As incredible as it may seem, Kyle Busch (Camry No 18) had to start the NASCAR Sprint Cup Shelby 427 race held at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Sunday afternoon from the back of the pack and still won the race!
Busch, a Las Vegas native, had the pole but had to change engines before the start of the race. According to NASCAR rules, he thus had to start the race from the back of the pack. But he still managed to get back up front and win a race that was punctuated by more yellow flags situations than ever.
What helped Busch were incidents such as Matt Kenseth's (Ford No 17) blown engine. Matt was expected to win a third race in a row but in less than six laps, the engine of his Ford expired just like his teammate David Ragan's (Ford No 6) and, some two laps to the end, Carl Edward's (Ford No 99). Engines and pit road infractions were the story of the day.
Mark Martin (Chevy No 5) and Todd Bodine (Camry No 64) also saw their engine quit early. But rookie Joey Logano (Camry No 20) finally had a good race finishing 13th. Clint Bowyer (Chevy No 33) and teammate Jeff Burton (Chevy No 31) finished second and third.
By finishing 6th, Jeff Gordon (Chevy No 24) took the lead of the championship while defending series champion Jimmie Johnson (Chevy No 48) finished 24th. He is now 19th in points!
NASCAR Race Number 3
Unofficial Race Results for the Shelby 427 - Sunday, March 1, 2009
Las Vegas Motor Speedway - Las Vegas, NV - 1.5 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 285 Laps - 427.5 Miles
FinStrCarDriverTeamLapsPtsBnsWinningsStatusTimesLaps
1118Kyle BuschM&M's Toyota2851905$461,273Running351
23733Clint BowyerCheerios / Hamburger Helper Chevrolet2851755$244,575Running19
31431Jeff BurtonCaterpillar Chevrolet2851705$247,281Running161
4400David ReutimannAaron's Dream Machine Toyota285160 $194,923Running
51796Bobby LabonteASK.com Ford285155 $174,554Running
62824Jeff GordonDuPont Chevrolet2851555$167,626Running117
72416Greg Biffle3M Ford2851515$145,250Running140
82183Brian VickersRed Bull Toyota285142 $143,923Running
93826Jamie McMurrayIrwin Ford285138 $121,450Running
103188Dale Earnhardt Jr.National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet285134 $125,375Running
1179Kasey KahneBudweiser Dodge2851355$145,923Running11
12929Kevin HarvickShell / Pennzoil Chevrolet2851325$143,728Running19
132020Joey Logano #The Home Depot Toyota2851295$151,076Running11
143071David GillilandCapital Window Chevrolet285121 $100,225Running
15327Robby GordonJim Beam Toyota2851235$123,235Running11
161277Sam Hornish Jr.Mobil 1 Dodge285115 $121,235Running
171699Carl EdwardsAFLAC Ford2851175$146,331Running12
181112David StremmeNo. 12 Penske Dodge Dodge284109 $132,665Running
191878Regan SmithFurniture Row Chevrolet284106 $95,125Running
20547Marcos AmbroseKingsford Toyota284103 $116,048Running
214282Scott Speed #Red Bull Toyota284100 $111,198Running
223411Denny HamlinFedEx Office Toyota28497 $110,125Running
2322Kurt BuschMiller Lite Dodge284995$102,525Running11
24348Jimmie JohnsonLowe's/KobaltT Tools Chevrolet28410110$145,201Running392
25639Ryan NewmanHaas Automation Chevrolet28388 $120,529Running
261014Tony StewartOld Spice Chevrolet28385 $100,173Running
271555Michael WaltripNAPA Auto Parts Toyota28382 $98,300Running
282934John AndrettiWindow World Dodge28379 $97,200Running
293319Elliott SadlerStanley Dodge28376 $96,900Running
304107Casey MearsJack Daniels Chevrolet28273 $104,125Running
312342Juan Pablo MontoyaEnergizer Chevrolet28170 $122,998Running
32251Martin Truex Jr.Bass Pro Shop Chevrolet28167 $122,715Running
331944A J AllmendingerHarrah's Dodge28164 $85,975Running
343943Reed SorensonValvoline Dodge27861 $122,176Running
353698Paul MenardJohns Manville/Menards Ford26958 $115,006Accident
362613Max Papis #GEICO Toyota25855 $85,400Running
374364Todd Bodine Toyota22752 $84,175Engine
381325Brad KeselowskiGoDaddy.com Chevrolet22149 $83,975Running
39278Aric AlmirolaTomTom Chevrolet14346 $91,775Accident
4085Mark MartinPop-Tarts/Carquest Chevrolet12143 $91,525Engine
412287Joe Nemechek Toyota10240 $83,300Transmission
42356David RaganUPS Ford7237 $91,155Engine
434017Matt KensethUSG Ford634 $129,669Engine
photo:NASCAR - Getty Images
Busch, a Las Vegas native, had the pole but had to change engines before the start of the race. According to NASCAR rules, he thus had to start the race from the back of the pack. But he still managed to get back up front and win a race that was punctuated by more yellow flags situations than ever.
