Full Throttle

Lest anyone think Kurt Busch’s victory in Saturday’s Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen was some sort of fluke, think again. It was Busch’s second victory and fifth top five in only his sixth career Busch Series start.

That’s HOT. whether it translates to a victory on Sunday is another matter. Busch’s victory wasn’t easy as this series of quotes shows:

“We knew we were better than him there,” said Gordon, who also finished second here a year ago to Busch’s Penske Racing teammate, Ryan Newman. “I just tried to move him. I had him sized up. I knew I was going to lay into him and that’s what I did. I just didn’t go far enough.”

That allowed Busch to maintain control as Gordon’s No. 7 Harrah’s Chevrolet briefly inched in front, and he then slammed Gordon back and regained the lead.

“When he pushed, I stood on it and drove straight through the grass,” said Busch, who also will start Sunday’s Nextel Cup race from the pole. “It was a flat-out battle. It seemed like it (the chicane) was my weak point and Robby knew it. That was a battle.”

“We got by him for a short period of time, but he knocked me and got back by,” Gordon said.

Series points leader Kevin Harvick finished seventh, his 21^st top 10 in 24 races. The finish increased the gap to second place Carl Edwards to 443 points. Edwards slid into the gravel on lap 66 and finished a lap down in 27^th.

The first Busch regular, John “Don’t Call Me Rookie” Andretti scored fifth place, his best finish to date in the series. “Mad” Max Papis in his first series start finished a very creditable 14^th.

Ron Fellows may have had the drive of the race. He was sent to the rear of the field for what was called an “unapproved impound adjustment” but fought his way thru the traffic to finish 9^th.

NASCAR, Busch Series, Watkins Glen, Sports, Kurt Busch, Auto Racing, Motorsports, Full Throttle