Kurt Busch thumps Cup field in Sonoma win

Kurt Busch thumps Cup field in Sonoma win

By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

(June 26, 2011)

SONOMA, Calif.—Kurt Busch avoided all the wildness exploding behind him and cruised to a convincing win in Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway.

The victory was the first of the season for Busch and the 23rd of his NASCAR Sprint Cup career.

Jeff Gordon parlayed pit strategy into a second-place finish, and series points leader Carl Edwards did the same to run third in the 16th Cup event of the season. Clint Bowyer came home fourth, followed by Marcos Ambrose and polesitter Joey Logano.

Busch led Martin Truex Jr. through Turn 11 on Lap 87, but right behind him, Brian Vickers jack-hammered Tony Stewart into the tire barrier, destroying the rear end of Stewart’s Chevrolet. The back of Stewart’s car came to rest on top of a stack of tires, unable to move.

Vickers, who waited for Stewart to pass him before wrecking him, exacted revenge for a Lap 37 incident in which Stewart pile-drove Vickers’ Toyota into the same corner and started a seven-car chain-reaction collision that collected Dale Earnhardt’s Chevrolet and eventually knocked the No. 88 out of the race.

Busch stayed on the track during the caution and led the field to a restart on Lap 92 of 110. From that point on, it was no contest.