Busch won for the first time on a road course in the Sprint Cup series.
He ended a 38-race winless streak which dated back to the 2010 Coca-Cola 600.
And, he beat runner-up Jeff Gordon, who apologized to several drivers for his rough racing here last year but — pointedly — did not apologize to Busch who said this week he felt slighted after Gordon wrecked him last year.
“To win a road course race and to beat him, he’s one of the best and always will be,” Busch said. “To get a road course race is a big check mark in my career.”
Busch dominated the race, leading 76 of the 110 laps, while operating on a pit strategy that required only two fuel stops. After starting 11th, Busch had the lead by lap 13 and clearly had the best car in a race that featured a handful of dust-ups between drivers.
Cup points leader Carl Edwards was third and Clint Bowyer finished fourth in front of about 93,000.
The big drama was between Tony Stewart and Brian Vickers, who tangled twice with Vickers putting Stewart into a pile of tires late in the race in retribution for an earlier spin caused by Stewart. There were others, including a couple involving Juan Pablo Montoya.
After the race, though, the Busch-Gordon incident last year — and how they handled it this year — added another element to a sometimes fiery afternoon. Gordon made a point of stopping by Victory Lane to congratulate Busch on his 23rd career win but there was no apology coming. Gordon said he felt Busch had run him off the track earlier in the race last year.
Asked if that’s how he remembered it, Busch — fourth in points — said no.
“I respect him,” Busch said. “He’s third on the all-time list. I’m not going to get sideways with a guy like that but I’m going to let him know he can’t walk all over me.”
Gordon, delighted by an unexpected second-place finish after wrestling an ill-handling car throughout the race, wasn’t backing down on Sunday.
“I didn’t think I owed him an apology,” Gordon said. “He’s done things to me I didn’t get apology for. It’s just the kind of relationship I have with Kurt. I see no reason to apologize.
“But those guys have been on a mission here lately. They were strong all weekend long.”
Busch’s team has been on a roll for several weeks. They had won three straight poles before qualifying 11th on Friday.
(via Kansascity.com)