Although the crowd did not cheer much when Busch won the race, they did  when he saved his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota from near disaster, twice.

On Lap 48, Busch was going through Turn 1 with Jimmie Johnson on his bumper when Busch came down and made slight contact with Johnson. The contact sent Busch sideways as the car shot off sparks. Busch collected it momentarily before going sideways again. Just as the crowd was sure that Busch was about to wreck the entire field, Busch collected it, straighten out and kept on, keeping the field under green.  Needless to say, the fans were in awe of Busch and thankful for his impeccable driving ability.

Later, Jeff Gordon gave Busch a hard shove in the left-rear, sending Busch sliding down to the apron. Gordon then moved up to avoid Busch and made contact with Kurt Busch, who then made contact with Jamie McMurray, sending all three cars into the wall. Kyle Busch again collected his car twice, keeping it from spinning initially. Then, however, on its third attempt, the car did spin, but Busch kept it off the wall and managed to avoid major damage. Gordon, however, wasn’t so lucky. More on that later.

From the drop of the green flag, the race had somewhat of a frantic pace.  After the first big wreck involving David Ragan, Paul Menard, Michael Waltrip and Matt Kenseth, we all knew another big wreck was coming; we just didn’t know when.  On Lap 55, a chain-reaction wreck occurred when Marcos Ambrose and Joey Logano got together, collecting pole sitter and front runners Martin Truex Jr., Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick, and Matt Kenseth.

With only a few laps remaining in the race, it seemed as if Jeff Gordon and Stewart would be battling for the checkered flag.  On Lap 74, Gordon’s hopes of winning the race went up in the air – literally.  Coming off of Turn 4, Stewart had taken the lead from Gordon when a violent wreck struck, resulting in Gordon barrel rolling down the front stretch.  Kurt Busch and Jamie McMurray were also collected in the crash.  Gordon came out of the wreck uninjured. He ended up finishing 15th.

Underdog of the Race

After a rocky and emotional season in 2011, Kurt Busch was thankful to land a ride with James Finch, Phoenix Racing’s No. 51 Chevy.  Phoenix is a single-car operations with limited resources. However, Busch ran near the front for most of the night, until becoming a victim of the wreck on Lap 74.  His driving efforts didn’t go unnoticed, and I believe he will be a driver to watch in the Daytona 500 this weekend — considering he’s got Hendrick horsepower under the hood of his Chevy.

Best Comeback of the Race

Last season Clint Bowyer left Richard Childress Racing to join Michael Waltrip racing’s No. 15 team.  Bowyer started his first race with MWR in 17th position and was soon racing at the front of the pack.  On Lap 31, teammate Martin Truex Jr. gave Bowyer a shove going down the frontstretch, sending Bowyer spinning through the grass.  After overcoming a variety of challenges throughout the race, Bowyer found himself in third for the green-white-checkered finish.  Although he wasn’t able to battle for the win, Bowyer finished the race in eighth position.

There was a little confusion as to whether or not the race was over because all week during the TV broadcasts, fans were informed that the race had to end under green. That, however, was untrue because the race ended under caution. It was later clarified that NASCAR would only make one attempt at a green-white-checker, and drivers were informed in the drivers’ meeting.

Top 5: Harvick, Kasey Kahne, Jamie McMurray, Kyle Busch, and Denny Hamlin.

Jeff Gordon, Joey Logano, Brian Vickers, Tony Stewart, and Juan Montoya rounded out the top 10.

Notables: Dale Earnhardt Jr (11th), Jimmie Johnson (13th), Greg Biffle (15th), Matt Kenseth (16th), Carl Edwards (17th), Ryan Newman (19th), Mark Martin (20th), and Kurt Busch (23rd).

All in all, it was good to see the cars back on the track after the off-season. But, I’m not sure the racing has yet improved. For the first 25 laps, the cars ran side-by-side, but no one could pass Carl Edwards, the leader at the time. This, of course, could have been because the drivers were waiting to mix it up until later in the race. But, tt was still reminiscent of last year, when the lead car would be impossible to pass. Perhaps the change to the spoiler will improve that.

Following a late wreck, the field was set for a green-white-checker finish. McMurray led the field to the green on the restart, and had a fast car that seemed poised for a win. Harvick restarted fourth.

With about one to go, Harvick diced through the middle and then used a huge push from Denny Hamlin to sail past McMurray who dove down to block Jimmie Johnson, but could not get back high to block Harvick.

Once Harvick completed the pass, Johnson got together with Casey Mears, and triggered a big wreck, ending the Shoutout, making Harvick the winner.

Top 5: Harvick, McMurray, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, and AJ Allmendinger.

Kasey Kahne, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, and Kyle Busch rounded out the top 10.

Notables: Brian Vickers (11th), Denny Hamlin (13th),  Johnson (14th), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (18th), Bobby Labonte (19th), and Joey Logano (28th).

Richard Petty Motorsports’ Elliott Sadler will start outside row one. Sadler’s teammate Reed Sorenson will start third, with Scott Speed of Red Bull Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin will round out the top 5.

The field consists of the top six drivers, based on owners’ points from the previous season, from each of the four manufacturers, and one addition driver per manufacturer, either a past champion or another driver based on points. 

The complete lineup:

1. Paul Menard – Ford
2. Elliott Sadler – Dodge
3. Reed Sorenson – Dodge
4. Scott Speed – Toyota
5. Denny Hamlin – Toyota
6. Tony Stewart – Chevy
7. Brian Vickers – Toyota
8. Bobby Labonte – Ford
9. Dale Earnhardt Jr. – Chevy
10. Kyle Busch – Toyota
11. Carl Edwards – Ford
12. Kurt Busch – Dodge
13. Robby Gordon – Toyota
14. Kasey Kahne – Dodge
15. Jamie McMurray – Ford
16. David Ragan – Ford
17. Michael Waltrip – Toyota
18. AJ Allmendinger – Dodge
19. Joey Logano – Toyota
20. David Stremme - Dodge
21. Jimmie Johnson – Chevy
22. David Reutimann – Toyota
23. Jeff Burton – Chevy
24. Casey Mears – Chevy
25. Matt Kenseth – Ford
26. Greg Biffle – Ford
27. Kevin Harvick – Chevy
28. Jeff Gordon - Chevy