Kyle Busch gave Toyota its first NASCAR Sprint Cup victory, driving away from the pack in the waning laps to win the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Busch, winning for the first time since last March 25 at Bristol, permanently took the lead with 50 laps to go Sunday when Carl Edwards, trying for a third straight victory, went out with a broken transmission.
The first win for the Japanese automaker in NASCAR’s top series came in its 40th race and is the first NASCAR victory by a foreign manufacturer since Al Keller drove a Jaguar to a road course win in Linden, N.J., in June 1954.
The win also put the No. 18 back in Victory Circle at Atlanta, where former Joe Gibbs Racing driver Bobby Labonte won six races in that car.
The significance was not lost on Busch.
“The 18! The 18! The 18 is back at Atlanta,” Busch screamed on the radio after crossing the finish line ahead of teammate Tony Stewart. “Congratulations, (crew chief Steve) Addington, it’s your first one.”
Former crew chief Jimmy Makar, the first person hired by Joe Gibbs when he decided to go NASCAR racing, radioed the winner, “Kyle Busch, this is Jimmy. Thank you for bringing the 18 back.”
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RESULTS:
FIN, ST, CAR, DRIVER, MAKE, SPONSOR, PTS/BNS, LAPS, STATUS
1 6 18 Kyle Busch Toyota Snickers 195/10 325 Running
2 32 20 Tony Stewart Toyota Home Depot “10 Years Strong” 170/0 325 Running
3 2 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet AMP Energy / National Guard 170/5 325 Running
4 13 16 Greg Biffle Ford Jackson Hewitt 165/5 325 Running
5 1 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont 160/5 325 Running
6 7 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet DIRECTV 155/5 325 Running
7 8 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 146/0 325 Running
8 38 17 Matt Kenseth Ford DEWALT 142/0 325 Running
9 35 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull 143/5 325 Running
10 15 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet AT&T Mobility 134/0 325 Running
11 29 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 130/0 325 Running
12 5 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Cheerios / Betty Crocker 132/5 325 Running
13 11 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s / Kobalt Tools 124/0 325 Running
14 12 12 Ryan Newman Dodge ALLTEL 121/0 324 Running
15 22 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Ground 118/0 324 Running
16 19 42 Juan Montoya Dodge Wrigley’s Big Red 115/0 324 Running
17 39 5 Casey Mears Chevrolet Kellogg’s / CARQUEST 112/0 324 Running
18 28 66 Scott Riggs Chevrolet State Water Heaters 109/0 324 Running
19 20 15 Paul Menard Chevrolet Energizer / Menards 106/0 324 Running
20 30 00 David Reutimann Toyota Aaron’s Dream Machine 103/0 323 Running
21 3 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 100/0 323 Running
22 10 8 Mark Martin Chevrolet U.S. Army 97/0 323 Running
23 14 6 David Ragan Ford AAA 94/0 323 Running
24 26 7 Robby Gordon Dodge Valvoline / Jim Beam 91/0 323 Running
25 33 77 Sam Hornish Jr. * Dodge Penske Truck Rental 88/0 323 Running
26 9 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Budweiser 90/5 322 Running
27 42 28 Travis Kvapil Ford Zaxby’s 82/0 322 Running
28 43 44 Dale Jarrett Toyota UPS 79/0 322 Running
29 34 84 Mike Skinner Toyota Red Bull 76/0 322 Running
30 31 38 David Gilliland Ford FreeCreditReport.com 73/0 321 Running
31 23 40 Dario Franchitti * Dodge Fastenal 70/0 321 Running
32 16 22 Dave Blaney Toyota Caterpillar 67/0 321 Running
33 27 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA AUTO PARTS 64/0 321 Running
34 25 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge Target 61/0 321 Running
35 37 96 J.J. Yeley Toyota DLP HDTV 58/0 320 Running
36 41 01 Regan Smith * Chevrolet DEI / Principal Financial Group 55/0 320 Running
37 17 78 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet Furniture Row Racing 52/0 320 Running
38 21 10 Patrick Carpentier * Dodge Cintas 49/0 320 Running
39 36 70 Jeremy Mayfield Chevrolet Haas Automation 46/0 318 Running
40 24 26 Jamie McMurray Ford IRWIN Industrial Tools 43/0 317 Running
41 40 45 Kyle Petty Dodge Paralyzed Veterans of America 40/0 313 Running
42 4 99 Carl Edwards Ford Aflac 42/5 274 Out of Race
43 18 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Best Buy / Garmin 34/0 257 Out of Race
- Kyle Busch tries to make history
- Busch opposes minimum age rule proposal
- Atlanta Motor Speedway test summary
- Busch ends full-time Nationwide run
- ESPN’s Andy Petree on racing at Homestead-Miami Speedway
And the Shrub wins one for Toyota. The 1st win in cup for a Japanese car company.
