Kyle Busch Takes a Clean Win At The Glen

Watkins Glen, NY – Kyle Busch was on top of the heap after the finish of the Watkins Glen road race. The end was nearly a repeat of last year’s race when Keselowski and Busch fought to the bitter end. Busch was the loser last year when Keselowski allegedly knocked Busch out of contention giving Marcos Ambrose the win. This year, Busch managed to keep it clean, beating Keselowski to the checkered flag by less than half a second. “It was just run as hard as you can, drive your car, try not to worry about what’s behind you, whatever happens, happens and we’ll deal with it,” said Busch, adding, “You know, I commend Brad for doing a better job this year at bringing home a cleaner race.”

Sounds like Keselowski had to fight temptation. "I could have dumped Kyle and won the race," said the defending Cup champion, who climbed to eighth in the series standings on the strength of the runner-up finish. "That stuff goes back and forth, and I’m sure someone in the tabloid side of the media will make a big deal about that, but it won’t be me, because I know I did the right thing …”

Martin Truex finished third followed by Carl Edwards with Juan Pablo Montoya rounding off the top-5.

The spoiler this year was a wreck by the 2-time winner of the race, Marcos Ambrose on lap 85. Ambrose led 51 of the first 61 laps. A caution on lap 64, resulted in a pit-stop shuffle placing him 12th. On lap 85, Ambrose was spun by Max Papis, knocking him out of the race.

Other disappointed drivers included Jeff Gordon who crashed early on lap 14. Going wide on turn 3 behind Denny Hamlin, glanced off the rails and hit the inside wall hard. “I’m going to have to have a wrecker guys,” was all the dejected Gordon could say over the radio. Other Hendrick Motorsports drivers also had some poor luck with Kasey Kahne and Dale Earnhardt Jr coming together after Kahne was bumped by Kenseth in the esses. As Kenseth slid, Dale Earnhardt Jr had now where to go but broadside into Kahne.

Kahne Bests Gordon At The End

POCONO, PENNSYLVANIA – It was a spirited ending to the Pocono 400 with Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon swapping leads in the final laps. On the estart on lap 153, Gordon, who clawed his way up from a 22nd place start, got the jump on Kahne and managed to put some air between him and Kasey. It looked like Jeff was going to successfully hold onto the lead, but then Matt Kenseth spun, bringing out the 9th yellow flag of the race. It was going to be a two lap drag race. Kasey Kahne who definitely had the faster car wasn’t going to let Gordon pull one over him again, so on the restart, Kahne made an aggressive pass on the outside of turn one, easily powering past Gordon putting 1.392 seconds between the two when he took the checkered flag.

“Kasey was superfast all day,” said Gordon. “I thought I had him [on the previous restart]. When you're leading and you've taken the lead from Kasey the way I did, you're disappointed when you don't win. Gordon continued, “Those guys deserved and earned the win. He got a killer run on the last restart and blasted by on the outside. I'll be honest, he caught me by surprise. I'm frustrated because we had a shot and we know how important wins are, but second is a great points day. I feel fortunate.”

“We had the best car all day and we gained on the leaders all day,” Kahne boasted “I need to win this one bad and the team needed to win one, too. We've run pretty good this summer without much to show for it. Today, we put it all together.” Kurt Busch managed the final podium position, while Ryan Newman and Dale Jr. rounding off the top five.

The strangest story of the day was Jimmie Johnson, who has had his share of strange stories lately. Starting from the pole, Jimmie looked strong leading 43 of the first 75 laps. Then, on lap 78, a blown right front tire caused him to lose control and strike the turn two wall with some gusto. Johnson’s crew rose to the occasion and after some creative body work and many “adjustments” along the way, Johnson was able to finish a respectable 13th, increasing his championship point lead to 77 points. “I felt we had a shot to win, but we blew a tire and that ended our hopes right there,” Johnson said after another unusual day during a season that has had many. “With all the trouble we had, I don't know how I salvaged 13th. But that stuff happens. It's racing.”