By Joe Dunn / joe@onpitroad.com
Starting 38th is not the place the sport’s top drivers want to be, especially on a road course where passing opportunities are so limited. But that is where points leader Kyle Busch found himself Sunday.
In the no holds barred style that Kyle has displayed all season, Sunday was no exception. In just 33 laps he managed to pass 29 cars and take the lead and held it until a pit stop on lap 69 turned it over to Carl Edwards. Two laps later, Robby Gordon stalled on the track bringing out the caution. That put Busch back up front on lap 71 and he never looked back. A red flag on lap 109 forced a green/white/checker finish and a chance for David Gilliland and Jeff Gordon to charge for the win, but The Toyota of Busch ran away on the restart, giving Kyle, win number 5 of the 2008 season.
The big surprise for the day was David Gilliland in the number 38 Yates Racing , Freecreditreport.com Ford with a second place finish. David moved up 2 positions in the points with that finish from 23rd to 21st.
On Saturday, defending Nationwide Series Champion Carl Edwards ended a 36 race winless streak to take the checkers at Milwaukee. The win comes on the heels of a crew chief change last week as team owner Jack Roush swapped crew chiefs between the 17 and the 60 team. For the first time in his Nascar career, Edwards disappointed the fans when he failed to do his traditional back flip after the win. When asked about that in the winners circle, Carl said “Today, what happened to Mr. Kilitta, and the way I passed Clint, I just didn’t feel like doing a back-flip.” The reference was in response to the news that drag racer Scott Kilitta perished earlier in the day in a drag racing incident in New Jersey, and the fact that he caused Clint Bowyer to spin while passing him late in the race.
Locally, the largest crowd of the year gathered Friday night at Crossville Raceway for the Advance Auto Parts / Shoney’s Restaurant, Thunder and Destruction. Fans that packed the grandstand and the tier parking area were treated to a first class show with 32 Super Late Models fighting to make the show. In the end it was Knoxville’s Rick Rogers getting his first win in the series after leading all 40 laps.
Crossville Raceway will be holding their Mid Season Championships for all classes Friday as well as a Meet & Greet will all the cars and drivers welcoming fans on the track during intermission. For more information, call the track at 456-5000.
