Long Pond, PA (Best E Casino) - Kurt Busch led 175 of 200 laps while capturing Sunday's Pennsylvania 500 Nextel Cup race at the Pocono Raceway. The No.2 Penske Racing Dodge driver crossed the finish line 4.132 seconds ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr.
The victory was Busch's first of the season and 16th of his Nextel Cup career.
"This car was fabulous, I think anyone could have driven this car to Victory Lane," said Busch. "I can't thank the team enough for giving me a car this good to drive."
Pole winner Earnhardt Jr. brought the 43-car field to the green flag for 200 laps around the 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway tri-oval. But early on the top of the track seemed to be working better than the bottom and Busch teamed up with Ryan Newman to sweep past "Junior" to lead the first lap.
Busch and Newman quickly built a working margin, but the drivers on the move were Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon. Johnson, who had been struggling of late, cracked the top-five on lap 12 and Gordon was following him up the ladder. Also moving up were Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart.
Slowly, Busch pulled away from his Penske Racing teammate Newman. The lead was 3.830 over Newman after 25 laps and 6.906 seconds ahead of Earnhardt Jr. He led until he pitted for tires and fuel on lap 33, but after all cars had cycled through he again took his place on top of the charts.
After the first stop, Busch ran away and hid, leading by 7.221 seconds through 40 laps. Busch began lapping slower cars as the gap neared 10 seconds. The amazing performance continued as the margin exceeded 12 seconds just 53 laps into the 200-lap event. But a caution flag (debris) erased all of Busch's work in just a blink of an eye.
The race restarted on lap 59 and Busch took off with Hamlin trying to stay with him. He couldn't do it and Busch began to rebuild the lead. Another caution flag and restart and still nobody had anything for the No.2 Miller Lite Dodge.
The race reached the halfway mark and Busch was still going strong, leading by 4.244 seconds over Hamlin and 8.049 seconds over Gordon. In the next 10 laps Gordon caught Hamlin and took over second place, but he was still a long way behind Busch. Ninety laps to go and the margin was 7.886 seconds.
Another round of green flag pit stops and no errors from either of the leaders kept Busch and Gordon one-two. Then Earnhardt Jr. spun to bring out a caution flag and give Gordon a shot from right behind the leader on the restart.
Gordon was no better than Hamlin as Busch got a great jump and immediately opened up a 10-length lead. Busch built the lead to more than three seconds as Gordon had to fight off Newman and Stewart to remain in second place.
Gordon couldn't keep the No.12 Dodge or the No.20 Chevrolet behind him and fell to fourth place on lap 134.
Then Greg Biffle spun and after the caution flag Busch came off pit road in ninth place. Reed Sorenson didn't stop and assumed the race lead, but Busch was also behind Earnhardt Jr., Casey Mears, Matt Kenseth, Newman, Hamlin and Gordon who all had fast cars.
The restart came with 58 laps remaining and Busch showed just how strong his Dodge was. In two laps Busch was in fourth place and ducking underneath Kenseth for third place. Another lap and Busch was in second place behind pole sitter Earnhardt Jr. The margin was 1.453 seconds, but not for long.
Busch cut the gap to under one second with 50 laps remaining and methodically closed on the fan favorite. He caught him on lap 153 and it was no contest as Busch flew around "Junior."
Busch's No.2 Dodge was still in a class by itself and by lap 165 the lead was 3.888 seconds over Earnhardt Jr. and eight seconds on Gordon, who was in third place.
Final pit stops began for some on lap 168, but Busch was still building his lead. When he came in on lap 172 he had more than 12 seconds in hand. This time the stop was solid and he remained the race leader as he exited pit lane.
David Ragan spun on lap 173. The final run would begin with Busch, Earnhardt Jr., Hamlin, Gordon and Stewart holding the top-five spots.
The green flag dropped, Busch took off and no one could stay with him. A multi-car crash with 20 laps to go only slowed the inevitable.
The race would restart with just 16 laps to go. Busch quickly built up a solid margin as he had done all day. Earnhardt Jr. tried to stay within striking distance, but he just couldn't make a dent in the Busch armor and the No.2 cruised to the win and his first trip to Victory Lane since March 2006 at Bristol (52 races).
"Kurt obviously had the best car today," said Earnhardt Jr.
Hamlin, Gordon and Johnson completed the top-five.
The next race is scheduled for Sunday, August 12th at Watkins Glen International.
