What could be better than winning a NASCAR Sprint Cup race and turning a hard-working man into a millionaire? That was pretty much Kurt Busch's Sunday. Our trackside team has all the details:
Busch drove the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger to his second victory of the season and made an Oklahoma agriculture teacher a millionaire in the Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Kurt dueled with his younger brother Kyle through most of the race and then stretched the fuel an extra couple laps over the final 20 circuits to take the win, the 20th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory of his career.
He led six times for 89 laps including the last three as his brother, who led 232 laps, needed a trip to pit road for a splash of fuel to make it to the checkered flag. That was the case for all the challengers except Busch, the only driver that could stretch the fuel window 62 laps. But he needed a push to victory lane, as he was out of fuel.
"Unbelievable! I’m proud of our team and everybody pulling together hard," Busch said. "Racing my little brother head to head for the win is bitter sweet. I was rooting for him, but at the same time, we wanted to put our Miller Lite Dodge in victory lane. We raced hard. It was cat and mouse on those restarts. Then it came down to the crew chief, Pat (Tryson) putting in the right calls and getting us the fuel mileage to bring it home.”
Busch’s win turned a $50,000 prize into a $1 million payday for an agricultural teacher and horse training business owner form Broken Bow, Okla. Michael McGee was named the 2009 American Worker of the Year on October 30 in Las Vegas by race-sponsor Dickies. He received a $50,000 prize and a trip to Texas for the Dickies 500. His opportunity to win a million came Friday when he randomly selected Busch’s number for the group of 12 Chase drivers as part of the sponsor’s promotion. Busch’s win left the teacher speechless and in tears.
Busch, who started third, moved up two spots to fourth in the Chase standings. He’s 59 points out of third and 171 behind the point leader, Jimmy Johnson who was involved in a mishap on the second lap of the 334-lap event and finished 38th.
The win was the 45th since Dodge’s return to NASCAR’s premier series in 2001. It was Team Penske’s 61st win. Roger Penske was on hand to watch the victory.
“I think it's a real credit to Kurt,” Penske said during post-race interviews. “Great job tonight. ... At the end, I really wasn't concerned because Pat said we only needed one lap. I knew Kurt could make at least one lap. You could see that."
Two races remain in the 2009 Sprint Cup Series season. The next stop is Phoenix International Raceway on November 15 followed by the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 22.
