Kyle Busch strikes first in COT racing
March 26, 2007
Associated Press
AP Auto Racing Writer
BRISTOL, Tenn. -- The first Car of Tomorrow race is in the books, and NASCAR's stars were divided on their assessment of it.
Kyle Busch hated it, and he won Sunday's race at Bristol Motor Speedway. But veterans Jeff Burton and Jeff Gordon cautioned that it was too early to make any sort of decision on the COT.
NASCAR, though, was pleased with the debut.
"From the tower, I thought it was a good race," competition director Robin Pemberton said. "I think you saw there were more competitors up front ... teams that aren't used to running in the top 10 or 15.
"And there were people concerned with the splitter hitting the race track and all kinds of nightmarish things, you saw there were no problems with that. We were pleased."
But NASCAR is taking two of the cars back to North Carolina for further inspection. Fifth-place finisher Greg Biffle was too low in post-race inspection, so his car is going to the R&D Center, as is Busch's race-winning Chevrolet.
Busch disliked the car so much, he probably shouldn't mind losing it to NASCAR. But as the Nextel Cup Series rolls into Martinsville Speedway, where the COT will be used again this week, his Hendrick Motorsports team needs the car back.
Pemberton vowed the teams would have the cars back before they miss them, much to Busch's chagrin.
"I'm still not a fan of these things, they (stink)," Busch said. "I didn't see any real highlights out there. It was just tough to pass. It was kind of boring."
Not the end of the race.
Busch held off teammate Gordon on a restart, then beat Burton in a drag race to the finish line to get the win.
Busch took the lead with 16 laps to go on a smooth pass around Denny Hamlin in thick traffic and stayed there through a pair of cautions. Busch had driven away from the competition when the 15th and final caution set up overtime.
With Busch and Gordon running 1-2 at the restart, the two plotted their own strategy with their respective crew chiefs.
"Well, good job guys," Busch sighed at the final caution. "We'll do what we can. I can't promise you anything."
"He'll be nice," crew chief Alan Gustafson said. "He'll play nice."
It didn't sound that way on Gordon's channel.
"Tell that 5, if I get a fender underneath him, he better think about the fact that we're teammates," Gordon said. "If I don't get a fender underneath him, I won't move him out of the way."
It never mattered, though, as Burton jumped past Gordon on the restart and quickly pulled onto Busch's rear bumper. Burton looked low and Busch threw a block, then he went high and Busch blocked that, too.
Burton finally pulled alongside Busch as they closed in on the finish line, but Busch nipped him at the flag for his first Nextel Cup victory on a short track.
Both drivers could have spun Busch to get past him, and the 21-year-old appreciated the veterans for racing him clean.
"Without Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton behind me, I never would have won this race," Busch said.
Burton owed it to Busch, especially after their stirring finish two weeks ago in Las Vegas in a Busch Series race. The two were battling for the win in the closing laps and Busch could have wrecked Burton to get it.
But Busch kept it clean, ultimately losing the fight as the cars touched and Busch spun backward across the finish line -- just a tick behind Burton.
"I could have used the bumper to move him out of the way and win the race, but I didn't want to," Burton said. "I can lay in bed tonight and wonder "What if?' but that's what I chose to do. If you can't pass him without knocking him out of the way, do the best you can. He's driven me clean, and that's what I did with him."
Gordon, the polesitter, wound up third.
Busch's win was the third straight for Hendrick Motorsports -- Jimmie Johnson won the past two Cup events -- and was the 200th overall win for car owner Rick Hendrick. It also was the 600th for manufacturer Chevrolet, which introduced the Impala SS this weekend to coincide with NASCAR's debut of the Car of Tomorrow.
The COT spent seven years in development as NASCAR tried to build a uniform car that would cut costs, improve safety and even the competition. It will be used in 16 races this season as NASCAR phases it in through the 2009 season.
Its introduction had teams fretting for months over performance and the many unknowns the COT created.
But when the race finally began, everything seemed pretty normal. Except for the design of the cars, which have a front splitter and a detachable rear wing, nothing was out of the ordinary.
And the worst fears -- that the track would be littered with parts and pieces every time one of them wrecked -- never developed. But many drivers said its too early to pass judgment. The car races again next week at Martinsville, another short track, before getting its first true test next month in Phoenix.
"If the car is safer and races better, then I am all for it," Gordon said. "But we can't answer that question this weekend."
Kevin Harvick was fourth, followed by Biffle, Jeff Green and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Clint Bowyer finished eighth and Jamie McMurray and Casey Mears rounded out the top 10.
Gordon took over the points lead as Mark Martin, who came into the race on top, skipped the event and turned his keys over to rookie Regan Smith.
Smith finished 25th and Martin dropped to eighth in the standings -- 162 back. Gordon leads Burton by three points.
Juan Pablo Montoya struggled at his first short track, finishing 32nd after an early spin dropped him several laps down. But he still considered the day a success.
"We got the car home and scored some more points and just go on to the next one," he said. "It was pretty easy, to be honest."
A.J. Allmendinger, the former Champ Car star, also struggled. He was 40th in his Nextel Cup debut.
"You know, I used to think Champ Car was tough to drive," Allmendinger said. "But do 500 laps around this place. That's a lot of work."
The race initially belonged to Tony Stewart, who pulled away to a huge lead during the 257 laps he was out front. But his Chevrolet lost power during a caution with 211 laps to go, and he was livid as he pulled into the pits.
He bemoaned his bad luck in an expletive-laden rant as his Joe Gibbs Racing team worked under the hood of his car. He returned to the track 23 laps down.
Kasey Kahne, who ran in the top five for the first half of the race, spun out moments before Stewart went out to take himself out of the competition.
With the two best cars out of the running, the race opened up for everyone else. Busch and Hamlin traded the lead several times until traffic allowed Busch to get by him for good.
