The Adobe Flash Player is required to view this multimedia interactive. Get it here.

Busch avoids traffic, wins Quaker State 400

He wins the Quaker State 400, but many fans didn’t see the race.

Kyle Busch is hugged by his wife Samantha in victory lane after winning the inaugural NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at the Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Ky., Saturday, July 9, 2011.

Garry Jones/FRE Kyle Busch is hugged by his wife Samantha in victory lane after winning the inaugural NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at the Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Ky., Saturday, July 9, 2011.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Ex-Browns player accused of trashing home
New 20 min. ago
Frazier’s home run lifts Reds to 5th straight win
10:20 a.m.
Spartans head to regional final
5/24/12
Fenwick’s tourney run ends in regional semis
5/24/12
2 Middie jumpers qualify for state
5/24/12
> More sports headlines

By Greg Billing, Staff Writer Updated 1:53 AM Monday, July 11, 2011

SPARTA, Ky. — Traffic, what traffic?

Kyle Busch figured out a way to avoid it both during the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway on Saturday, then outsmarting the snarled mess outside the track as the NASCAR Sprint Cup made its debut at the 1.5-mile tri-oval.

Busch drove the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota to the inaugural Sprint Cup victory in front of a sellout crowd of about 110,000, beating Jimmie Johnson in a drag race down the backstretch with two laps to go then pulling away from both Johnson and runner-up David Reutimann to the finish.

Busch, who started on the pole, stayed ahead of the pack by leading a race-high 125 laps in the 267-lap event. He then stayed out of trouble afterward by spending the night at the track before heading up to Wisconsin for a late model race today.

“I had this planned long ago, not thinking about what transpired here (Saturday),” Busch said of the traffic woes. “I’m just falling into the lucky category.”

The win pushed Busch into the Sprint Cup points lead by four points over Carl Edwards (fifth-place finish) and by 10 over Kevin Harvick (16th).

The Busch brothers dominated early as Kurt led the first 31 laps — taking the lead from little brother Kyle on the first lap — before sliding back to finish ninth.

Twelve different drivers led the race.

Overall drivers gave Kentucky Speedway a good review, bumps and all.

“It’s a little bit rough on places, but in the end it’s a great race track and I think it was a good finish,” Reutimann said.

Drivers said running the bottom of the speedway was bumpy and finding air on the ride side of the car to keep it from spinning out was difficult.

“When you don’t have that air, you’re awful,” said Brad Keselowski, who led 79 laps and finished seventh.

But when it comes to road work, one driver proposed it happening outside the track rather than on the oval.

“I think it’s a challenging place. If I could pick, I heard there’s been plenty of trouble trying to get everybody into the facility,” Johnson said. “I think coming back next year that would be the priority. Leave the surface alone on the race track and make sure the fans have the experience they deserve to have.”

The race was overshadowed by reports of the final few miles to the track taking hours for spectators to travel — Interstate 71 has just two lanes in both directions leading to the track —and some were turned away due to lack of parking.

“There’s 15,000 to 20,000 people that won’t get in here today,” Kentucky Speedway owner Bruton Smith told the Cincinnati Enquirer. “Traffic is horrendous. Interstate 71 is a disaster.

“It may have been OK in 1955. But somebody should have rebuilt that thing 20 years ago.”

Share this article