Busch takes the checkered flag at Infineon

<p>SONOMA — Kurt Busch got an ominous pronouncement from his crew chief, Steve Addington, during Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350: “We've made our bed. We'll have to sleep in it.”</p><p>Busch settled in for a surprisingly comfy cruise to the finish, and looked happy and refreshed after winning at Infineon Raceway for his first Sprint Cup victory on a road course, and his first win of any kind in 39 races.</p><p>Busch became the seventh different winner in the past seven years here.</p><p>It was a redemptive breakthrough for the 32-year-old, who had captured the three previous Sprint Cup poles, without winning any of the races, and who was in good shape in last year's event at Infineon before getting wrecked by Jeff Gordon.</p><p>“To get the checkered flag, do some doughnuts, to drive in reverse around this road course, I got choked up,” Busch said after the race. “It was a great feeling to know that I've won on a road course.”</p><p>He and Addington and the rest of the Shell/Pennzoil No. 22 team did it with a bold strategy and even bolder execution. With fuel mileage in question as NASCAR has gone to a 15-percent ethanol blend in 2011, and with many drivers complaining about tire traction here after three practice sessions, no one was completely sure a car could finish with just two pit stops Sunday.</p><p>Addington decided Busch should try — provided the driver could efficiently work his way up from his No. 11 start position. Busch did so, and it quickly became his race to lose. He endured 31 laps without pitting to start the race, led for a total of 76 laps and was never really pressed at the end.</p><p>“My thought was inside the car, ‘Well, I need to continue to push this car hard and run a lap time that won't allow those guys with fresh tires to chop off and be able to catch us,'” Busch said. “It was just one of those feelings where the crew was helping me, I was helping them and the race played out perfectly for us.”</p><p>Jeff Gordon, a five-time champion at Infineon and the guy who ended Busch's afternoon a year earlier, finished second. NASCAR points leader Carl Edwards was third, his best result in seven tries at the Sonoma course. Clint Bowyer finished fourth, and Marcos Ambrose fifth.</p><p>Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were the most prominent drivers to watch the end of the race from their haulers. Stewart was wrecked by Brian Vickers on lap 89, while Earnhardt wore a hole in his radiator and overheated on lap 46. Denny Hamlin led for 12 laps, but spent an extended period in the garage, as mechanics repaired a joint in his car's rear end.</p><p>There were a course-record-tying 12 lead changes during the race, and no shortage of shoving. Vickers spun out Stewart earlier in the race. Joey Logano got Robby Gordon on lap 53. Michael McDowell battered Bobby Labonte, Juan Pablo Montoya smacked Kasey Kahne and Brad Keselowski wrecked Montoya's karma.</p><p>Busch stayed safely ahead of it all, making it look almost easy on one of NASCAR's most challenging courses.</p><p>The race drew a beautiful circle for Busch, who ran here early in his career, back in the late 1990s in the old Featherlite Southwest Series, memorably winning a Saturday race on Sprint Cup weekend in 1999.</p><p>“That Southwest Tour race was in my mind, but it's thanks to you guys here at Infineon for putting together the effort for those grassroots racers to come out to a big show like this,” Busch said on Victory Lane. “I won that Saturday race, and a lot of team owners asked for my resume after that.”</p><p>It was a day of mythbusting at Infineon, where the theme of the week was the importance of starting out front. The accepted wisdom was that passing is too hard on this 10-turn track, so you'd better make sure you don't have to fight from the middle of the pack.</p><p>But all three of the podium finishers started out of the top 10. Busch was at No. 11, Gordon at No. 13 and Edwards back at No. 23. Joey Logano, who won the pole, rallied to finish sixth after spending most of the race in mediocrity, while starters Nos. 2 and 3, Jamie McMurray and Paul Menard, landed 15th and 17th, respectively.</p><p>Until Friday, Edwards had planned to fly to Atlanta for a Nationwide race, then jet back to Northern California for the Sprint Cup race. He changed his mind, and had to be happy with the decision. He increased his overall lead to 25 points over Kevin Harvick and 33 points over five-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson, though Busch climbed to within 34 points of the lead and got an important victory under his belt, with 10 events left before the Chase begins.</p><p>“This is a stretch of our season where we hit a road course, a superspeedway, a mile-and-a-half (track),” Busch said. “We're all over the map. Then we go to a flat one-mile track up in Loudon, New Hampshire, which is part of the Chase. These next few weeks, you have to show your versatility if you want to be a frontrunner towards the Chase.”</p><p>Busch has shown his, and quite suddenly there is no doubt he's among the frontrunners.</p><p>You can reach Staff Writer Phil Barber at 521-5263 or phil.barber@pressdemocrat.com.</p>