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Busch Finishes 15th at Martinsville

29.10.2013 - Date: Oct. 27, 2013
Event: Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 (Round 33 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Martinsville (Va.) Speedway (.526-mile oval)
Start/Finish: 3rd/15th (Running, completed 500 of 500 laps)
Point Standing: 5th (2,258 points, 36 out of first)
Winner: Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

All races feature a beginning, a middle and an end.

Kyle Busch had the first two covered in the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. But an ill-handling car during long, green-flag run that ended the race spoiled the end, resulting in a 15th-place finish.

“We had a pretty good car on a short run but nothing for the long runs,” said Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Halloween Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR). “The race ended on a long run and our car just wouldn’t turn the center. It’s a pretty disappointing end to the weekend.”

Busch started third and took the lead on lap 25 of the 500-lap race. He led the next 12 circuits around the track before settling into a top-five running position for the next several laps around the .526-mile oval, reporting only a minor tight handling condition in the center of the turns.

But during long, green-flag runs, the handling on the No. 18 Toyota became more of a problem, causing Busch to lose his footing in the field. For example, Busch dropped from fourth to 10th on an extended green run from laps 94 to 140. Ten cautions during the first 300 laps of the race played to the M&M’s team’s advantage, enabling Busch to maintain a top-10 spot for the majority of the event.

Martinsville always has been good for at least one lengthy, unblemished, green-flag run, and one unfolded as the race drew to a close. Handling problems resurfaced on the M&M’s Toyota. Busch lost the top-10 run during the final 70 laps of the race, falling to 15th when the checkered flag waved.

Busch’s JGR teammates Matt Kenseth, driver of the No. 20 Toyota Camry, and Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Toyota Camry, finished second and seventh, respectively.

Jeff Gordon won the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 to score his 88th career Sprint Cup victory, his first of the season and his eighth at Martinsville.

Kenseth finished .605 of a second behind Gordon in the runner-up spot, while Clint Bowyer, Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top-five. Kevin Harvick, Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Greg Biffle and Jamie McMurray comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were 17 caution periods for 111 laps, with six drivers failing to finish the 500-lap race.

Kenseth and Busch are representing JGR in this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and entered the seventh race of the 10-race Chase second and third, respectively, among the 13 Chase drivers. Kenseth leaves Martinsville tied with Johnson for first in the Chase standings with 2,294 points. Busch lost two positions and now sits fifth, 36 points behind Kenseth and Johnson.

With three races remaining before a champion is crowned after the season finale Nov. 17 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the top-13 drivers competing for the title rank as follows:

1. Matt Kenseth (2,294 points) +1 position
2. Jimmie Johnson (2,294 points) -1
3. Jeff Gordon (2,267 points, -27) +2
4. Kevin Harvick (2,266 points, -28) +/-0
5. Kyle Busch (2,258 points, -36) -2
6. Clint Bowyer (2,239 points, -55) +2
7. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2,238 points, -56) -1
8. Greg Biffle (2,236 points, -58) -1
9. Kurt Busch (2,219 points, -75) +/-0
10. Carl Edwards (2,218 points, -76) +/-0
11. Joey Logano (2,209 points, -85) +1
12. Ryan Newman (2,188 points, -106) -1
13. Kasey Kahne (2,170 points, -124) +/-0

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule – the eighth race of the 10-race Chase – is the AAA 500 Nov. 3 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. The race begins at 3 p.m. EST, with live coverage provided by ESPN beginning with a pre-race show at 2 p.m.