NASCAR had to be loving the way the schedule shook out this year. After three fine races and several top-flight storylines (Trevor Bayne, the resurgence of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon, the rise of Danica Patrick), what better place to keep the momentum going than Bristol, the world's fastest half-mile?
What we got was a fine display of racing, but not necessarily a great race. Kyle Busch continued his absolute domination in Thunder Valley, winning his fifth straight NASCAR race across all three major series dating back to last August and once again sweeping the weekend.
It appeared that the race was set up for a finish for the ages, with Kyle leading Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson for the final laps. But neither Edwards nor Johnson could close the gap for very long, and once the three hit lapped traffic, Busch was able to put race-winning distance between him and his two closest pursuers.
It was a bloodlessly efficient end to an efficient race, one that lasted just over three hours. Even the audience didn't appear particularly interested; press-box estimates put the crowd at a disappointing 120,000 for a facility that has a capacity of 160,000. And while many will blame the new surface for the lack of quality racing here, the simple truth is that Busch just owned this track for most of the afternoon ... heck, most of the weekend.
The "Kyle is more mature" storyline is nearly as hack as the "Dale Earnhardt Jr. is back" one, and yet the only reason it's still got any weight at all is that there are still some nonbelievers. Kyle Busch is one of the best drivers in the sport, if not the best, and afternoons like Sunday demonstrated that when he's at a track that fits his eye, he's damn near unstoppable.
The only consolation for the rest of the field? Bristol isn't a Chase race.
Diane Kruger Magdalena Wróbel Connie Nielsen Melissa George Cameron Richardson
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