FORT WORTH - Jimmie Johnson's winning streak at Texas Motor Speedway ended on Saturday night.
A fender-bender and a late-race charge by the sizzling Kyle Busch brought down "Superman."
Busch completed a NASCAR double for the second consecutive weekend by rallying to win the Sprint Cup Duck Commander 500. He also won the Xfinity O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 on Friday night and has four wins in three top series in eight days.
“I’m having a blast living the dream with these guys,” Busch said. “It’s just fun. It’s all clicking and going together.”
Johnson had won the previous three Cup races on this track. Busch weathered a setback that damaged Johnson’s chances.
NASCAR called a competition-caution after 30 laps. NASCAR had told teams there would be an early yellow flag to give them a chance to adjust to a track hit by late-afternoon rain.
As Kevin Harvick came out of his pit stall after the stop, he cut in front of a group that included Busch and Johnson. Busch checked up, and Johnson could not avoid contact. The impact damaged the nose of Johnson’s ride and the right rear on Busch’s car.
Johnson could not find speed after that. Not only did Johnson not win, he did not lead a lap. In his previous eight starts on this track, Johnson led 904 laps.
“It wasn’t pretty,” said Johnson, who finished fourth. “There was a big hole up front, and that couldn’t have been helping us at all. With all the damage and adversity we went through, to come home fourth is really good.”
Busch eventually found an answer. He took the lead from Martin Truex Jr. on a re-start with 33 laps remaining and pulled away.
“Martin had the best car,” said Dale Earnhardt Jr., who finished second. “But the best car doesn’t always win.”
Truex had the best car but not the best tires. Crew chief Cole Pearn initially told Truex to stay out during a caution to keep track position. Pearn changed his mind, but it was too late for Truex to duck into the pits.
Busch came in during the caution and took on four new tires. They gave Busch the grip that made the difference.
“It’s frustrating, but that’s racing,” said Truex, who led a race-high 141 laps. “That thing was so fast all night. We did everything we were supposed to but that one deal there.”
Truex and Carl Edwards were the class of the field for much of the race. Edwards had the early speed, and Truex gained ground the longer a run went.
Edwards’ chances took a hit during a yellow-flag pit stop. On the re-start, with 113 laps remaining, Edwards pulled up because of a loose tire. The mistake put him more than one lap down
The sweep gives Busch a total of 161 wins in NASCAR’s top three series. He has 36 Cup wins, 80 at the Xfinity level and 45 with the Camping World trucks.
To put that into perspective, consider that only “King Richard” Petty has more wins, with 200. Petty got all his wins at the Cup level and did not dabble in other series.
Bush, the reigning Sprint Cup champion, has more chances to pile up wins than drivers such as Petty from previous generations. He has taken advantage of expanded opportunities.
And Busch could be just hitting his prime. He turns 31 next month. It only seems as if he has been around forever.
“There’s plenty more to get, that’s for sure,” Busch said. “Once I get to 200, what are we going to do? Keep racing and keeping adding wins. There’s plenty of years left to go.”
His focus will be on the Cup series. The other wins are nice, but success at the Cup level is more meaningful than anything else.
“There’s plenty of things out there to achieve,” Busch said.
Jeff Gordon, a four-time Cup champion, has seen Busch since he became a full-time Cup racer at age 20 in 2005. A metamorphosis took place last year, Gordon said.
“With everything he did to accomplish that championship ... he’s a whole new type of race-car driver,” said Gordon, an analyst on Fox’ NASCAR telecasts. “He has a lot more patience than I’ve ever seen in him before.”
The headstrong Kyle Busch cost himself races and was the villain. The patient Kyle Busch wins and hears the cheers.
A look at the career leaders for wins in NASCAR’s top three series:
Richard Petty: 200
Kyle Busch: 161
David Pearson: 106
Jeff Gordon: 98
Darrell Waltrip: 97
Dale Earnhardt: 97
Mark Martin: 96
Kevin Harvick: 92
