Backstretch Motorsports

Darlington, SC — Kyle Busch won the Dodge Challenger 500 at Darlington Raceway. By the only method that works — taming the track’s “Too Tough To Tame” reputation with patience and refusing to lose to everything the South Carolina speedway throws at a driver.

First let her stripe you, let her think she’s in control. Watch her take out the competition one by one. Let the new car think it isn’t going to turn through the corners the way you want it to. Get into the wall with the right side 3 or 4, even 5 times.

Overcome a loose lug nut penalty in the process.

Then show them all who’s boss. Lead a 167 laps. At the end, race her and her only. That’s how you tame Darlington Raceway — “The Lady In Black”.

It didn’t take long for the old Raceway to let the world’s best drivers know who was in charge, even though a smooth, fresh coat of asphalt might be easier to navigate.

Elliott Sadler tried to drive underneath Tony Stewart and slid into Stewart’s Toyota before two laps had been completed. Both cars suffered damage and Sadler’s car was parked before the sun went down on NASCAR’s second-oldest speedway.

In the end, it looked easy for Busch, but nothing was further from the truth.

Busch took the lead and headed off in the sunset. He threw caution to the wind as he drove away from the field. Biffle, however, hung with him and took the lead after 42 laps when Busch scraped the wall and backed off the gas.

“Darlington showed again tonight it’s one of the hardest places. Always has been, always will be,” Busch said in Victory Lane. “We’re going to go through a lot of Mac tools trying to fix this thing, but that’s OK. They gave me such a good racecar.”

Goodyear’s tire for the new racing surface was a hard compound, designed to take the stress of the higher speeds the groove produced.

The combination of the smooth surface, hard tires and narrow racing line put passing at a premium, and forced several drivers into the wall for the infamous “Darlington stripe.”

This is his third victory and eighth top-10 finish in 2008. Busch became the 43rd different race winner at Darlington and at 23 years, eight days – the youngest.

Busch and his Steve Addington led Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 M&Ms Indiana Jones Toyota team finished ahead of second place runner Carl Edwards with a comfortable 3.115 second margin.

Jeff Gordon (third) posted his fifth top-10 finish in 2008, tying his season best set at California. It is his 19th top-10 in 28 races at Darlington.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and David Ragan rounded out the top five. Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin — Busch’s teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing. Travis Kvapil, Dave Blaney and Jeff Burton completed the top ten.

Pole -sitter Greg Biffle led 95 laps before mechanical woes dropped the Roush Fenway Racing No. 16 3M sponsored racer from contending for the win and to a 43rd place finish.

It is really frustrating, but, you know what, I’ve just come accustomed to expecting it because it’s just week after week it’s something” said a dejected Biffle. “Something breaks. I’m not sure what happened yet, but it seems like it’s in the carburetor to me because it doesn’t want to run. They said there’s oil underneath it, so I’m not sure what happened. It’s just real frustrating. I give it 110 percent as a driver all the time and you just want your equipment to last and be able to win these races. They’re so hard to win these days. You can deal with a flat tire or something like that. It makes it so hard to swallow when it’s self-induced like that.”

Michael McDowell (28th) was the highest finishing rookie.

NASCAR Race Number 11
Unofficial Race Results for the Dodge Challenger 500 - Saturday, May 10, 2008
Darlington Raceway - Darlington, SC - 1.366 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 367 Laps - 501.322 Miles - Purse: $5,618,601

