If rivals Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, who have won six Cup titles in the past 13 years, think words might rattle Kyle Busch as the Chase for the championship looms, they don't know their former teammate very well.
Both Johnson and Gordon, teammates at Hendrick Motorsports with Busch until he was let go in favor of Dale Earnhardt Jr. after last season, said in the past week they thought Busch was slipping after two straight lackluster finishes.
Busch answered by making NASCAR history on Sunday. He led 52 laps from the pole and held off road master Tony Stewart in the end to win the Centurion Boats at The Glen at Watkins Glen International.
That made Busch the first driver in NASCAR history to win three road course races in one season.
"I think the question of pressure has been answered. I don't think that bothers him. I think he feeds on it and uses it to his advantage," said Stewart, Busch's teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing and a two-time Cup champ. "I don't think he's one of those guys that pressure really affects. He's so motivated to win I don't even know if he even feels pressure. It's hard for anything to affect you when you're having a season like this."
Busch, who also clinched the top spot in the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup title, has won 16 races in NASCAR's top three series this season -- eight in Sprint Cup, six in Nationwide and two in trucks. His win Sunday completed a trifecta on road courses that also includes the Nationwide race in Mexico in April and the Cup race at Sonoma in June.
"That's pretty neat, pretty special to me," said Busch, who also finished second Saturday in the Nationwide race here. "To be a force to be reckoned with means a lot. This year has just been phenomenal. It's just crazy."
Busch also joined another select group. Only Jeff Gordon, Stewart and Robby Gordon had swept both Cup road course events in the same year.
"That kid's awesome," said Steve Addington, Busch's crew chief. "I can't believe we don't win a race in three or four weeks and we're in a slump."
Actually, Busch has won four of the past seven races, and Sunday's victory gives him 80 bonus points for the Chase, 50 more than Carl Edwards with four races remaining before the postseason. Drivers get 10 bonus points for a victory, and the points for the top 12 drivers will be reset at 5,000 when the Chase begins.
After a 43-minute red-flag stoppage due to a multicar pileup with eight laps to go, Busch easily held off Stewart, who was bidding for his fifth win here in seven starts. Stewart settled for his second straight runner-up finish and moved within 10 points of Jeff Gordon for sixth in the standings.
"I never could get the runs in the right spots," said Stewart, who has finished second here twice in the past three years. "I needed to stay with him to be close enough to try to make a move in a braking zone. We never could get close enough to get an opportunity."
Marcos Ambrose of Tasmania, who started last in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford, finished an amazing third a day after winning the Nationwide race. He was followed by Juan Pablo Montoya and Martin Truex Jr.
Kevin Harvick was sixth, followed by Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Edwards and Kurt Busch. Matt Kenseth finished 12th to move into 12th place in the standings, 22 points ahead of Clint Bowyer in the race for the final slot to make the postseason.
Jeff Gordon, a four-time winner at Watkins Glen, began the day sixth in points, but faded quickly after a strong start and finished 29th.
Earnhardt, who has never won a Cup race on a road course, took off to a big lead after passing Kyle Busch on the second lap and figured to be a strong contender. But poor pit strategy derailed his effort and he finished 22nd after leading 33 laps and fell two slots in the standings to fourth.
Running up front most of the day around the 2.45-mile, 11-turn course, Busch and Stewart made their final pit stop on lap 56 and regained the top two spots on lap 65 when Earnhardt gave up the lead and pitted under caution, losing all of his track position.
"He was fast," Busch said of Stewart. "I knew that he was going to be good. We both came in together and left together, and that was probably the win right there, to be able to beat him off pit road."
The JGR teammates stayed 1-2 until Ryan Newman, running third and hoping for a strong finish to enhance his chances of making the Chase, slid off course in turn 1 on lap 79, bringing out the third caution of the race.
The big pileup came right after the race resumed. On the final turn of lap 82, Michael McDowell spun David Gilliland, who caromed off the wall and was slammed hard by Bobby Labonte, with both cars spinning violently around. Max Papis, Dave Blaney, and Sam Hornish Jr. also were unable to avoid the carnage, with Hornish slamming hard into the water barrier at the entrance to pit road.
Labonte was taken to a local hospital for evaluation and released. The other drivers involved were also taken to the care center and released.
"I know with nine to go, you get up on the wheel and push hard," Papis said. "Pushing and shoving is OK, but that was crazy. They kept pushing and shoving."
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