DOVER, Del. - Despite cold, bleak conditions at Dover International Speedway, where drivers could have been forgiven for trading in their helmets and racing gloves for ski caps and mittens, NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup officially heated up on Sunday.
Rediscovering the speed that enabled him to dominate early, Kurt Busch surged to the lead with 42 miles to go in the AAA 400 and drove the No. 22 Penske Racing Dodge to his second victory of the season and 24th of his career.
Busch said it took "perfect execution . . . to win a race in the Chase," while crew chief Steve Addington admitted that the team "put a good bit of work into the car, and it came to life."
The blistering run to the finish line provided the announced crowd of 83,000 with something to cheer at the one-mile concrete oval, which was blanketed by heavy clouds throughout the afternoon.
More important, the brilliant stretch drive by Busch, runner-up Jimmie Johnson, and third-place Carl Edwards threw the stock-car racing playoff wide open, with just 15 points separating the top eight drivers with seven races remaining.
Edwards and Kevin Harvick, who finished 10th, are tied for the series lead. Busch and Tony Stewart are both nine points out in third place, while Johnson climbed from 10th to fifth in the standings and closed to within 13 points of the lead. Brad Keselowski and Matt Kenseth are tied for sixth (14 points back), Kyle Busch is eighth (15 back), and Jeff Gordon is ninth (19 back).
"I don't think you're going to see anybody come in and dominate like you have before," Harvick said. "It's just a matter of if you can keep yourself in contention until the last couple races."
For Edwards, who was Busch's equal early and late, things could have turned out better - or much worse. On Lap 246, Edwards was nabbed for speeding on pit road for the first time this season and had to serve a drive-through penalty that dropped him one lap down in 22d place.
Despite rallying to overcome the mistake, Edwards said: "It's frustrating. I definitely took myself out of position to win."
Kenseth and Kyle Busch had little to complain about, finishing fifth and sixth, respectively, and Gordon battled his way from 34th on the starting grid to a 12th-place finish. But other contenders left the track with plenty of concerns.