Leader
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Total Award Status Times Laps
1 6 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Indiana Jones Toyota 367 195 10 $313,700 Running 7 169
2 36 99 Carl Edwards Claritin Ford 367 170 $241,850 Running
3 8 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevrolet 367 170 5 $194,236 Running 3 24
4 2 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Mountain Dew/AMP Energy/National 367 165 5 $138,100 Running 4 35
5 15 6 David Ragan AAA Insurance Ford 367 160 5 $123,375 Running 1 2
6 34 17 Matt Kenseth DeWalt NANO Ford 367 155 5 $146,016 Running 2 3
7 21 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Ground Toyota 367 151 5 $131,941 Running 2 15
8 24 28 Travis Kvapil Lafayette Ford Ford 367 147 5 $121,789 Running 1 2
9 13 22 Dave Blaney Caterpillar Toyota 367 138 $111,283 Running
10 12 31 Jeff Burton AT&T Mobility Chevrolet 367 134 $134,858 Running
11 25 26 Jamie McMurray Crown Royal Ford 367 135 5 $95,925 Running 1 3
12 5 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge 367 132 5 $87,650 Running 1 1
13 3 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet 367 124 $137,061 Running
14 22 1 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats 367 126 5 $116,383 Running 2 11
15 38 07 Clint Bowyer Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet 367 118 $99,750 Running
16 27 8 Mark Martin U.S. Army Chevrolet 367 115 $117,908 Running
17 9 66 Scott Riggs State Water Heaters Chevrolet 367 112 $99,008 Running
18 10 43 Bobby Labonte Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge 367 109 $119,011 Running
19 30 44 David Reutimann UPS Toyota 367 106 $81,300 Running
20 33 38 David Gilliland freecreditreport.com Ford 367 108 5 $97,333 Running 1 1
21 4 20 Tony Stewart Home Depot Toyota 366 100 $125,061 Running
22 42 9 Kasey Kahne Budweiser Dodge 366 102 5 $109,091 Running 1 1
23 19 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Wrigley’s Big Red Dodge 366 94 $107,183 Running
24 37 55 Michael Waltrip NAPA Auto Parts Toyota 365 91 $86,008 Running
25 28 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota 365 88 $76,950 Running
26 31 96 J.J. Yeley DLP HDTV Toyota 365 90 5 $84,675 Running 1 1
27 26 84 AJ Allmendinger Red Bull Toyota 364 82 $72,475 Running
28 18 00 Michael McDowell # Brain Cancer Action Week Toyota 364 79 $85,872 Running
29 16 01 Regan Smith # Principal Financial Group/DEI 363 76 $82,625 Running
30 20 21 Bill Elliott Motorcraft Ford 363 73 $92,795 Running
31 17 78 Joe Nemechek Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 363 70 $71,200 Running
32 39 41 Reed Sorenson Target Dodge 362 67 $98,239 Running
33 40 7 Robby Gordon Jim Beam Dodge 361 64 $79,800 Running
34 14 40 Sterling Marlin Dodge Challenger Dodge 350 61 $78,725 Running
35 29 5 Casey Mears Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Chevrolet 341 58 $88,475 Running
36 41 15 Paul Menard Menards/Nibco Chevrolet 340 55 $78,325 Running
37 32 12 Ryan Newman alltel Dodge 295 52 $112,200 Running
38 23 77 Sam Hornish Jr. # Mobil 1 Dodge 270 49 $115,475 Running
39 11 29 Kevin Harvick Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet 265 46 $116,711 Running
40 43 10 Patrick Carpentier # LifeLock Dodge 261 48 5 $69,625 Engine 2 4
41 35 45 Kyle Petty Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil 250 40 $69,500 Running
42 7 19 Elliott Sadler McDonald’s Dodge 247 37 $95,750 Running
43 1 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford 234 39 5 $83,164 Engine 7 95
Race Comments: Before an announced sellout crowd of 75,000 - Kyle Busch won the Dodge Challenger 500 - his ninth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. Prior to the green flag the following drivers dropped to the rear for the reasons indicated: #7 R. Gordon and 9 Kahne (engine change).
Failed to Qualify: (2) 70 Johnny Sauter, 34 Jeff Green.
Time of Race: 03 Hrs, 34 Mins, 19 Secs. Average Speed: 140.350 MPH TRACK RECORD Margin of Victory: 3.115 Seconds
Caution Flags: 8 for 31 laps: Laps: 3-5 (#19,20 accident turn 1); 13-15 (#77 accident turn 3); 141-144 (Debris); 149-151 (Debris); 236-240 (Debris); 249-252 (#83 spun frontstretch); 281-284 (Debris); 303-307 (#1,11 accident turn 4).
Lead Changes: 35 among 15 drivers: G. Biffle 1; D. Earnhardt Jr. 2-16; Ky. Busch 17-39; G. Biffle 40-59; Ku. Busch 60; T. Kvapil 61-62; M. Kenseth 63-64; K. Kahne 65; J. Yeley 66; P. Carpentier # 67-69; D. Gilliland 70; Ky. Busch 71-109; G. Biffle 110-121; J. Gordon 122; D. Hamlin 123; P. Carpentier # 124; Ky. Busch 125; G. Biffle 126-127; Ky. Busch 128-140; G. Biffle 141; D. Earnhardt Jr. 142-159; G. Biffle 160-193; M. Truex Jr. 194-201; D. Earnhardt Jr. 202; M. Kenseth 203; D. Ragan 204-205; J. McMurray 206-208; G. Biffle 209-233; M. Truex Jr. 234-236; D. Hamlin 237-250; J. Gordon 251-269; Ky. Busch 270-280; J. Gordon 281-284; Ky. Busch 285-302; D. Earnhardt Jr. 303; Ky. Busch 304-367.
Top 12 Driver Points: (1) Ky. Busch 1,690;(2) J. Burton 1,611;(3) D. Earnhardt Jr. 1,556;(4) D. Hamlin 1,500;(5) C. Bowyer 1,490;(6) J. Johnson 1,442;(7) C. Edwards 1,400;(8) T. Stewart 1,397;(9) K. Harvick 1,396;(10) J. Gordon 1,326;(11) G. Biffle 1,308;(12) D. Ragan 1,266.
Coors Light Pole Award : Greg Biffle, #16 (179.442 mph) DIRECTV Crew Chief of the Race : Kyle Busch, #18
DOW Automotive Strategic Call of the Race : Kyle Busch, #18 EA Sports Move of the Race : Kyle Busch, #18
Goodyear Gatorback Fastest Lap : Kyle Busch, #18 (175.328 mph, Lap 19) Mahle Clevite Engine Builder : Kyle Busch, #18
Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race : Kurt Busch, #2 Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race : Carl Edwards, #99 (.43 Seconds)
Raybestos Rookie of the Race : Michael McDowell, #00 Sunoco Diamond Performance : Kyle Busch, #18
USG Improving the Finish : Carl Edwards, #99 (34 Places) WIX Lap Leader : Kyle Busch, #18 (169 Laps)
Next Race: May. 15, 2008 - Lowe’s Motor Speedway at Charlotte