Full Throttle

Busch remained atop the NASCAR Chase for the Nextel Cup championship standings following Sunday’s Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. Busch’s lead, however, dropped to 41 points over Jeff Gordon, who finished third, and 47 points over winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. Busch who saw his streak of good luck end with a DNF last week returned to the good graces of the racing Gods by avoiding potential disaster on Lap 128. A seven-car accident collected Busch, but his No. 97 Ford suffered only sheet metal damage after barely avoiding contact with the wall out of Turn 4. As a result Busch fell to 29th in the order and lost his first gear.

“It just seemed like we couldn’t catch any breaks as far as lapped cars and maneuvering our way through the field to reach our potential,” said Busch, who suffered a blown engine a week ago at Atlanta Motor Speedway and failed to finish. “That was frustrating.”

Sidelights:

• Kevin Harvick and Kasey Kahne raced hard for the fourth position late in the Checker Auto Parts 500, and the battle continued after the race was over.

  Kahne said he “rubbed” Harvick’s car on the cool-down lap, but Harvick “blasted” Kahne’s car. On pit road, Harvick cut in front of Kahne’s car and was screaming at the rookie, but Kahne couldn’t hear him. The two crews converged on their drivers, but the small crowd was quickly dissipated, and Harvick and Kahne both drove away.

• Had Jamie McMurray managed to win Sunday’s Checker Auto Parts 500, a 76-year-old fan from Mustang, Okla., Clarence Moody, would have left Phoenix $1 million richer. He was one of three grand-prize winners in a ChevronTexaco contest. The trio picked numbers out of a hat, and Moody picked No. 10, where McMurray qualified. But McMurray couldn’t win his first Cup race and finished 24th.
• Religion and racing didn’t mix well for Morgan Shepherd, driving the No. 89 Racing With Jesus car. He started along in Row 22, the last provisional spot, and finished in 41st place.
• There is another Chase. The driver who finishes 11th in the points race will receive about $1 million. McMurray holds down the spot by 215 points over Dale Jarrett

Next stop: Darlington

Busch led the most laps in this season’s earlier race at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. Earnhardt has momentum, but Darlington and the season finale in two weeks at Homestead-Miami Speedway aren’t two of his better tracks. Jeff Gordon has five wins at Darlington, but Busch said he is going there to win and not just to protect a lead.

Fin St Car Driver Make Sponsor Pts/Bonus Laps Status

1 14 #8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Budweiser 190/10 315 Running
2 1 #12 Ryan Newman Dodge ALLTEL 175/5 315 Running
3 8 #24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont 170/5 315 Running
4 5 #29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet GM Goodwrench 160/0 315 Running
5 4 #9 Kasey Kahne * Dodge Dodge Dealers/UAW 155/0 315 Running
6 13 #48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s 150/0 315 Running
7 15 #2 Rusty Wallace Dodge Miller Lite 146/0 315 Running
8 6 #20 Tony Stewart Chevrolet The Home Depot 142/0 315 Running
9 27 #18 Bobby Labonte Chevrolet Interstate Batteries 143/5 315 Running
10 28 #97 Kurt Busch Ford Sharpie/IRWIN Industrial Tools 139/5 315 Running
11 20 #30 Jeff Burton Chevrolet America Online 130/0 315 Running
12 3 #01 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet U.S. Army 127/0 315 Running
13 23 #16 Greg Biffle Ford National Guard 124/0 315 Running
14 11 #10 Scott Riggs * Chevrolet Valvoline 121/0 315 Running
15 22 #6 Mark Martin Ford Viagra 118/0 315 Running
16 32 #32 Bobby Hamilton Jr. Chevrolet Tide 115/0 315 Running
17 19 #15 Michael Waltrip Chevrolet NAPA Auto Parts 112/0 315 Running
18 2 #25 Brian Vickers * Chevrolet GMAC Financial Services 109/0 315 Running
19 25 #21 Ricky Rudd Ford Motorcraft/U.S. Air Force 106/0 315 Running
20 18 #49 Ken Schrader Dodge Schwan’s Home Service 103/0 315 Running
21 24 #19 Jeremy Mayfield Dodge Dodge Dealers/UAW 100/0 315 Running
22 26 #88 Dale Jarrett Ford UPS 97/0 315 Running
23 12 #43 Jeff Green Dodge Cheerios/Betty Crocker 94/0 315 Running
24 10 #42 Jamie McMurray Dodge Texaco/Havoline 91/0 315 Running
25 35 #40 Sterling Marlin Dodge Coors Light 88/0 314 Running
26 38 #22 Scott Wimmer * Dodge Caterpillar 85/0 314 Running
27 37 #137 Kevin Lepage Dodge Carter’s Royal Dispos-all 82/0 314 Running
28 34 #45 Kyle Petty Dodge Georgia-Pacific/Brawny/Shop Master 79/0 313 Running
29 33 #4 Mike Wallace Chevrolet Love’s Travel Stops/Wide Open Performance 76/0 313 Running
30 40 #77 Brendan Gaughan * Dodge Kodak/Jasper Engines 73/0 311 Running
31 21 #14 John Andretti Ford VB/APlus at Sunoco 70/0 311 Running
32 31 #5 Terry Labonte Chevrolet Kellogg’s 67/0 309 Running
33 42 #02 Hermie Sadler Chevrolet Treasure Island Las Vegas 64/0 307 Running
34 7 #41 Casey Mears Dodge Target 61/0 306 Out of Race
35 17 #31 Robby Gordon Chevrolet Cingular Wireless 58/0 306 Out of Race
36 16 #17 Matt Kenseth Ford DeWalt Power Tools 60/5 280 Out of Race
37 29 #99 Carl Edwards Ford Roush Racing 52/0 272 Running
38 9 #38 Elliott Sadler Ford Pedigree 54/5 252 Running
39 30 #09 Johnny Sauter * Dodge Miccosukee Gaming & Resorts 46/0 236 Out of Race
40 39 #0 Ward Burton Chevrolet NetZero 43/0 201 Out of Race
41 43 #89 Morgan Shepherd Dodge Racing With Jesus/Red Line Oil 40/0 181 Out of Race
42 41 #198 Randy LaJoie Ford Mach One Inc. 37/0 105 Out of Race
43 36 #50 Todd Bodine Dodge Arnold Development Companies 34/0 11 Out of Race