performance 400 at the Michigan International Speedway. The No.2 Penske Racing Dodge crossed the finish line 0.496 seconds ahead of Martin Truex Jr.

The victory was Busch's second of the season and 17th of his Nextel Cup career.

"It feels great to do it in the backyard of the manufacturers," said Busch. "We made some adjustments...Pat Tryson (crew chief), he's awesome. Thanks to everybody that's part of this race team."

The race began under yellow caution flag conditions because although the rain had stopped there was fog around the track. By lap 10 the race was red-flagged because the fog was so thick that the spotters couldn't see the track. Finally, on lap 13 the green flag dropped and the real racing began.

Greg Biffle went right around the outside of Jeff Gordon for the lead on the first green-flag lap and led through the first round of pit stops. Biffle's Roush Fenway Racing teammates were also on the move and both Carl Edwards (started 13th) and Matt Kenseth (started 21st) were inside the top-10.

On the stop, Gordon took only two tires to come out first, while Biffle came out third, behind Denny Hamlin as well.

The two-tire experiment seemed to work for the No.24 Chevy as he built a lead of more than one second by lap 40. However, as the green-flag run lengthened, Gordon began to fade back into the clutches of the field, now led by Jimmie Johnson. Johnson caught and passed Gordon on lap 49. A couple of laps later Kenseth and Brian Vickers also passed Gordon, so while the two-tire experiment worked for a time, it had only limited value.

Gordon continued to fall off, dropping seven seconds off the pace as the field neared the 60-lap mark. Johnson, Kenseth and Vickers were putting up fast laps and were more than three seconds ahead of fourth-place Busch and Edwards.

The three leaders exchanged the lead over the next few laps and their side-by- side "dogfight" allowed Busch to join the fray.

A round of green-flag pit stops began around lap 69 with Gordon one of the first to stop. This time he got four tires and fuel and away he went. When the stops were completed, Kenseth owned a two-second margin on Busch and Gordon was stuck back in 11th place.

Busch was trying to keep up with Kenseth, cutting the gap to 1.5 seconds, but he couldn't close up any further. The man on the move as they approached lap 90 was Dale Earnhardt Jr., who started last after a transmission problem, but cracked the top-10.

At the mid-point, it was still Kenseth and Busch at the top of the scoring pylon, but Gordon had rebounded to fifth with the help of a very quick pit stop. The No.24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet continued to march towards the leader, taking third place on lap 106.

Meanwhile, Busch got side-by-side with Kenseth as the No.2 Dodge stuck to the bottom of the track and grabbed the lead from Kenseth.

With clean air, Busch set a torrid pace and Kenseth couldn't keep up. By lap 125, Busch held a 2.657 second lead on Gordon, who had gotten underneath Kenseth for second.

Another round of green-flag pit stops and it was still Busch and Gordon showing the way. Busch's lead was 3.309 seconds with 60 laps remaining and still expanding. The margin was 5.431 seconds with just 35 laps to go.

Busch was in complete control, but there was still one more pit stop remaining. The leaders began to stop - first Vickers, then Kenseth. Gordon stopped with 34 to go and Busch shortly thereafter. Earnhardt Jr. overshot his pit and it cost him a number of positions, something he couldn't afford in his race for the "Chase."

With 25 laps to go, Busch's lead was 4.566 seconds on Johnson as Gordon fell to seventh after an extra long pit stop. But a debris caution flag set up a short shootout to the checkered flag.

The green flag dropped with 20 laps to go and Busch leading Gordon, Dave Blaney, Truex Jr. and Biffle. Hamlin and Johnson led a group that chose to get new rubber and they restarted sixth and seventh, respectively.

Busch got the jump on Gordon right at the start, while Truex Jr. beat Blaney for third. Fifteen laps to go and Busch's lead was 1.957 seconds over Truex Jr.. Hamlin and Johnson were also flying using their new tires to take third and fourth.

Busch still held more than one second as the laps dwindled to just 10. Then another caution flag as Kenseth got into the back of Gordon in turn four sending the No.24 spinning across the grass.

The race would restart with seven laps. Again Busch got a great jump. Johnson also got off well and he went down the backstretch side-by-side with Truex Jr. Truex Jr. fought him off and then took aim at Busch, who was a half second ahead of him.

A Biffle spin with two laps to go set up a green-white-checker finish. One more great start by Busch did it and he took his second win of the season. Busch led a race-high 92 laps.

Johnson, Kenseth and Hamlin completed the top-five.

In the "race-with-the-race" for the 12th and final playoff position, Busch holds a 163-point lead on Earnhardt Jr. and 171 on teammate Ryan Newman.

The next race is scheduled for Saturday night, August 25th at the Bristol Motor Speedway.