Sharpie 500 Notebook

BRISTOL, Tenn. – It’s become a common practice in NASCAR. After winning a race, drivers stop their car at the flagstand, retrieve the checkered flag and then complete a victory lap.
The postrace scene at Bristol Motor Speedway Saturday night featured a unique twist.

Race winner Kyle Busch attempted to please one of his adoring fans with a prized souvenir. What seemed like a noble act soon went awry, however.

“I tried giving [the flag] to a young Kyle Busch fan who was in tears,” said Busch in his postrace press conference. “Some Tony Stewart fan came in and tried to wrangle it away.  Hopefully [the Busch fan] got it.
“That was pretty cool.  I saw a couple others along the fence line, but she was the one in tears.  That was neat to give to her.”

AUSSIE ACE: Marcus Ambrose had a good view of the late-race dash between Busch and runnerup Mark Martin.

The former Australian road racing standout from Tasmania survived the 11 caution periods to finish third, a personal-best effort for Ambrose at BMS. Ambrose, who drives the No. 47 JTG-Daugherty Racing Toyota, said it was very much a thrill ride.

“My first year in the Cup Series - to be racing with Mark in his thousandth start, racing with Kyle Busch, who will probably go down in history as one of the best of all time, I just feel privileged to be out there,” Ambrose said.
“I didn’t have anything for Mark (Martin) and Kyle (Busch), but it was a great night.”

Many first-year drivers struggle mightily to find a comfort zone around the high-speed Bristol bowl. Ambrose, who finished 10th in his Sprint Cup debut at BMS in March, has been a quick learner.

“I don’t do anything but rely on my instincts, try to drive around the track as fast as I can.  I just love Bristol,” Ambrose said.

STEWART’S STRUGGLES: No driver endured more frustration Saturday night than Sprint Cup points leader Tony Stewart.

Due to a problem with his radio early in the opening laps Stewart was forced to communicate with his crew through the use of hand signals.  If he put his hand on the A-pillar, the car was tight. If he put his hand on the door, the car was loose.

During a pit stop on lap 15 to remedy the radio problem, Stewart went down a lap to race leader when the window net became unhooked on his Toyota
Stewart, who made a series of pit stops in a desperate attempt to repair his radio, was penalized on lap 137 for speeding off pit road. He finished 33rd, 11 laps behind Busch.

“I’m telling you, this was like an episode of the Twilight Zone,” Stewart said.

Stewart traced his radio nightmare to a gesture of goodwill.

“I switched my frequency on my radio over to Ryan’s (Newman) channel to wish them luck, which is not uncommon, but I couldn’t go back to my channel,” Stewart said. “Every channel I went to, it was still them.  And then I switched to the second radio, which is our backup radio, and I hadn’t even touched it, and it was them.
“So the first 200 laps, I’m listening to Ryan and his spotter.  The reason I stayed on that and didn’t unplug the radio was because at least if a caution came out I could hear his spotter calling the caution out.”

POINTS BATTLE:  Entering the Sept. 6 race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Busch is 34 points behind Matt Kenseth for the 12th and final spot into the Chase for the Sprint Cup playoff series.
“It’s so hard to figure out all the time, Busch said. “It’s not a gaggle of guys that you’re chasing.  You’re almost chasing a point total. “

Busch said he has devised a strategy for what he needs to accomplish in the final three races before the Chase begins

“I did the math from 3160, minus what we were, and figured that out, divided it by three - we needed a 147 point average in these next three races, which is sixth,” Busch said.

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