KURT BUSCH
WINS MICHIGAN 400
Brooklyn, MI: Kurt Busch battled to stay in the top 10 most of the day and his patience paid off as he won the Michigan 400 at Michigan International Raceway.
It wasn't until lap 175 that the #97 Rubbermaid Ford was able to take the lead, but once there, he was able to hold off a hard charging Bobby Labonte and Jeff Gordon.
Bobby Labonte had started the race from the pole, but an ill handling vehicle forced Bobby back in the field early in the race. However, his diligent crew, led by Michael "Fatback" McSwain, made adjustments throughout the day and got the #18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet back to the front. A late race surge led Bobby to a fight for the lead, but Kurt Busch was able to skip away to take the victory. Bobby finished 2nd.
Jeff Gordon also started the race with a car that didn't handle well. He thought they may have used the wrong gear and didn't have much hope for the day. But crew chief Robbie Loomis kept working on the #24 DuPont Chevrolet and got the car into the lead on lap 158. Unfortunately, Kurt Busch had the better car and he got Jeff loose enough to swing by. Jeff could not get back up front and finished the race 3rd.
Once again, Sterling Marlin led the most laps in the race. But after the restart on lap 158, Sterling had a miscue with the transmission and the #40 Coors Light Dodge slid back to 14th.. After getting fresh tires, Sterling was able to work his way back up into the top 10. He finished 6th.
Tony Stewart started the race 2nd and jumped in front of Bobby Labonte to lead the first lap. He remained strong, battling Ryan Newman and Sterling Marlin to stay in the lead. However, Sterling won the race off pit road on lap 77 and took the lead away from the #20 Home Depot Chevrolet.. Though Tony stayed close for a while, the car got tight and Sterling slipped away. Then, after rubbing fenders with the #16 Grainger Ford of Greg Biffle, the car got loose and Tony was not able to make another bid for the lead. He finished 8th.
The race began with 5 cars moving to the back of the field for various problems. Two of the 5 came back to finish in the top 10. Dale Earnhardt Jr actually led a lap in the #8 Budweiser Chevrolet. He fought several battles throughout the day and finished 7th. Terry Labonte was due to start the race in 10th. After changing the engine in the #5 Kellogg's Chevrolet, he had to start at the rear of the field. He quietly moved forward, picking his spots and finished in 10th. Terry has had an exceptional year so far.
Three other drivers strove to make their cars work well during the race. They too, made their way to the top 10 without much fanfare. Points leader Matt Kenseth, Michael Waltrip and Mark Martin finishing 4th, 5th and 9th respectively.
The race started out a little bumpy with 4 cautions in the first 50 laps. Ken Schrader's run of bad luck continued as he got the #49 BAM Dodge a little too close to Steve Park's #30 AOL Chevrolet on lap 2. Ken bounced upward colliding with Ricky Rudd in the #21 Motorcraft Ford.
Dave Blaney collected some debris on the tires of his #77 Jasper Engines Ford that forced him into the wall on lap 11.
Then, a frightening incident occurred on lap 36 when Ryan Newman lost the engine in his #12 Alltel Dodge. Fire engulfed the interior of the car, but Ryan's spotter kept a cool head and directed him towards a safety vehicle. Ryan was able to get out of the car uninjured and the flames were quickly extinguished.
Altogether there were 9 cautions in the race. This broke an earlier record of 8 cautions for the
June race.
Article by S. Kipple
6/15/03
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