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Victory for Kurt Busch
Brother Kyle runs out of fuel; Johnson slowed by crash.

SUNDAY WINNER
Kurt Busch: Edged out brother Kyle, who was trying to win all three NASCAR races in one weekend.

 
By STEPHEN HAWKINS Associated Press
Published: 11/9/2009  2:26 AM
Last Modified: 11/9/2009  4:08 AM

 FORT WORTH — Jimmie Johnson's drive to history took a hard hit against a wall and Kyle Busch ran out of gas trying to complete an unprecedented NASCAR trifecta.

Kurt Busch drove to Victory Lane at Texas after his younger brother ran out of fuel with 2 1/2 laps left Sunday, finishing 129 laps ahead of the rebuilt car driven by Johnson, who saw his points lead slashed from 184 to 73 over Hendrick teammate Mark Martin with two races left.

"It was definitely not the day we wanted," Johnson said. "It's not as bad as it could have been. At one point I was told to hop out of the car and I was done. ... It's still a big ouch."

Johnson, the series points leader trying to become the first Sprint Cup driver to win four consecutive season championships, wrecked on the third lap when he was knocked into the wall by Sam Hornish. Johnson finished 38th after his crew needed more than an hour to repair and basically rebuild his No. 48 Chevrolet.

"I'm still in great position. We're going to dust ourselves off," Johnson said. "There's not much we can do; we were in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Coming out of Turn 2 on the third lap, Hornish got loose after being tapped by David Reutimann. Hornish made contact with Johnson, who scraped the outside wall. It looked as if Johnson might save his car before he was hit again by Hornish, then slammed into the inside wall.

"By the time that I knew that I was hit, I was already sideways," Hornish said. "I was just trying to correct it and not get into the 48. Obviously, you don't ever want to detract from the championship when you're not really even involved in it."

Kurt Busch got his second victory of the season in the No. 2 Dodge with lame-duck crew chief Pat Tryson, who is leaving at the end of the season to join Michael Waltrip Racing. Penske Racing only wants Tryson to visit its shop during the weekly competition meeting before races.

Busch's 20th career victory came with an average speed of 147.137 mph and by a nearly 26-second margin over second-place Denny Hamlin. Matt Kenseth was third.

Kyle Busch, who had already won the Nationwide and Camping World Truck races at Texas, was trying to become the first driver to win in all three of NASCAR's national series on the same weekend. He led 232 laps and was still ahead when his No. 18 Toyota suddenly slowed on the backstretch on lap 332.

"This is the first time Kyle and I raced each other hard," said Kurt Busch, who led six times for 89 laps while also running second behind his brother much of the race. "It's bittersweet, I was rooting for him, but at the same time this is for us."

Kyle Busch had trouble refiring his car after his splash-and-dash stop and wound up 11th.

Dave Rogers, who made his debut as Kyle Busch's crew chief in Sprint Cup, said they thought they had enough fuel to finish the race and described the driver as "frustrated." Busch didn't talk to reporters.

Jeff Gordon, another Hendrick driver, finished 13th after avoiding serious problems of his own. He cut his points deficit to Johnson from 192 to 112 points, though lost ground on Martin. Gordon is in third place.

"A total missed opportunity that completely got away from us," said Gordon, who in April won at Texas for the first time.

Johnson returned to the track on lap 115, the front and rear of his car solid black after all the repairs. The front and rear suspensions and the driveshaft had been replaced, along with other repairs. Crew members from the teams of Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. assisted in a makeshift body shop in the garage.

Last November at Texas, Johnson struggled to 15th while Carl Edwards gambled on fuel and won by a wide margin. Johnson left Texas with a 106-point lead in the chase last year, and won by 69 over Edwards.

Johnson goes to Phoenix next week with an even slimmer lead this time.

"His game has now changed. They have to definitely look over shoulder at who's behind him because the other guys feel he's vulnerable. Who knows," Kurt Busch said. "That's why we race the races. We don't do it on paper."

Johnson can clinch at Phoenix if he boosts his lead to 195 points. Or he can win the title by averaging a fourth-place finish the last two races, or fifth if he leads at least one lap in both races.

Sprint Cup standings

1. Jimmie Johnson —
2. Mark Martin -73
3. Jeff Gordon -112
4. Kurt Busch -171
5. Tony Stewart -178
6. Juan Pablo Montoya -236
7. Greg Biffle -247
8. Denny Hamlin -322
9. Ryan Newman -324
10. Kasey Kahne -399
11. Carl Edwards -440
12. Brian Vickers -520

Remaining schedule

Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500: 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Phoenix International Raceway (KTUL-8)

Ford 400: Homestead-Miami Speedway, 1:30 p.m. Nov. 22 (KTUL-8)
By STEPHEN HAWKINS Associated Press

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COMMENTS 
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4 comments have been made for this team so far. Tell us what you think below!
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If you see a comment that violates our terms and conditions, please help us by clicking the "Report this Comment" link next to a comment. That will alert the web staff to review the comment. Thank you.  -- Web Editor Jason Collington
 

 
Some reader comments for this story were copied from "Kurt Busch wins at Texas," which was published on 11/8/2009.
Report Comment
Daniel Day Simpson, Edmond (11/8/2009 8:19:53 PM)
Go ahead Curt, pop the top off an ice tall bottle of Coors, dough.
Report Comment
marlin, (11/8/2009 8:56:54 PM)
I've been a NASCAR fan for over 40 years, today that all came to an end.
Report Comment
@ last, (11/8/2009 11:28:30 PM)
The chase sucks a@$
Report Comment
Steff M, Claremore (11/9/2009 3:19:29 AM)
NECKCAR SUCKS! Why can't they all crash at the same time and end this "sport"? Oh wait, they did and they just "fixt um".
 

 
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