Kurt Busch got some unexpected and unintended help from rival Jamie McMurray to win the Bud Shootout on Saturday night.
“I have to thank my 'teammate of the day' Jamie McMurray,” said Busch. “What an unbelievable experience – this two-car draft. I had no idea what to expect going in. I was just going to take it one lap at a time and see how it plays out.”
On the final lap Denny Hamlin dove below Ryan Newman (who ended up second) but went below the double-yellow line to avoid colliding with Newman and was subsequently black-flagged.
Hamlin explained: “I went to the inside of Ryan Newman and I saw quickly to dart down to the bottom so I moved my car down to the bottom to try to avoid contact. I thought it was a great three-wide finish, but obviously I used some pavement that we shouldn’t have.”
Busch used that opportunity to shoot to the lead being pushed by McMurray.
The Shoot Out was the first 'Sprint Cup' race since the track was completely repaved (for the first time in 30-years) and Busch’s first career restrictor plate win although it was a non-points events.
What was expected, and what was seen, was that for most of the race two-car drafts were the only thing that worked. The four-car runaway, at the end of the race, of Newman, Hamlin, McMurray and Busch was a late development.
The race consisted of two segments: a 25-laps to start, a ten minute break and then a 50-laps final run.
The RCR cars of Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick dominated the first segment.
In the break Hamlin explained the two-car draft which was developing amazing speeds of 206 mph, “a yo-yo effect;' 'it's tough to say up front;' 'the wake is so big, the other two-car packs can catch up immediately.”
Jeff Gordon was more graphic: "I figured it out. This is like playing chess on the edge of a cliff with the wind blowing 50 mph gusts."
Even Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was crashed out early in a multi-car wreck, said: “The racing might look kind of crazy but it was pretty fun. It’s a new style of racing for sure and I was enjoying it.
"We were just waiting around and trying to line ourselves up for the pit stop and it was just too many race cars going for the same piece of real estate there, but we’ll be all right.”
At the end that four-car breakaway determined the outcome.
McMurray, the defending 500 winner, put the period on it explaining: “Well the racing is a lot different. I hope it was exciting to watch because it’s so much different than what we had before. I had a really good time tonight.”
No points are awarded during the Budweiser Shootout, which could explain the daily comradeship and the risky manoeuvres, but substantial prize money is awarded to the winner.
“I have to thank my 'teammate of the day' Jamie McMurray,” said Busch. “What an unbelievable experience – this two-car draft. I had no idea what to expect going in. I was just going to take it one lap at a time and see how it plays out.”
On the final lap Denny Hamlin dove below Ryan Newman (who ended up second) but went below the double-yellow line to avoid colliding with Newman and was subsequently black-flagged.
Hamlin explained: “I went to the inside of Ryan Newman and I saw quickly to dart down to the bottom so I moved my car down to the bottom to try to avoid contact. I thought it was a great three-wide finish, but obviously I used some pavement that we shouldn’t have.”
Busch used that opportunity to shoot to the lead being pushed by McMurray.
The Shoot Out was the first 'Sprint Cup' race since the track was completely repaved (for the first time in 30-years) and Busch’s first career restrictor plate win although it was a non-points events.
What was expected, and what was seen, was that for most of the race two-car drafts were the only thing that worked. The four-car runaway, at the end of the race, of Newman, Hamlin, McMurray and Busch was a late development.
The race consisted of two segments: a 25-laps to start, a ten minute break and then a 50-laps final run.
The RCR cars of Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick dominated the first segment.
In the break Hamlin explained the two-car draft which was developing amazing speeds of 206 mph, “a yo-yo effect;' 'it's tough to say up front;' 'the wake is so big, the other two-car packs can catch up immediately.”
Jeff Gordon was more graphic: "I figured it out. This is like playing chess on the edge of a cliff with the wind blowing 50 mph gusts."
Even Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was crashed out early in a multi-car wreck, said: “The racing might look kind of crazy but it was pretty fun. It’s a new style of racing for sure and I was enjoying it.
"We were just waiting around and trying to line ourselves up for the pit stop and it was just too many race cars going for the same piece of real estate there, but we’ll be all right.”
At the end that four-car breakaway determined the outcome.
McMurray, the defending 500 winner, put the period on it explaining: “Well the racing is a lot different. I hope it was exciting to watch because it’s so much different than what we had before. I had a really good time tonight.”
No points are awarded during the Budweiser Shootout, which could explain the daily comradeship and the risky manoeuvres, but substantial prize money is awarded to the winner.