Busch won the rain-shortened Lenox Industrial Tools 301 today, but it’s not the Busch that’s been dominating the season. 2004 champion Kurt Busch pulled off a brilliant fuel strategy that probably would have won him the race anyway had the rains stayed away. He and Pat Tryson did an excellent job getting their car to the lead as the race wound down and those who had been dominant all day, namely Tony Stewart, were mired back in traffic after a late-race caution. Congratulations to Kurt Busch and the #2 Miller Lite crew!

Roger Penske must be pleased. For the first time since 2004, both of his drivers have won a race in the same year. Rusty Wallace won the Advanced Auto Parts 500 at Martinsville in the spring, while Ryan Newman won the June Michigan race and the MBNA America 400 at Dover during the Chase.

It may have been a great day for Busch, but it was a great day for other drivers as well. Seeing who was behind Busch after the penultimate caution made me smile. Michael Waltrip, who has had downright horrible seasons since he left DEI, played the same strategy as Busch and came home second. That ought to make the guys at Michael Waltrip Racing feel good. They needed a run like that to keep them in the Top 35. Actually, Busch and Waltrip’s finish reminded me a lot of the first night race in Phoenix back in 2005. Waltrip was leading that race in a car that Dale Earnhardt, Jr. had won the previous Phoenix race in. Then, Kurt Busch, at the time driving the 97, ended up catching him, passing him, and winning the race. Granted, that didn’t happen today, but seeing those two finish first and second brought that to mind.

Meanwhile, Kurt’s little brother and our points leader, Kyle Busch, did not have a fun race. He was battling the car all day and could not get the track position he really needed to try to move forward. He and Juan Pablo Montoya got into it when the last caution flew and the next thing you knew, Kyle spun around and knocked his nose in when he hit Montoya. “Shrub,” as he’s been called in the past, finished 24th, losing 36 points to Jeff Burton, who finished 12th.

Casey Mears looks like he’s on a mission to impress owners. After finishing 5th last weekend at Infineon, it was announced on Friday that Mears and Hendrick Motorsports would be parting ways. Mears went on to finish 7th today. While it seems unfair that Mears will be on his fifth car in as many years, it sounded like it was not Rick Hendrick who wanted to get rid of Mears, but rather his sponsors. Now, Casey Mears is no Kyle Busch, but sponsors need to know that a driver needs consistency to perform well. He needs time to develop a relationship with his crew chief in order to get things right. It’s a pity that Hendrick couldn’t shift some personnel around to help Mears before Kellogg’s and Carquest said, “Nope, he’s not the guy we want.” Hopefully Mears will find some consistency within another organization.

On Friday, Patrick Carpentier shocked us all when he won the pole for today’s race. He may not have finished in the Top 20 like he wanted to once the day was done, but he did lead a few laps, which should help him feel a little better.

The boys are heading back to Daytona next week. Be prepared for another last-lap pass and, since the schedule seems to suggest that NASCAR will impound the cars after qualifying, be prepared for another surprise on the pole.