AVONDALE, Ariz. -- A year ago, Kurt Busch was in the midst
of a great late-season run that included three wins in the last
five races.
The big finish to the 2002 season, including a sixth-place in
the race at Phoenix International Raceway, made Busch one of the
favorites to win this year's Winston Cup championship.
Instead, he is a distant ninth in points with two races to go
and has failed to finish eight races this year -- tied for the most
by any driver in the top 20 in the standings.
Busch appeared to have the best car on the track Sunday in the
Checker Auto Parts 500, leading a race-high 98 of 312 laps. But an
unplanned pit stop for gas cost sent him from the lead to 22nd.
Thanks to a late charge, he finished fourth behind winner Dale
Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman.
"Each week it just seems like we're behind the eight ball and
all the bad breaks keep going against us," Busch said. "We felt
we had to come in and top off. ... That was this week."
He was pleased to come back for a top five finish, though.
"Yeah, it's the same old story -- we just can't buy a break,"
Busch said. "Everything is turning against us, but our results are
starting to turn around a little bit.
"This Phoenix mile has been good to me, so it's a good finish
and we led some laps."<
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^FINDING THE GROOVE:@ Newman held off Busch for a third-place
finish Sunday, a big improvement on his first three races here.
Newman, whose best previous finish at PIR was last year's 18th,
was very happy with the improvement.
"I've always known what the fast line was," he said. "It was
just a matter of communicating with the team and having everything
together to get it right.
"We kept tuning on the car and the guys did an awesome job,
both on strategy and at the same time tuning the racecar to the
racetrack with my feedback."<
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^TRADING PLACES:@ Crew chiefs Pat Tryson and Ben Leslie will
swap places on Monday, with Tryson taking over Mark Martin's No. 6
Roush Racing Ford and Leslie moving to Ricky Rudd's No. 21 Wood
Brothers Ford.
Both teams have had disappointing seasons, with Martin 17th in
the points and Rudd 21st. Neither driver has won a race in 2003.
Roush and the Wood Brothers have a working relationship, with
Roush providing engines and technical support for the No. 21.
Team owner Jack Roush said one reason for the swap was the
expected move by the Wood Brothers from Stuart, Va., to Charlotte,
N.C., where most of the Winston Cup teams are based.
"That will put them a lot closer to our operation so, beginning
with that move, we are going to revitalize the No. 21 car by
putting Ben with the Wood Brothers and Ricky Rudd. That will allow
the No. 21 program to get closer to our operations in Concord
(N.C.)."
Team co-owner Eddie Wood said he expects the swap to make both
teams stronger.
"For the next couple of weeks, it will be like one race team
with two drivers. Everybody is going to be working together. Pat
will use whatever he needs and Ben will be able to take whatever
information that he needs from both groups. Hopefully, that will
carry over into next year."
Martin finished 10th and Rudd 17th in their last races with
their current crew chiefs.<
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^HE'S BACK:@ Martin, the winningest driver in Busch Series
history, will unretire for three races next season as part of a
Roush Racing deal with sponsor Pennzoil.
Martin retired from Busch in 2000 with 45 race wins. He and
teammates Matt Kenseth and Jeff Burton will each drive three races
in cars sponsored by Pennzoil, which will also be an associated
sponsor on all of Roush's Nextel Cup cars in 2004.
"I'm confident we can pick up where we left off ... as a highly
competitive team that is capable of running up front and winning
races," Martin said. "I can't wait to get started."
Team officials said the race schedule for the new program will
be announced later.<
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^SPARK PLUGS:@ Track officials estimated Sunday's crowd at
100,000. ... Earnhardt's best previous finish in three starts at
Phoenix was fifth last year. ... Earnhardt's win was Chevrolet's
third Phoenix victory and only the fifth time in 16 races at PIR
that a Ford has not won.