NSCS Recap: Busch Closes In On Top Seed With Win At Watkins Glen

By Reid Spencer, Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. -- If Kyle Busch appeared vulnerable in recent weeks to some of his fellow NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competitors, the aura of invincibility returned to the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota on Sunday at Watkins Glen International. After a restart on Lap 86 of 90 in the Centurion Boats at The Glen, Busch held off victory-starved JGR teammate Tony Stewart by 2.275 seconds to claim his eighth victory of the season. Once he clinches a spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, he will be the top seed regardless of what happens in the four races before the Chase field is set Sept. 6 at Richmond. The win was the 12th of Buschs career, and it negated the comments of his former Hendrick Motorsports teammates, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, who said they had seen weakness in the No. 18 team, based on lackluster performances in the past two races, at Indianapolis and Pocono. Im sorry, what slump? Busch said on his radio after crossing the finish line of the 2.45-mile road course. They can keep trying to play these mind games. Well just keep winning. Crew chief Steve Addington also marveled at the notion that a two-week downturn in performance could indicate vulnerability in his team. I cant believe it, Addington said. We dont win a race in three or four weeks, and were in a bad slump? Marcos Ambrose, who picked up his first NASCAR victory in Saturdays NASCAR Nationwide Series race, worked his way through the field from the 43rd starting position to third at the finish in his third Cup start. Juan Pablo Montoya came home fourth, followed by Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick. Kyle ran an awesome race, said Stewart, who will leave JGR at the end of the season to drive for his own team, Stewart-Haas Racing. He never made a mistake, and he was fast in all the right spots. I cant be disappointed with a second-place finish to a teammate like that. Hes been on fire this year. ... Youd cut off one of your legs almost to have the kind of year hes having. A wild wreck in Turn 11 stopped the action on Lap 82 in what had been a relatively tame race to that point. Contact from the Toyota of Michael McDowell sent David Gillilands Ford spinning out of control into the guardrail. Sam Hornish Jr. slid sideways, drivers-side-first, into the barrier of sand barrels dividing the racetrack from pit road. Bobby Labonte limped away from his damaged No. 43 Dodge after the crash, which also damaged the cars of Michael Waltrip, Dave Blaney, Joe Nemechek, Max Papis and Reed Sorenson. Labonte was transported from the infield care center to a local hospital, where he was treated and released and cleared for competition. McDowell and Gilliland were called to the NASCAR trailer after the incident to discuss the aggressive driving that triggered the wreck. No penalties were assessed. After a stoppage of more than 43 minutes, the race restarted on Lap 86 with Busch leading Stewart to the green flag, followed by Ambrose, Montoya, Truex, Denny Hamlin and Harvick. Notes: Jimmie Johnson had one of the strongest cars Sunday, but a flat left rear tire forced the No. 48 Chevrolet to make an early pit stop on Lap 42. Johnson rallied from the setback to finish seventh. ... Busch swept both Cup road course races this season, having won at Infineon Raceway in June. He also won on the road course at Mexico City in the NASCAR Nationwide Series this year and finished second to Ambrose in Saturdays NASCAR Nationwide race at The Glen. ... Ambroses third-place finish was the first top five for the Wood Brothers since Ricky Rudd finished fourth at Bristol on Aug. 27, 2005. ... Dale Earnhardt Jr. waited one lap too long to pit and got caught when the caution came out on Lap 64. Forced to pit under the yellow, he restarted 32nd on Lap 67, finished the race in 22nd and dropped from second to fourth in the Cup standings.