You gotta wonder what the factory will give him to honor his 1st win for them ??
1. A large bundle of yen
2. A large bundle of $$$ and any car they make (yea)
3. A case of Sapporo Beer and a pass the next time he overdrives the car and wrecks it !!!
Who knows or cares to me he will always be the little shrub…
Wow, that was one dull race, but the result was great! 1-2 for my boys @ Gibbs :). Sure as heck am glad I didn’t pay to see that race! I’m pretty sure that was the worst race I’ve ever seen here at AMS.
Well deserved win, congrats Busch.
well, if you car makes an extra 30 more horsepower, you’re bound to win a race.
So much for Nascar making the manufacturers equal. I guess Toyota was willing to give Brian more money than everyone else. It would be funny but this is no joking matter.
George Thompson wrote:
It’s not Toyota’s fault nobody else stepped up to build new engines.
George Thompson wrote:
Equal? I seem to remember watching a Ford pulling away before it’s gearbox went boom. All this “Toyota makes 30 more horses” is just the media blowing it way out of proportion. If there was an advantage, it may be more close to 5-7 horses, which the NASCAR officials doing the dyno pulls did confirm.
Either way, Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards were the class of the field. In a way, it’s payback from the Nationwide race where Kyle also was dominant, but had a suspension failure. Carl Edwards took advantage of that situation.
Let all the conspirecies start. Bottom line is Busch is on a roll no matter what series it is. Busch deserved it. I still think Hendrick made a mistake letting him go.
My new motto for the day ” Snub the Shrub “
Hendrick did make a mistake, but not by getting Jr but by not getting rid of Casey Mears
All this crud about making more HP is a null point for the simple reasons that the motors are within the rules. If you can make 200 more HP then I can but you are within the rules then more power to you.
Great Run for Vickers and Bobby Labonte.
Whatever, Kyle is an A Sob, he could win every race in a season an he’d still be an A Sob.
He will either Kill himself or someone else before its all said and done.
Hell; atleast he’s got balls to drive it wide fricken open all the tiem everytime. Thats what I liek in him. Hendrick did make a mistake though “letting” him go lol. Mears is a better person; but froma success standpoint they shouldv’e canned Mears for Junior. Gordon, Johnson, Junior, & Kyle. Hell THAT would’ve been a damn sight.
From what I remember hearing last year the only reason that Kyle got the boot at HMS was because his agent at the time screwed him over. Kyle would have loved to stay at HMS and he said that himself, but it didn’t work out that way, and he ended up firing his agent right after that.
But then again its kinda his fault for letting his agent try and negotiate a new deal instead of being involved with it himself.
bottom line is Kyle is on a hot streak, it happens , enjoy it while you can Kyle because it never lasts long. as for Toyota everyone is finally on a level playing field , its just you anti Toyota fans that have a problem with an American made Toyota . theirs more Jap parts in a Dodge and Ford than their are in Toyotas. and they give Americans jobs, we visited the plant in Kentucky where they build the Cars and they have 7000 AMERICANS working there and they pay more than the UAW so dont talk about Toyota when Chevy is giving our jobs to the MEXICANS south of the border. get your facts straight their are a lot of TOYOTA plants in north America. you people make me sick with all your bull about giving BRIAN FRANCE money. grow up
Amen Mel. I agree that Busch is a dangerous driver and should be sent home to ride his teicycle around the driveway.
