Busch Takes Fifth Victory of the Year

Many think of Kyle Busch as the driver they love to hate. He is often moody and seems to wreck an obscene number of cars, yet somehow his driving still packs a punch and every so often he bursts ahead of the pack and surprises everyone with some superb driving. True to form, Busch took the checkered flag at Infineon Raceway this Sunday to grab his fifth victory of the year.

Many think of Kyle Busch as the driver they love to hate. He is often moody and seems to wreck an obscene number of cars, yet somehow his driving still packs a punch and every so often he bursts ahead of the pack and surprises everyone with some superb driving. True to form, Busch took the checkered flag at Infineon Raceway this Sunday to grab his fifth victory of the year.

Kyle Busch had been suffering from a terrible two-week slump that had him in bad spirits before the race started. The Toyota he was racing ran so poorly during practice that he thought he’d wreck, not win. His poor qualifying run left him at 30th on the grid and it seemed that he was set to suffer through yet another bad day of racing. Yet he set his mind to doing his best despite his mood and circumstances, and it seems that his steady determination paid off. Busch steadily moved through the field until at last he was able to snatch the lead from defending race winner Juan Pablo Montoya. He managed to sneak his way into first place shortly after an early restart and he held the position for the rest of the race – despite having to fend off a pair of challengers later on after some of the other restarts. By the end of the race he cruised into Victory Land for the fifth time this season – his previously grumpy and depressive mood suddenly replaced by sheer joy. After celebrating his win with his traditional burnout, he climbed from his car to bow to the crowd who was cheering fanatically.

Former team mate Jeff Gordon, who finished in third place, said that he was really impressed with Kyle. Previously he hadn’t thought him a good road racer, but now it seems clear that he admires the talent he showed by getting his car to the front of the pack and maintaining the position for the duration of the race. It seems it must have taken quite a bit of effort to take first place. The Joe Gibbs Racing crew that worked with Busch’s car have been wrestling with the car since it was unloaded on Friday. The team made some massive changes to the car after the practice sessions on Friday and Saturday to try and get it ready in time for the big day, but everyone was still dubious as to whether or not it would perform at a satisfactory level. But as Kyle Busch tore through the field and claimed his victory, it was clear that they had managed to get some things right. The win marks Busch’s 11th overall victory of the season as well as his second road course victory this year.