Full Throttle

The icy cool Matt Kenseth, driving on perhaps his best track, waited patiently until three laps to go to make his move, then took the air off Ryan Newman’s rear spoiler in a pass for the lead and went on to win NASCAR’s annual all-star race by a solid eight lengths. It was a good debut for Ford’s new cylinder head. And that all made Roush smile.

But a crash involving Busch and Biffle, which took them out along with five others, will leave Roush with a headache that may take a few days to resolve. Roush: “I think Kurt misjudged… unless he meant to knock Greg out of the way, which I don’t think he did. “I hope I can put some salve on this thing.”

Roush may be properly proud of Kenseth but he will have to cool things off between Biffle and Busch.

Biffle was angry with Busch: “I think the replay showed Kurt has his head (expletive deleted). I just don’t understand. You’ve got to finish the race.

“He was reckless on the straightaway. He had more motor than I did because he’s higher in points. You’ve got to use some common sense. Kurt Busch took out the whole field. If I were Jack Roush, I don’t know what I’d do.”

Biffle’s engine comment referred to Ford’s new cylinder head, which is being supplied only to a few drivers, based on their point standings.

“I got hit from behind on the straightaway and turned into the fence. I tried to save it, but dang, you’re going so fast right there,” Biffle said. “It’s early in the race and a teammate wrecks you, just drives under the back of you. It’s crazy, it’s crazy. It’s senseless to do something like that.”

Busch said he was trying to push Biffle past a third teammate Matt Kenseth: “He got a run on Matt coming out of four and I just wanted to help him down the straightaway. But the way our noses are pinned and the tails are up with the stiff rear springs, our car lifted his instead of helping to push him.

“It’s just an all-star type bump, where you just want to try to help him. He’s a teammate of mine and I didn’t mean to wreck him. “I apologize for all the wrecked cars.”

1 3 #17 Matt Kenseth Ford DeWalt Power Tools PE 90 Running
2 2 #12 Ryan Newman Dodge Mobil 1/ALLTEL PE 90 Running
3 5 #20 Tony Stewart Chevrolet Home Depot PE 90 Running
4 8 #15 Michael Waltrip Chevrolet NAPA Auto Parts PE 90 Running
5 15 #8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Budweiser PE 90 Running
6 17 #24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont PE 90 Running
7 16 #9 Kasey Kahne * Dodge Dodge Dealers/UAW PE 90 Running
8 7 #38 Elliott Sadler Ford Pedigree PE 90 Running
9 1 #2 Rusty Wallace Dodge Miller Lite PE 90 Running
10 4 #6 Mark Martin Ford Viagra PE 90 Running
11 18 #88 Dale Jarrett Ford UPS PE 90 Running
12 12 #25 Brian Vickers * Chevrolet GMAC Financial Services PE 90 Running
13 24 #49 Ken Schrader Dodge Schwan’s Home Service PE 90 Running
14 13 #5 Terry Labonte Chevrolet Kellogg’s PE 90 Running
15 9 #18 Bobby Labonte Chevrolet Interstate Batteries PE 90 Running
16 22 #198 Geoffrey Bodine Ford Lucas Oil/Winston Tires PE 89 Running
17 11 #48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s PE 54 Out of Race
18 23 #40 Sterling Marlin Dodge Coors Light PE 11 Out of Race
19 10 #16 Greg Biffle Ford National Guard PE 10 Out of Race
20 14 #97 Kurt Busch Ford IRWIN Industrial Tools/Sharpie PE 10 Out of Race
21 21 #31 Robby Gordon Chevrolet Cingular Wireless PE 10 Out of Race
22 6 #29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet GM Goodwrench PE 10 Out of Race
23 19 #01 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet U.S. Army PE 10 Out of Race
24 20 #32 Ricky Craven Chevrolet Tide PE 4 Out of Race