kansas motor speedway

Kyle Busch wasn't sure he had won Saturday's Busch series Yellow Transportation 300 until he looked out his left-side mirror and Matt Kenseth didn't appear.

Then, and only then, did Busch realize he won a pulsating duel to the finish by .085 seconds, the second-closest in the Busch series this season.

"I've finished second to Matt four times in the Busch series, including my first-ever start at Lowe's Motor Speedway in 2003," Busch said after his victory thrilled a sellout crowd of 82,000 on a pleasant day at Kansas Speedway.

"I didn't want another second-place finish to Matt Kenseth."

However, late Saturday night, NASCAR announced that Busch's race-winning car had failed post-race inspection, saying the intake manifold did not meet specifications. Any penalties, most likely a fine and/or reduction in points, would be announced this week.

Kenseth, for the second straight year, led the most laps in his Ford at Kansas Speedway. A year ago, he led 145 laps before he was passed by Kevin Harvick and finished second. This time, he led 65 laps but was passed by Busch's Chevrolet, just before a caution with 16 laps to go.

From there, it was a two-man race with Busch and Kenseth dueling door-to-door. On the final lap, Kenseth made a move to the inside, but Busch held on for his 10th career Busch series win.

"I sure hate getting beat, but, gosh, we did the best we could," Kenseth said. "We were good in the long run, and when we got going on the (last) restart, I chose the middle to the top, and he got a good run and cleared me. I just didn't have quite enough time to beat him. I think a couple more laps, we would have passed him back."

Casey Mears finished third, and Clint Bowyer of Emporia, who ran in the top five for most of the day, finished a frustrating fourth.

"It just wasn't our day," Bowyer said. "We kept overadjusting our car. We were really loose, and then it got a little too tight."

Busch had to overcome a penalty that sent him to the back of the pack for speeding on pit road during a caution on lap 91.

"I was watching everyone coming out of their pit stalls and making sure we didn't bang up a fender, so I took my eyes off the tachometer for a minute and got busted for speeding there," Busch said. "The biggest thing was having a good enough car to battle back from that, and luckily we were able to."

The victory was Busch's third in his last six Busch races for Hendrick Motorsports, the team that let him go in order to sign Dale Earnhardt Jr. for next year. Busch will drive for Joe Gibbs Racing next year.

As one of the 12 Nextel Cup drivers competing in the Chase for the Championship, Busch sat out the last two Busch races at New Hampshire and Dover during the first two weeks of the Chase. He finished fourth in the Craftsman Trucks Series at New Hampshire and spent the Busch race at Dover in the pit box of Denny Hamlin as a possible replacement for Hamlin who wasn't feeling well.

"It's not necessarily that I've been taking my mind off the Busch series," Busch said. "I was involved in something. For some reason, I've never had a good weekend all the way through.

"I can win a Busch race and I'll wreck in a Cup race. Or I can wreck in a Busch race, and I'll win the Cup race. We're trying to change that this weekend."
Tony Stewart apparently will not be penalized for cursing at a cameraman during an ESPN2 broadcast of a Nextel Cup practice Saturday morning at Kansas Speedway.
"We continue to discuss it, but I seriously doubt there (are) going to be any penalties," said NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter. "There were very unusual circumstances surrounding this incident. We don't condone the reaction, but it was in passing and wasn't an interview. I think we're going to move on."

NASCAR has punished other drivers for using vulgarities in TV and radio interviews, including Stewart for swearing in an ESPN interview after winning the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard on July 29 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Juan Pablo Montoya was fined $10,000 for making an obscene gesture at a camera he didn't realize was filming live during a Busch Series practice in April at Phoenix International Raceway.

NASCAR decided punishment wasn't warranted this time in part because the vulgarity wasn't judged as very audible.

"There's a lot of other noise when you see the tape," Hunter said. "For viewers at home, there's a chance they might not have heard that."

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The exchange occurred on pit road after practice. Stewart had leaned into Robby Gordon's cockpit for a conversation. The camera caught Stewart as he turned to walk away from the car, and ESPN broadcaster Dr. Jerry Punch immediately apologized to viewers.

ESPN uses tape delay when broadcasting two-way radio conversations, but "we don't feel the need to use a tape-delay system when working with professional athletes," spokesman George McNeilly said.

"It was an unfortunate incident," McNeilly said. "The tape speaks for itself. In our view, the photographer was doing his job."

A penalty could have damaged a bid for a third championship by Stewart, who was second in the Chase for the Nextel Cup standings heading into Sunday's race at Kansas Speedway.

Stewart was fined $10,000 and placed on probation through Dec. 31 for skipping media obligations after finishing second at Phoenix International Raceway on April 21. A few days later, he compared NASCAR with professional wrestling in accusing its officials of throwing bogus cautions for debris. Then, he was docked 25 points and fined $25,000 for using an obscenity at Indianapolis.

Speaking with The Des Moines Register on Saturday night in Knoxville, Iowa, where he attended the Knoxville Nationals, Stewart said he was unaware of the microphone.

"It's just proof that you never know where there's a microphone hanging around somewhere," Stewart said. "Those guys were in an area they weren't even supposed to be in. The next eight weeks are stressful and every day that you're at that track there's a lot of pressure on us to do what we do. It's not going to be an easy eight weeks."

NASCAR officials said the cameramen were permitted in the area, which was fine with J.D. Gibbs, president of the Joe Gibbs Racing team that fields Stewart's No. 20 Chevrolet.

"I love the fact that our sport has great access," Gibbs said. "I come from the NFL and you can't get near anybody. At the same time, how do you balance it? Tony has a right to say, 'I'm trying to have a conversation, give me a second.' "