« Frustration continues to mount for Junior | Main | Rivalry within Roush camp proving costly, but entertaining »
This time it was Kyle Busch who was swept away
By admin | May 12, 2009
By Richard Allen
Last week in Richmond, Kyle Busch got out the broom and swept that track and the competition under the rug.
This week in Darlington, it was Busch who was swept away.
In both the Nationwide Series race on Friday and the Sprint Cup race on Saturday it looked as if the Las Vegas driver had a shot a victory. But in both cases it was the ‘Lady in Black’ who used the broom, and she used it to spank young Mr. Busch.
In Friday’s Diamond Hill Plywood 200 Nationwide Series race Busch started from the pole and set a dominate pace. He led 143 of the total 153 laps of the event. Even though Matt Kenseth appeared to be running him down, Busch still held a slight lead as the cars raced on the back straight toward the white flag.
However, Busch’s evening came to a sour conclusion when the yellow flag waved for an accident before the cars received the signal of one lap remaining. That set up a green/white/checkered finish. Under that caution, Busch’s car apparently ran through some debris which cut his right rear tire. He was forced to pit road as a result.
Kenseth went on to win the race without even leading a green flag lap due to the fact that another accident occurred just after the cars were given the green flag for the final time. Busch was relegated to a 16th place finish. He leads the Nationwide Series by 37 points over Carl Edwards. That lead seemed destined to be a good bit larger until that right rear tire went down.
Darlington 1, Kyle Busch 0.
Saturday’s Sprint Cup race did not play out like the Nationwide affair. Busch did not start from pole and did not set a dominating pace. But, he did appear to be putting himself in position to at least contend for the win in the Southern 500.
It would have been his second straight Sprint Cup victory on the “Track Too Tough To Tame”. Unfortunately for the younger of the Busch brothers, the track proved to be just as advertised.
A spin and bump with the wall sent the M&M’s Toyota behind the wall for repairs. Busch limped home with a 34th place finish. That finish dropped him two spots to 7th in the overall Sprint Cup standings.
Darlington 2, Kyle Busch 0.
Kyle Busch is a very talented driver and will win his share of battles and will probably sweep a few more weekends. But when it comes to the ‘Lady in Black’, her broom has swept away the greatest competitors the sport has ever seen.
Richard Allen is a member of the National Motorsports Press Association. His weekly column appears in The Mountain Press every Wednesday.
Topics: Articles |
May 13th, 2009 at 5:45 am
Darlington Race Facts:
Motel Expenses - $300
Race Tickets - $200
Parking Fee - $20
Hot Dog & Drink - $10
Watching Kyle Busch finish out of the running in BOTH races - Absolutely Priceless…!!!
May 13th, 2009 at 6:26 pm
Funny how the article about the Lady in Black taming Kyle Busch even mentions his win at the same track a year ago. Clearly he has tamed the track “too tough to tame” before. You can’t win them all, but I will surely take a series leading 3 wins so far. As for you Colin, I will laugh all year long while Kyle Busch continues to “sweep away” the rest of the competition.