Racetrack Insider - News and Views of the Motorsports Industry from Insiders Drew Patey and Buddy Judy

Busch Beats Martin at Bristol

The Sprint Cup teams visited the Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday night for the night race on the famous half mile oval. Kyle Busch had a strong car and held back until it counted - at the checkered flag. Busch held off a charging Mark Martin to claim his 4th win of the year while everyone knew that Martin had the best car all night after taking the pole on Friday. The race was the first for the double file restarts and Busch used the outside line to keep ahead of Martin on last four restarts. On the final green flag with four laps to go, Martin was able to get close and had a chance to tap Busch, but the two raced each other cleanly and the Toyota horsepower won out, giving Busch his second win of the year at Bristol. The victory moved Busch from 15th to 13th in points with two races to go before The Chase. The second place finish for Martin moved him up to 10th in the series standing. The highlight of the race was the third place run by Safety-Kleen driver Marcos Ambrose, driving for the Michael Waltrip team. Ambrose proved to all that he is not just a road racer as he hung tough all night. Greg Biffle also had a good night, leading for a while and then falling back, but he rallied in the end to come to the flag in fourth ahead of Denny Hamlin. Safety-Kleen drivers Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch rounded out the top seven. The two points leaders had miserable nights - Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon finished way back in the field, but both are already locked in The Chase. The real loser of the night was Clint Bowyer, who was involved in two wrecks and now is out of the running for the championship. Another big winner this weekend was Mike Downey from the Piney Flats branch as he entertained a number of SK customer at the event. The next race for the Cup teams is Atlanta in two weeks and then Richmond before The Chase for the 2009 Championships begins.