HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Kurt Busch scored his 10th top-five
finish of the year Sunday in the NASCAR Sprint
Cup Series season finale at Homestead-Miami
Speedway,
finishing fourth in the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger.
Kurt Busch's No. 2 Dodge (left) led 43 laps Sunday. |
The effort also locked up fourth place in the final Chase standings,
his best finish since his 2004 Sprint Cup championship season and best since
moving to the Dodge ranks with Penske Racing in 2006.
Busch started 12th, but once he moved to ninth on lap eight, he competed in
the top 10 the remainder of the 267-lap event. He led five times for 43 laps.
Crew chief Pat Tryson made a decision to go with two tires during the team’s
final pit stop on lap 218, seeking track position. Busch exited pit road as
the leader. Most of the other front runners decided to go with a four-tire
stop.
Busch ended the season with a fourth place at Homestead
and at fourth in the standings. |
Busch lost four spots on the first lap under green, but worked
his way back to third heading into the final lap only to be edged for a podium
finish (third) at the start/finish line.
“We had a great Miller Lite Dodge and we put together
a great effort tonight,” said Busch. “We finished fourth tonight.
We finished fourth overall in the season standings and we fought hard every
race, every lap of the way. We got behind on pit strategy tonight at the end.
Pat (Tryson, crew chief) said two tires and I said, ‘Make sure nobody
else does four (tires).’ Everybody did four, but that’s racing. … We
fought hard to be fourth overall because those Hendrick cars are tough to beat.”
Busch
will be joined on stage at the NASCAR Awards Ceremony at the Wynn
in Las Vegas on December 4 by a second Dodge driver. Kasey Kahne finished 17th
in the No. 9 Budweiser Dodge Charger to wrap up 10th in the final Chase standings.
Only the top 10 in the standings will be recognized during the Awards Ceremony.
Kasey Kahne was 17th Sunday
in his final race in a Dodge. |
“It was a hard-fought night for our Budweiser Dodge team,” said
Kahne. “We fought a loose condition all night ... .We thought our car
might change to the good when the race went from day to night, but it just
didn’t
happen. I’m proud of all my guys. We made the Chase, finished 10th in
points and were able to win two races. We got our first road course win (Sonoma)
and ran strong throughout the season. … I just want to thank everyone
at Budweiser and Dodge and all sponsors for their support.
Kahne started 25th, but worked his way into the top 10 by lap 120 and managed
to stay there for 100 laps before fading over the final 65 laps.
It was Kahne's
final race in a Dodge, as Richard Petty Motorsports will merge with another
team in 2010. In 215 starts in a Dodge, Kahne had 11 wins, 42 top-five and
77 top-10 finishes. He started from the pole 16 times.
No. 19 Dodge driver Elliott Sadler, after getting caught in a pit-road
crash that ended his season. |
Sam Hornish Jr. was one of three Dodge drivers (Busch, Kahne) in the top 10
at the halfway mark before handling problems slowed the No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge
Charger in the closing laps. Hornish finished 21st.
The third driver from the Penske stable, Brad Keselowski,
ran as high as 15th during the race and finished 25th in the No. 12 Penske
Racing Charger.
A two-car mishap on lap 116 brought out the fourth caution
and set the stage for a five-car mishap on pit road which collected two Dodge
drivers.
As the teams that elected to make a pit stop during the caution
headed to pit road, one car slowed abruptly to make a turn into the garage
area, setting up a chain reaction that collected five others including the
Dodges of Elliott Sadler and Reed Sorenson. Heavy front-end damage marked the
end for both drivers. Sorenson finished 40th in the No. 43 Siemens Charger,
and Sadler was 41st in the No. 19 Best Buy Charger.
Denny Hamlin won Sunday’s race, but Jimmie Johnson, who finished fifth,
easily won his record-setting fourth NASCAR Sprint Cup championship, ending
up 141 points ahead of runner-up Mark Martin.
