RICHMOND, Va.— As the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points leader through the first nine races, Kurt Busch suddenly feels some additional outside pressure to keep performing well.
That’s how it is when you are driving a Dodge in NASCAR these days.
Dodge’s parent company, Chrysler, filed for bankruptcy Thursday, and while talk of the company selling many of its assets to Italian automaker Fiat Group SpA could mark the beginning of a long-term plan for Chrysler’s survival, Busch is a face of the company.
“I do feel a small bit of responsibility carrying the Dodge banner in NASCAR,” he said at Richmond International Raceway, the site of Saturday night’s Crown Royal 400 Cup race.
“All of us Dodge drivers feel that way.”
Busch, the 2004 series champion, won in dominating fashion at Atlanta Motor Speedway this season, and said the reaction in the entire Chrysler camp was “ecstatic.”
“Everyone from the top guy to the bottom guy, it seems like it’s more of a family now with the tougher times that everyone is facing,” he said. “I think I’ve done my part; we’re in the points lead. We’ve won a race. Yeah, we want to get Dodge in the news as much as we can, that they’re competitive in NASCAR and race fans should feel confident in buying that product.”
Apart from what he can do in NASCAR, Busch said he’s pretty much in the dark about the behind-the-scenes machinations taking place to find a way to rescue the American automaker.
“All that I can do is read the news and listen to (team owner) Roger Penske on what he has to say,” said Busch, 12th Saturday night. “But I feel confident that what has transpired will allow us to race.”
The struggling carmaker’s viability is important for NASCAR, Chevrolet driver Jeff Burton said, citing Chrysler’s long history in racing, but knowing what to think is difficult.
“The President tells me that it’s a good thing that they’re filing bankruptcy, so I don’t understand what to think,” Burton said. “I really want to see all the manufacturers being able to be strong and the most important thing is jobs and security for employees.”
Ryan Newman, who used to drive for Penske, also said he’s not sure of the particulars of the bankruptcy situation, and that he hates to see a historic part of NASCAR in trouble.
“You don’t want to see your competition fail,” Newman said. “You just want to beat them.”
JIMMIE’S NIGHTMARE: Jimmie Johnson has owned racing in Virginia in recent years, earning the nickname Mr. Martinsville by winning five of the last six Sprint Cup Series races there, and then arriving at Richmond seeking his fourth victory in the last five races here.
The three-time defending series champion never had a chance Saturday night.
Johnson started 15th in the Crown Royal 400, but was penalized after the third caution flew on lap 116 for going too fast heading onto pit road. His penalty was dropping to the tail end of the longest line, and his problems were just beginning.
Johnson caused the sixth caution when he spun in Turn Four on lap 192, and he was penalized for pitting before pit road was opened. Told that he again would have to go to the back of the field, Johnson apparently ignored the order and stayed out on the track.
That got him a pass-through penalty, and when he emerged after heading down pit road under green flag racing at the pit road speed of 40 mph, he was running 36th, three laps down.
Johnson was running 33rd when he was in a multicar accident on lap 326. He finished 36th, his second consecutive 30th or lower finish, and dropped to sixth in the points race.
ABOUT RUSS: The official name of Saturday night’s race was the Crown Royal presents the Russell Friedman 400, the result of a contest held by the Canadian whiskey maker in which contestants submitted entries describing an honorable act or achievement worth toasting.
For the third year in a row, the contest winner got the race named after him.
Friedman, a two-time Purple Heart recipient from Huntington Station, N.Y., was chosen from more that 5,000 entries after detailing his experiences as a Marine fighting in Iraq.
He enlisted in the Marines in 2001 and served two tours in Iraq — in 2003 and 2004.
PIT STOPS: The first six laps were run under caution to make sure the track was dry. Less than four laps into the first green flag run, Dave Blaney hit the wall in Turn Four. It must not have been moisture, though, because the next accident didn’t come until lap 115. … Pole-sitter Brian Vickers had a mostly off-the-radar night. He was out of the top 20 by the time 100 laps had been run, stayed there until the last 100 and then surged to finish 15th. … Three-time Indy Racing League champion Sam Hornish Jr. is starting to spend time on the leaderboard in NASCAR. He had his career-best finish of ninth two races ago at Phoenix, and was running in the top 10 last Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway for much of the race before a late accident sent him to a 34th-place finish. He had it going again at Richmond, running fourth after pit stops with less than 100 laps to go before fading to 17th place, and then rallying over the final 40 laps to finish sixth, his second career-best in three races.
END QUOTE: “Everything he sits in goes fast.” — Jeff Burton on race winner Kyle Busch.
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