Full Throttle

Promoters of Dover International Speedway use the tagline “Monster Mile” in describing the mostly flat one mile oval.

In normal circumstances a driver attempts to tame the Monster as Kyle Busch proved early in the day while piloting his truck in the NASCAR [avatar:http://cranialcavity.net/files/cts.gif]Craftsman Truck Series[/avatar] race. Busch not one to stand on his success, later “became the Monster,” by suffering brain fade on lap 146 of the [avatar:http://cranialcavity.net/files/bgn.gif]Busch Series[/avatar] MBNA 200 crashing with early leader Kevin Harvick. Strange as it may seem, Busch then drove clockwise against the slowed traffic from the first turn to the fourth and left the track. Then started flapping his gums:

“I was able to get back to the garage area without causing a fight in turn one,” said Busch, who blamed Harvick for the crash. “He ran me down to the apron and took the air of my spoiler. I guess he wanted to wreck.”

The crash began when the cars made contact exiting the fourth turn, with Busch pinning Harvick to the wall.

Well that explains it. He drove the length of the front stretch to avoid a fight in turn one. I won’t make a judgement on why there would have been a fight, I didn’t see the race.

If driving a “Polish victory lap” under yellow flag race conditions - vice say… after the checker has fallen - is any indication of Busch’s mental capacity at that moment I strongly suspect he bares a very large portion of the blame. But again, that’s guesswork, I didn’t see the race.

As for those that did maintain some semblence of order, Martin Truex Jr. took advantage of an ill handling (pre wreck) Kevin Harvick with 70 laps to go and cruised to victory. It was the second consecutive victory on The Monster Mile for the series champion, his third this year and ninth overall in Busch competition. Nineteen year old rookie Reed Sorenson finished second and was the top finisher of the Series regulars.

UPDATE: Kathy fills in part of the story I missed. “Early in the race, Jon Wood was involved in a crash where he took two hits on the drivers side. They sent him to the hospital for observation because it took a little while for him to respond over the radio after the crash, he was later released by the hospital.”

Unofficial Results:
1. (5) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 200.
2. (6) Reed Sorenson ., Dodge, 200.
3. (16) Jamie McMurray, Dodge, 200.
4. (17) Dale Jarrett, Ford, 200.
5. (21) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 200.
6. (11) Tony Raines, Chevrolet, 200.
7. (12) Jason Keller, Ford, 200.
8. (4) Greg Biffle, Ford, 200.
9. (8) Kenny Wallace, Ford, 200.
10. (33) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 200.
11. (13) David Green, Ford, 200.
12. (43) Dave Blaney, Chevrolet, 200.
13. (15) Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 200.
14. (7) Ashton Lewis Jr., Ford, 200.
15. (26) Stacy Compton, Ford, 200.
16. (30) Paul Wolfe, Dodge, 200.
17. (22) Randy LaJoie, Chevrolet, 200.
18. (27) J.J. Yeley, Chevrolet, 200.
19. (3) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 200.
20. (35) Regan Smith, Dodge, 199.
21. (40) Geoffrey Bodine, Chevrolet, 199.
22. (24) Stanton Barrett, Chevrolet, 199.
23. (23) Justin Labonte, Chevrolet, 197.
24. (10) Denny Hamlin, Chevrolet, 197.
25. (41) Jeff Fuller, Chevrolet, 196.
26. (38) Aaron Fike, Dodge, 196.
27. (39) Kertus Davis, Chevrolet, 196.
28. (25) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 195.
29. (2) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 193.
30. (37) Steve Grissom, Ford, 192.
31. (1) Carl Edwards, Ford, 189, engine failure.
32. (34) Mark Green, Chevrolet, 180.
33. (9) David Stremme, Dodge, 161, accident.
34. (29) Tim Fedewa, Dodge, 160, accident.
35. (20) Johnny Sauter, Dodge, 151, accident.
36. (36) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 145, accident.
37. (19) Ron Hornaday Jr., Chevrolet, 138, accident.
38. (32) Jeff Green, Dodge, 70, accident.
39. (42) Donnie Neuenberger, Ford, 69, accident.
40. (14) Jon Wood, Ford, 34, accident.
41. (28) Michel Jourdain Jr., Ford, 33, accident.
42. (18) Scott Lagasse Jr., Dodge, 33, accident.
43. (31) Tyler Walker, Ford, 7, accident.

Race Statistics:

Average Speed of Race Winner: 97.258 mph.
Time of Race: 2 hours, 3 minutes, 23 seconds.
Margin of Victory: 2.000 seconds.
Caution Flags: 9 for 47 laps.
Lead Changes: 10 among 6 drivers.
Lap Leaders: C. Edwards 1; K. Harvick 2-28; S. Barrett 29; K. Harvick 30-59; R. Sorenson 60-66; J. Sauter 67-97; M. Truex Jr. 98-100; K. Harvick 101-129; M. Truex Jr. 130-138; C. Edwards 139-142; M. Truex Jr. 143-200.