NASCAR)—Las Vegas-born and raised Kurt Busch finally got a win at his home track, thanks to pit strategy, some ferocious competition behind him in the closing laps, tough driving on restarts, and the ability to get the most out of his tires for the longest amount of time.
Busch has become the first driver to qualify for the round of eight competitors for the NASCAR Cup championship. Four drivers will be eliminated after two more races.
Busch held off Matt DiBenedetto, who was one of four drivers eliminated from the playoff last week by less than a second. Danny Hamlin, hoping for a late-race successful charge on fresh tires, was third, instead.
A lot of things could change next week, however, when the drivers take their show to Talladega, the superspeedway where major crashes show no respect to a driver’s standings in the points. Bowyer has won twice at that track. He has crashed out of it five times.