Kurt Busch, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Dodge, celebrates winning the Kobalt Tools 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. (Photo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Everyone, it seemed, took a shot at him throughout the day, but in the end, no one had anything for Penske Racing's Kurt Busch at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Not runnerup Jeff Gordon. Third place Carl Edwards. Fourth-place Kevin Harvick. Or fifth-place Brian Vickers. They had ideas. But apparently not horsepower.
How dominant was the Penske Racing driver in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Kobalt Tools 500? Dominant enough that he led six times for 234 of 330 laps, more than he led all of last season combined.
Dominant enough that he was able to overcome an early fueling problem in the pits and quickly regained lost track position.
Dominant enough that two separate incidents with the wall didn’t slow the car his fans affectionately refer to as the “Blue Deuce.”
And yet it all came down to a green-white-checkered finish that extended the series’ fourth Cup race by five laps.
With Vickers drawing closer in his mirror as the finish neared, the day’s 11th and final caution brought Busch and the rest of the lead pack into the pits for a final time on lap 323.
Busch went from first to second when Edwards gambled with a two-tire stop. Vickers, on the other hand, went from second to sixth.
But once the green flag waved, Busch shot around Edwards’ Roush Fenway Racing Ford on the backstretch to regain the lead. Gordon’s efforts were slowed as he battled Edwards, leaving him too little time to close the gap on the leader. At the stripe, Busch was 0.332 second ahead.