What helped Busch were incidents such as Matt Kenseth's (Ford No 17) blown engine. Matt was expected to win a third race in a row but in less than six laps, the engine of his Ford expired just like his teammate David Ragan's (Ford No 6) and, some two laps to the end, Carl Edward's (Ford No 99). Engines and pit road infractions were the story of the day.
Mark Martin (Chevy No 5) and Todd Bodine (Camry No 64) also saw their engine quit early. But rookie Joey Logano (Camry No 20) finally had a good race finishing 13th. Clint Bowyer (Chevy No 33) and teammate Jeff Burton (Chevy No 31) finished second and third.
By finishing 6th, Jeff Gordon (Chevy No 24) took the lead of the championship while defending series champion Jimmie Johnson (Chevy No 48) finished 24th. He is now 19th in points!
NASCAR Race Number 3
Unofficial Race Results for the Shelby 427 - Sunday, March 1, 2009
Las Vegas Motor Speedway - Las Vegas, NV - 1.5 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 285 Laps - 427.5 Miles
FinStrCarDriverTeamLapsPtsBnsWinningsStatusTimesLaps
1118Kyle BuschM&M's Toyota2851905$461,273Running351
23733Clint BowyerCheerios / Hamburger Helper Chevrolet2851755$244,575Running19
31431Jeff BurtonCaterpillar Chevrolet2851705$247,281Running161
4400David ReutimannAaron's Dream Machine Toyota285160 $194,923Running
51796Bobby LabonteASK.com Ford285155 $174,554Running
62824Jeff GordonDuPont Chevrolet2851555$167,626Running117
72416Greg Biffle3M Ford2851515$145,250Running140
82183Brian VickersRed Bull Toyota285142 $143,923Running
93826Jamie McMurrayIrwin Ford285138 $121,450Running
103188Dale Earnhardt Jr.National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet285134 $125,375Running
1179Kasey KahneBudweiser Dodge2851355$145,923Running11
12929Kevin HarvickShell / Pennzoil Chevrolet2851325$143,728Running19
132020Joey Logano #The Home Depot Toyota2851295$151,076Running11
143071David GillilandCapital Window Chevrolet285121 $100,225Running
15327Robby GordonJim Beam Toyota2851235$123,235Running11
161277Sam Hornish Jr.Mobil 1 Dodge285115 $121,235Running
171699Carl EdwardsAFLAC Ford2851175$146,331Running12
181112David StremmeNo. 12 Penske Dodge Dodge284109 $132,665Running
191878Regan SmithFurniture Row Chevrolet284106 $95,125Running
20547Marcos AmbroseKingsford Toyota284103 $116,048Running
214282Scott Speed #Red Bull Toyota284100 $111,198Running
223411Denny HamlinFedEx Office Toyota28497 $110,125Running
2322Kurt BuschMiller Lite Dodge284995$102,525Running11
24348Jimmie JohnsonLowe's/KobaltT Tools Chevrolet28410110$145,201Running392
25639Ryan NewmanHaas Automation Chevrolet28388 $120,529Running
261014Tony StewartOld Spice Chevrolet28385 $100,173Running
271555Michael WaltripNAPA Auto Parts Toyota28382 $98,300Running
282934John AndrettiWindow World Dodge28379 $97,200Running
293319Elliott SadlerStanley Dodge28376 $96,900Running
304107Casey MearsJack Daniels Chevrolet28273 $104,125Running
312342Juan Pablo MontoyaEnergizer Chevrolet28170 $122,998Running
32251Martin Truex Jr.Bass Pro Shop Chevrolet28167 $122,715Running
331944A J AllmendingerHarrah's Dodge28164 $85,975Running
343943Reed SorensonValvoline Dodge27861 $122,176Running
353698Paul MenardJohns Manville/Menards Ford26958 $115,006Accident
362613Max Papis #GEICO Toyota25855 $85,400Running
374364Todd Bodine Toyota22752 $84,175Engine
381325Brad KeselowskiGoDaddy.com Chevrolet22149 $83,975Running
39278Aric AlmirolaTomTom Chevrolet14346 $91,775Accident
4085Mark MartinPop-Tarts/Carquest Chevrolet12143 $91,525Engine
412287Joe Nemechek Toyota10240 $83,300Transmission
42356David RaganUPS Ford7237 $91,155Engine
434017Matt KensethUSG Ford634 $129,669Engine
photo:NASCAR - Getty Images