He did exactly that after a mistake on pit road nearly cost him dearly in the Camping World RV Sales 500.
Busch went a lap down early in the race as he came down pit road but could not get into his pit stall because he entered pit road with Jamie McMurray on the inside of him and was parked in the 10th stall closest to Turn 4.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver got the free pass later in the race and wound up finishing fifth, gaining points on both Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth.
Busch stayed in contention for the championship and made up significant ground as he tries to get back into the thick of the Chase for the Sprint Cup. He trails Johnson by 26 points and Matt Kenseth by 22 with four races remaining.
“You always want more,” Busch said. “But when you’re in this position and at this place, a top-five is definitely pretty good. … We ended up with a decent finish here today, so that’s all we could ask for.”
Johnson finished 13th to take the points lead by four over Kenseth, who finished 20th. Races remain at Martinsville, Texas, Phoenix and Homestead.
“Picked up eight points on Matt, so that’s good,” Johnson said. “I’m excited to come out of here with a straight racecar and a decent finish and finished ahead of the car we’re most worried about, which was the 20 (of Kenseth).
“Thirteenth isn’t the best. But mission accomplished. We had a good day. I really like the final four racetracks on the schedule.”
Busch and Harvick are each 26 points behind Johnson as there are only four drivers within 30 points (and only five within 50 points) with four races left.
McMURRAY GETS EMOTIONAL
Nothing in sports is more touching than seeing a professional athlete show some genuine heartfelt emotion after a huge victory.
Jamie McMurray has done it multiple times after big NASCAR Sprint Cup victories.
McMurray got choked up in victory lane Sunday after winning at Talladega Superspeedway. The win was his first since 2010 and came after two disappointing seasons.
McMurray was fine until he saw his 2-year-old son, Carter, in victory lane.
McMurray choked back emotion as he hugged his son in victory lane.
“That’s pretty awesome,” he said after hugging and kissing his son. “I told (his wife), it would be so cool to have your kids in victory lane. So pretty awesome.”
McMurray, of course, is best known for losing it in victory lane after winning the 2010 Daytona 500. The win came in his first race after being released from Roush Fenway Racing and being reunited with team owner Chip Ganassi, who gave him his Sprint Cup start.
McMurray cried repeatedly in victory lane at Daytona, and then became emotional again while addressing reporters later that night in the Daytona media center.
MCMURRAY LOVED AUBURN CAR
Jamie McMurray admits he’s not a big college football fan, but he knew it was a big deal when he won at Talladega Superspeedway Sunday with an Auburn paint scheme on his car.
Alabama is split between fans of Auburn and the University of Alabama, and fans at Talladega are equally split between the Tigers and the Crimson Tide, two bitter SEC rivals.
When McMurray took the checkered flag in his No. 1 Chevrolet with the Auburn logo on the hood, it was a popular victory with many Talladega fans. Even if favorite son Dale Earnhardt Jr. (a South Carolina fan) did finish second.
Auburn was on the hood of McMurray’s car because it is a client of Cessna, one of McMurray’s primary sponsors.
“It was cool to have Auburn on here,” McMurray said Sunday night. “When they told me they were going to do the paint scheme here, I’m not a huge college football fan, but I know enough that this would be a 50/50 crowd here of some liking and some not. So it was interesting. It was fun to see the fans in the garage area either high-five you or the opposite.”
McMurray’s surprise win — his first since 2010 — came a day after Auburn pulled off a big upset of its own, winning at Texas A&M.
McMurray wasn’t able to watch the game, but quickly looked up the score.
“I really wanted to watch the game last night, but it was Halloween night in the motor home lot and I had a 3-year-old to dress up as a dinosaur and take trick-or-treating, and that took priority over watching the football game,” he said. “I did Google it as soon as I could to see who won because I knew I was going to do a meet-and-greet with some of those guys today, and I wanted to make sure I had my facts straight.
“It was really cool to have that on our car.”
FAN FOUND DEAD AT TALLAEGA
Talladega County authorities say a suspected carbon monoxide leak killed a Tennessee man who was camping out for the Sprint Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway this past weekend.
Sheriff Jimmy Kilgore says friends of the man and his wife found the couple unresponsive inside their motor home at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday afternoon.
Deputy Coroner Larry Seals says the couple was likely using a gas stove for heat and there was a problem with the generator's exhaust system. Authorities found the man dead when they arrived, and his wife has been hospitalized in Birmingham. The man's identity has not yet been released.
The man is at least the second NASCAR fan to die while camping out near the track this year. In early May a Georgia man accidentally drowned in a creek near the track.
TWEETS OF THE DAY
What sports figures are cramming into 140 characters that you’ve got to hear.
“Can’t thank my guys enough for their hard work. I’m really happy we were able to win for @Cessna, @McDonalds & all our partners #TeamGanassi” — Jamie McMurray had not tweeted for 47 days until the day after his victory at Talladega
“Great day in the @Nationwide car yesterday hated we helped cause that yellow took our chances away at a win to the line. But it was fun” — Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who finished third at Talladega
PHOTO OF THE DAY
Jimmie Johnson’s reading material on a flight to Texas.
VIDEO OF THE DAY
Watch Jamie McMurray’s emotional victory lane celebration.
Contributors: Bob Pockrass, Jeff Owens, The Associated Press
