The very fast and very wide open Texas Motor Speedway quickly provided surprises beyond everyone’s expectation, as the runaway point’s leader quickly (and finally) experienced a taste of misfortune. Lo and behold, racing continued without the No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet in contention as Kyle Busch assumed the reins of command and moved quickly to the point.
But it was brother Kurt Busch who feathered the throttle to save fuel knowing that younger brother Kyle Busch was at least two laps short on fuel. The driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge brought the "Blue Deuce to the checkered flag at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday evening and kept his brother from being the first to capture wins in all three series on one weekend.
Surprising and not so surprising bits and pieces from the Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Surprising: Really surprising to see the No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet driven by Jimmie Johnson head to the garage early in the action after an early altercation with Sam Hornish Jr.
Not Surprising: The nature of this, as well as virtually all cookie-cutter tracks does not lend itself to exciting, side-by-side racing. Three-wide racing means little to those watching when it occurs on tracks built a minimum of 58 feet wide, in comparison with Daytona which is 40 feet wide.
Surprising: With the door wide open and available for Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon to make their move, it was the brothers Busch who stole the show on Sunday afternoon as the two battled at the front of the pack.
Not Surprising: With just under 70 laps remaining, green flag pit stops occurred and the dreaded fuel-mileage monster reared its ugly head. The only thing not needed at a cookie-cutter track is making the last fuel run to the checkered flag with fuel mileage being the primary consideration.
Surprising: The success of running in the top five all day, the No. 88 of Dale Earnhardt Jr. was completely wiped out by coming to pit road with no fuel left. Earnhardt Jr. then stalled the race car as he attempted to exit pit road.
Not Surprising: Again, to the absolute surprise of no one, multiple cars began running out of fuel on the last two or three laps, taking any and all suspense out of the final outcome.
And a final mention: With the single file freight train at Talladega followed by the fuel mileage parade at Texas, it may be true that the economy is indeed not the reason for the lack of sell-outs – it might just be the lack of racing action.
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