Aust retires, White attacks Roush and Kyle Busch wins (twice). A very jubilant week for Toyota
Way to go, Kyle. First of many with Gibbs. Get used to it people.
Oh: Last year Toyo had more HP than most, in all the Dyno tests, but still ran like poop all year. That’s because HP isnt nearly as big a factor as suspension setups in winning races, on any oval anywhere, except restrictor plate tracks. If you doubt it, ask yourself why the Nationwide cars run nearly as fast as Cup cars at most tracks, even though they have hundreds less HP. Gibbs brought Toyo better shock/spring/weighting/balance data and expertise, and it’s showing. It ain’t HP. Suspension wins you races, or loses you races.
ShowMeDon’tTellMe wrote:
Doesn’t hurt that Gibbs’ engine department has a reputation as bring one of the better shops in NASCAR… Seems like the Toyota teams had a lot of mechanical failures last year. I’m sure Gibbs brought them a good bit of reliability too, so once they make races, they can be there at the finish too!
Jeff wrote:
I think Jeff makes a good point. Gibbs is the difference in Toyota.
Shrub ran a great race and he deserved to win. He still irritates the **** out of me.
Wow, I figured Tony would be the first Toyota, well it made Toyota look good on Sunday.
It was Jake that said he likes the little Shrub because he has the (b—-) to run wide open all the time.
YES he does do that, but as DW said yesterday it took him a Big wreck and the loss of a Championship to learn that there is a time to run flat out and a time to back off and save the equipment.
There is a LOT more to runing a smart race than just smashing the gas for 500 miles and see if the car will last. He can drive no one doubts that but he is still a smart a$$ kid that doesn’t know how to race or keep his mouth under control… The little Shrub has a lot to learn !!!
And the longer he is in the sport the more he’ll learn. There is no doubt that he is going to do something that’ll bite him in the “rear” and then he’ll learn, but until then……..
Exactly what someone said earlier..the horsepower isn’t
much of a factor. It’s the handling and car setup
that wins you the races.
I don’t like any of the Toyota teams but I still don’t blame
Nascar for the “30 more HP” becuase I know they’re
playing it fair.
Keep in mind he’s not even 23 yet……People have been hating on this guy for a while now and he is only 23…..Hendrick may have dumped one of the most talented drivers in this era, when you consider Stewart and Gordon will be pushing 40 when Kyle turns 25.
P.S. JR still won’t have a championship at that point….
kyle is goin to one of the greatest, he is wide open on the edge and if your a driver you dont want him behind you. people think he is reckless and out of control but that is what this sport is all about. when Dale Sr came into this sport he was the same way, he would play mind games with the drivers and Kyle is the same way , hell have you think is is goin to wreck you and thats what he wants you to think , he is just that good. you might not like the kid but he will be one of the greatest and Dale Sr. was still alive he would be VL putting a headlock on the kid sayin what a good job he did.
Howie motorsports photography I agree with you 100% He is but a young grasshopper. He will learn to control the lack of fear and the desire to simply drive the freakin wheels off of everything he drives. The kid is good whether you love him or hate him the boy is good
To borrow a few quotes from Days of Thunder it is funny how they favor him:
I am sure his owners, crew chiefs, and fellow team mates of the past have probably uttered words similar to this:
“Oh he can drive. He can drive beyond the limits of the tires, the engine, the car or anything else. If the sum’ bitch listened to me we wouldn’t hardly ever lose a race!”
“I had sponsors in the stands, we were hugging and holding hands, praying for good showing and what do we do? We end up looking like a monkey freakin a football out there. Everybody out, please, except you! (edited)