Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
(June 5, 2011)
KANSAS CITY, Kan.—Kurt Busch had the fastest car in Sunday’s STP 400 at Kansas Speedway, and that’s not open for debate.
Starting from the pole, Busch led 152 of 267 laps. His Penske Racing teammate, Brad Keselowski, led nine laps, but—thanks to well-conceived and executed fuel strategy—it was Keselowski who took the checkered flag.
Busch, who finished ninth, had fuel inlet problems that slowed the flow of gas into his fuel cell early in the race, but he overcame that issue and built a 2.4-second lead over Jeff Gordon late in the race. Busch and Gordon, however, had to pit for fuel late, and Keselowski stretched his fuel mileage to claim the victory.
Busch was philosophical about his afternoon.
“I’m proud of the way this team has run,” he said. “To have a car to lead laps today and be very competitive, I was all smiles. I felt coming into the weekend that, if we could pace ourselves, have good team communication, we would be competitive. It was great.
“There was always something in the back of my mind today that we weren’t going to win, but I’m glad that Brad Keselowski got this win for those Miller Lite guys (Busch’s former sponsor), for Dodge. … For my guys, we’ll take this one—and the points. I’m not discouraged at all.”
Gordon thrilled with fourth-place run
In what has been a feast-or-famine year, Jeff Gordon finally got a full-course dinner.
Despite having to pit for fuel late in Sunday’s race, Gordon salvaged a fourth-place result, his first top five since finishing third at Talladega on April 17. Gordon has two other top fives—his victory at Phoenix in February and a fifth at Martinsville in April—but he also has five finishes of 20th or worse.
“We had a great racecar all weekend long,” Gordon said. “We unloaded great, and it showed up in the race all day long today. We got a little bit loose—it seemed like the track freed up a little bit on that last run, and Kurt (Busch) got out there on me.
“We were just trying to maintain second and see what the pit strategy was going to be. We played it to the best that we possibly could. If I hadn’t been quite so free, I might have been able to get to third. But all in all, a great top five (and) a great day in the points for us.”
Gordon is 13th in the standings, but he’s the only driver in positions 11-20 with a victory. After 26 races, the two drivers from 11-20 with the most wins will claim the two wild-card positions in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Hamlin continues to climb
After struggling early in the season, Denny Hamlin is beginning to show the form that carried him to a runner-up position in last year’s Chase.
Third at Kansas on Sunday, Hamlin gained one spot to 11th in the standings, one point behind Ryan Newman for 10th, the last Chase position awarded on championship points. Hamlin cites three distinct reasons for his team’s improvement.
“I think qualifying is helping us,” Hamlin said. “We’re getting better at qualifying. When we qualify 15th, that’s better for us. So that’s an improvement. I think my pit crew’s gotten better over these last two to three weeks. That’s been a huge improvement. We didn’t lose any spots today. We gained spots. And our cars are getting faster.
“So that’s pretty much all you can ask for right now, (but) we can’t be happy with where we’re at. We know we’re a little bit behind those Fords right now. So we have to keep working.”
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