RICHMOND, Va. — Report by Race Chaser Online Managing Editor Jacob Seelman — Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images North America photo —
Kurt Busch said at Phoenix International Raceway that if his team had speed each and every week, “the wins would come.”
Sunday afternoon, that statement held true — and there was simply no denying the power of the Haas Automation Chevrolet at Richmond International Raceway.
Busch powered to the lead just before the one-quarter mark of Sunday’s rain-postponed Toyota Owners 400 and led 291 of the final 306 laps en route to his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory in 35 races (March 2014 at Martinsville) and his first visit to Victory Lane since being suspended for three races at the start of the season due to a suspected domestic violence incident with ex-girlfriend Patricia Driscoll.
“Your personal life doesn’t need to affect your (professional) life,” Busch said in victory lane. “[I didn’t let it], and I’m here in Victory Lane.”
The victory was Busch’s second career win at RIR, his first at the Virginia track since the fall of 2005 and his 26th career Sprint Cup triumph. Busch’s 291 laps led are his most ever in a single Sprint Cup event.
“It’s an incredible feeling, it’s a total team effort,” Busch added. “The way everything came together, it seemed like we were building and building towards a great finish. I have this opportunity because of (team co-owner) Gene Haas.”
“It’s an unbelievable feeling when you go through deep troubles and then accomplish this. Tony Gibson is an amazing crew chief, and I’m glad to get the chance to work with him.”
Team Penske driver Joey Logano led from the pole in the early stages, including through the scheduled competition caution at lap 50, but it was Busch who played the hound early – lurking on the rear decklid of his former ride for nearly 60 laps before finally taking the lead for the first time at lap 95.
As Busch and his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kevin Harvick ran away with the top two spots, Logano began to free-fall, dropping all the way back to eighth by the time the second caution of the event flew at lap 128 for Joey Gase’s meet with the inside wall on the backstretch.
The leaders came down pit road for service at lap 130 – where Clint Bowyer and Danica Patrick tangled and where Harvick was credited with leading a lap under caution – but when the green flag flew again at lap 137, it was Busch jumping to the point before the yellow flag flew for the third time for Josh Wise’s stalled car in turn three.
Busch continued to lead until Wise’s troubles compounded at lap 163, when the motor on the No. 98 Ford finally let go in a flurry of flames to draw the fourth caution of the day. Barely beating teammate Harvick off of the pit lane, Busch resumed his stay out front on the lap 171 restart and led through the halfway point at lap 200 – breaking a string of three straight Richmond Cup races where Brad Keselowski had led the midway lap.
After halfway, however, it was the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 1 of Jamie McMurray who rebounded from a loose wheel and restarting 30th early in the race, scrapping with Busch for four laps and trading the lead twice before powering to the top spot at lap 262.
McMurray would pit three laps later at lap 265 in the midst of a cycle of green flag pit stops – but a flat tire on the No. 55 of Brett Moffitt would draw the fifth yellow of the race at lap 270, leaving Keselowski, Justin Allgaier and Busch on track as the only three cars on the lead lap and shuffling the running order.
Busch stayed out to reassume the top spot ahead of Allgaier and Keselowski, who dropped back on the lap 279 restart with a cylinder down in his Ford motor, and Busch would run away with the lead until 50 laps to go, when a caution for debris bunched the field up again and made for chaos in the final laps.
On the restart with 42 laps to go, the top 10 shuffled up two and three wide and led to contact between Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart, who spun down to the inside of the frontstretch and kissed the inside wall with the nose of his No. 14 Mobil 1 Chevrolet. When the car would not restart, Stewart climbed out, his day over. The three-time champion was credited with 41st at the checkered flag.
Jeb Burton’s day came to a similar skid with 32 laps to go, when he spun on the backstretch off the bumper of Sam Hornish Jr.’s Ford to draw the eighth caution.
From there though, it was Busch’s race to win — and he did — despite a charge from Stewart Haas Racing teammate Kevin Harvick over the final 26 lap dash to the checkered flag.
“What we really needed was for all the tires to be the same,” Harvick said after finishing second, his tenth top-two finish in the last 12 Cup events dating back to last season. “We put one set of tires on that knocked us to 12th or 13th. But I’m really happy for everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing and the No. 41 and Kurt, and everybody on our Jimmy John’s team as well.”
Harvick was followed by six-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson and Chip Ganassi Racing driver Jamie McMurray to give Hendrick engines a sweep of the top four spots. Polesitter Logano rebounded over the second half of the race to complete the top five.
Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon, Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex Jr. were the rest of the top ten. Sensational rookie Chase Elliott finished a solid 16th in his second career Cup start.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to action next Sunday, May 3 for the running of the GEICO 500 from Talladega Superspeedway.
RESULTS: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series; Toyota Owners 400; Richmond International Raceway; April 26, 2015
- Kurt Busch
- Kevin Harvick
- Jimmie Johnson
- Jamie McMurray
- Joey Logano
- Kasey Kahne
- Matt Kenseth
- Jeff Gordon
- Clint Bowyer
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Ryan Newman
- Kyle Larson
- A.J. Allemndinger
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Paul Menard
- Chase Elliott
- Brad Keselowski
- Justin Allgaier
- Carl Edwards
- Aric Almirola
- Greg Biffle
- Denny Hamlin
- David Ragan
- Trevor Bayne
- Danica Patrick
- Landon Cassill
- Austin Dillon
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Brett Moffitt
- Casey Mears
- David Gilliland
- Alex Bowman
- Michael Annett
- Reed Sorenson
- Sam Hornish Jr.
- Cole Whitt
- Matt DiBenedetto
- Jeb Burton
- Alex Kennedy
- Jeff Green
- Tony Stewart
- Josh Wise
- Joey Gase
