Race Re-Cap: Busch Dominant In Darlington
Sunday, May 11th, 2008 by Jim Mc Coy
This weekend at Darlington broke the mold in so many ways. On the re-paved surface, we got a new qualifying record, a surprisingly low number of cautions and DNFs, and a new race speed record.
I couldn’t have been more off the mark. I picked the wrong Busch brother (Kurt) to win, and in a message board pool, I picked Kyle to finish dead last. I also figured that a lower division nameplate to do well here, I just didn’t expect it to be Ford instead of Dodge. I also said that the kids wouldn’t run well tonight. David Ragan and race winner Kyle Busch proved me wrong.
I was with Greg Biffle’s spotter. He suggested Biffle give up the lead early in the race to “Wild Thing” because there was no way he’d finish it. Once again, the guy who wouldn’t finish it was The #16 3-M Ford. The younger Busch, coming off a controversial 2ndplace finish in Richmond, looked like he was going to use his car up before he ever got to the final lap.
It’s weird to think that the guy with the most wins here (David Pearson) was known for conservation and cunning. The 23 year old from Las Vegas runs more in the tradition of Fireball Roberts (notorious for using up his cars) and Junior Johnson (his racing philosophy was to get up front as quickly as possible…and stay there).
We may be witnessing a driver re-writing the rulebook for how races are won in the new car. Lord knows Busch broke all the old ones. Did you see all that brake dust coming out of his right front? And how about the way he was brushing the wall? I was expecting “Shrub” to bust into a chorus of the Johnny Cash tune “I Got Stripes” at any time. It just didn’t seem like he should win when you also throw in the pit violation and his complaints about his “pathetic” car. Oh, that Dave Blaney’s car could be that pathetic.
Besides Busch, a lot of guys we don’t talk much about should get some credit for a good race. Though the Roush team was plagued with wheel problems, upstart David Ragan finished 5th in addition to Edwards in 2nd. Teammate Matt Kenseth shook loose of a few demons and ended up 6th. Journeyman Dave Blaney ran his best race of the year in crossing the line 9th. Travis Kvapil, who’s making a Cup comeback this year after a solid career in the Craftsman Truck Series finished 8th on a fitting night where he was sponsored by Lafayette Ford, sponsor the #28 back in the Freddy Lorenzen days.
Some the other name drivers deserve a shout out for their performances. Carl Edwards’ finish is amazing when you consider he started at near the back of the field. Jeff Gordon has a great race to vault himself into the top 10 for the point standings. And Dale Jr.? Well, he was consistent again, racking up another top five and ready to strike if anyone faltered.
But above all else, Tony Stewart gets the “Rocky Balboa” Award- fighting, gouging and clawing his way to a respectable 21st after tangling with Elliott Sadler on the 3rd lap.
No- this race was definitely NOT what I expected- however, I was not disappointed with the racing and the thrill of a Saturday race under the lights.
 By the way- Happy Mother’s Day to the two best Moms in the world- my mom, Lenore Pittock of Keizer, Oregon. Thanks for believing in me, and letting me test out my ever-running mouthon your longsuffering ears. Then of course, there’s my lovely wife Lynnae, without whom I would not be a dad to the cutest kids in the world.
To all you Moms- HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY FROM THE BOYS AT ‘THE FINISH LINE.”Zooooom…
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3 Responses to “Race Re-Cap: Busch Dominant In Darlington”
I really thought that drama was the thing that this race really lacked. It was a decent race, by all means, but in the words of Randy Jackson, “It was just okay for me.”
RevJim
Great recap. I think you have a lot of good inight here. There was no way to predict the outcome of this one, and it did have plenty of excitement and drama. Say what you will about him, it takes one heck of a driver to win a race at Darlington the way Kyle Busch did.