After starting from the pole, Kyle Busch dominated the Centurion Boats at The Glen and took his #18 M&Ms Toyota to victory lane for the eighth time this season, sweeping both road course events in the 2008 Sprint Cup Series schedule. The victory in New York secured his first place berth when the Chase begins in five weeks. Pit strategy was a major factor in Kyle Busch's, as he acquired the lead on lap thirty, after he chased Dale Earnhardt Jr. since the second lap of the race. Tony Stewart was the only driver that was able to battle with Busch for the victory, but in the end, the #20 Home Depot Toyota simply didn't have enough, and had to settle with a second place victory.
Despite Kyle Busch's domination the majority of the race, the story of the day was the Cinderella story of Marcos Ambrose. After capturing his first career NASCAR victory in the Nationwide Series on Saturday, Marcos Ambrose was looking to have a solid run in only his third race of his career in the Sprint Cup Series. Ambrose did more than that, coming from 43rd place to finish third in the #21 Little Debbies Ford for the Wood Brothers. Ambrose's performance on Sunday was only a preview for 2009, when Ambrose makes his full time debut in the series.
The turning point of the race came with eight laps to go, when a violent nine car wreck occurred coming out of turn 11. Michael McDowell and David Gilliland were exchanging blows the prior lap and it all exploded when McDowell sent Glliland into the wall right out of turn 11, and back into the racing grove. The cars coming out of the turn did not have time to react, creating a pile up which brought out the red flag for close to forty minutes. Involved were the #00, #38, #22, #31, #43, #55, #70, #77, and #78. Bobby Labonte, who had one of the hardest impacts of the crash was able to get out of his car, but was taken to an area hospital for further evaluation. All the other drivers were checked at the infield care center and released.
Turn one became "calamity corner" for many drivers on Sunday. David Reutimann, Patrick Capantier, PJ Jones, Reed Sorenson, and Ryan Newman all spun coming out of the turn. All the drivers were able to continue, though Ryan Newman had a close call after his spin. His car would not refire after the spin, which had rolled onto the track, leaving his driver's side exposed to oncoming traffic. NASCAR threw the caution and Newman had to be pushed to the pits by teammate Sam Hornish because his car would not restart.
After the green flag flew, it appeared that the Hendrick Motorsports teammates of Dale Earnhardt Jr, Jimmie Johnson, and Jeff Gordon would dominate the race. After the first lap, all three blew passed the pole setter and were having a solid run for the first ten laps. It went downhill from there for the three.
Jeff Gordon was having trouble dialing his car in all day, and things were only made worse with a radio problem midway through the race. Gordon would finish 29th. Jimmie Johnson appeared to have one of the strongest cars in the field, yet a flat left rear tire would force Johnson to make an unscheduled pit stop on lap 43. Johnson rallied late and finished seventh. Dale Earnhardt Jr. had the car to beat, but his hopes of capturing the victory on Sunday were foiled by poor pit strategy and an untimely caution. Earnhardt Jr. was never able to recover, and finished 22nd. The poor finish also cost him two positions in the standings.
Many drivers that needed a strong run today were able to benefit from the other on track incidents. AJ Allmendinger, who is not sure about his future next year, was able to have a solid run all day and finish in eleventh place. Juan Pablo Montoya finished fourth on Sunday giving Chip Ganassi Racing a much need boost after a disappointing 2008 season.
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I hope NASCAR does the right thing and parks him for a few races over that. If you've got beef with someone, wait until after the race and take it up with them in the garage, don't wreck him on purpose. 7 other drivers were swept up in what was a two-driver argument.
I hope Bobby's okay.