Kyle Busch Returns to Victory Lane

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Kyle Busch won the Toyota-Save Mart 350 from Sonoma Raceway on Sunday.

Photo courtesy Jonathan Moore/Getty Images

Busch picked up his first victory of the season on Sunday.  Busch missed the first 11 races of the season with an ankle injury after crashing in the first Xfinity Series race in February.

“This is awesome,” Busch said.  “I can’t say enough about my team…everyone that got me back in shape and got me back ready to go.”

Busch’s victory makes him eligible for the Chase for the Sprint Cup, but he still has to make the top 30 in driver points.  Busch left Sonoma 37th in points, still needing an average finish of 13th or better over the remaining 10 races before the Chase cutoff.

“We’ve got our work cut out for us, we knew we did in the beginning,” Busch said.  “It’s unfortunate that we had a couple crashes and I hate it for my guys…they don’t deserve to be in that spot.”

Many in the NASCAR community were worried that Sonoma’s twists and turns, which require substantial braking, would aggravate Busch’s foot injury.  Busch said there was nothing to worry about.

“My foot hurts a little bit, but not as bad as I expected it to,” Busch said.  “It actually hurt worse in practice, I think I warmed it up all day Friday.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kyle Busch

2. Kurt Busch

3. Clint Bowyer

4. Kevin Harvick

5. Joey Logano

6. Jimmie Johnson

7. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

8. Kasey Kahne

9. Ryan Newman

10. Sam Hornish Jr.

11. Jamie McMurray

12. Tony Stewart

13. Paul Menard

14. Aric Almirola

15. Kyle Larson

16. Jeff Gordon

17. Austin Dillon

18. Denny Hamlin

19. Brad Keselowski

20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

21. Matt Kenseth

22. Cole Whitt

23. Trevor Bayne

24. Danica Patrick

25. Alex Kennedy

26. Boris Said

27. Greg Biffle

28. Josh Wise

29. Matt DiBenedetto

30. Justin Marks

31. Alex Bowman

32. Jeb Burton

33. Michael Annett

34. Michael McDowell

35. Justin Allgaier

36. Landon Cassill

37. AJ Allmendinger

38. Casey Mears

39. David Ragan

40. Carl Edwards

41. J.J. Yeley

42. Martin Truex Jr.

43. David Gilliland

Photo courtesy Rainier Ehrhardt/Getty Images

Weekly Pull List: 6/24/2015

All the comics available this week can be found on Comixology, and any breaking comics news is on Comic Book Resources.

Dark Horse
Fight Club 2 #2

Image
Sex #22
The Walking Dead #143

Titan
Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor #12

DC
Flash #41
Gotham by Midnight #6
Grayson #9

Marvel
Age of Ultron vs. Marvel Zombies #1
Ant-Man: Larger Than Life #1
Daredevil #16
E is for Extinction #1
Howard the Duck #4
Infinity Gauntlet #2
Korvac Saga #1
Loki: Agent of Asgard #15
M.O.D.O.K. Assassin #2
Planet Hulk #2
The Punisher #19

Weekly Pull List: 6/17/2015

All the comics available this week can be found on Comixology, and any breaking comics news is on Comic Book Resources.

Titan
Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor #13
Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor #2

DC
Harley Quinn and Power Girl #1
Robin: Son of Batman #1

Marvel
Armor Wars #2
Darth Vader Director's Cut #1
Deadpool's Secret Secret Wars #2
George Romero's Empire of the Dead: Act Three #3
Magneto #19
Moon Knight #16
Old Man Logan #2
Squadron Sinister #1
Star Wars Director's Cut #1

Kurt Busch Wins Wet Race at Michigan

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Kurt Busch won the rain-shortened Quicken Loans 400 from Michigan International Speedway on Sunday afternoon.

Busch won a race that was delayed four times for rain during the shortened event.  Busch said the win was a testament to his team’s chemistry.

 

Photo courtesy Robert Laberge/Getty Images

“It’s amazing when you have team chemistry at the level that we do,” Busch said.  “[Crew chief] Tony Gibson led these guys through a backup car and the pit crew was there giving their best.”

Busch was running second for a late-race restart, but leader Kyle Larson ran out of gas just three laps before the rain came for the final time.  Busch took the lead on lap 132 and never looked back on the way to his second victory of 2015.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling knowing what we went through, paced ourselves and found the lead towards the latter part of the race; and then the rain came in,” Busch said.  “Tony Gibson makes these guys work a little extra hard.  I always say thanks, I’m always there early with them, and it’s a great team chemistry feel.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kurt Busch

2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

3. Martin Truex Jr.

4. Matt Kenseth

5. Joey Logano

6. Brad Keselowski

7. Jamie McMurray

8. Paul Menard

9. Trevor Bayne

10. Clint Bowyer

11. Denny Hamlin

12. Carl Edwards

13. Casey Mears

14. Ty Dillon

15. Kasey Kahne

16. Danica Patrick

17. Kyle Larson

18. Ryan Newman

19. Jimmie Johnson

20. Austin Dillon

21. Jeff Gordon

22. Aric Almirola

23. AJ Allmendinger

24. Ryan Blaney

25. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

26. Sam Hornish Jr.

27. Justin Allgaier

28. Tony Stewart

29. Kevin Harvick

30. Michael Annett

31. Landon Cassill

32. Cole Whitt

33. Brett Moffitt

34. Josh Wise

35. David Ragan

36. Greg Biffle

37. Jeb Burton

38. J.J. Yeley

39. Matt DiBenedetto

40. Mike Bliss

41. Alex Bowman

42. David Gilliland

43. Kyle Busch

Photo courtesy Rey Del Rio/Getty Images

Weekly Pull List 6/10/2015

All the comics available this week can be found on Comixology, and any breaking comics news is on Comic Book Resources.

Image
Saga #29
The Walking Dead #142

Titan
Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor #11
Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor #1.2

DC
Batman #41
Detective Comics #41
Gotham Academy #7
Harley Quinn #17

Marvel
1602 Witch Hunter Angela #1
Ghost Racers #1
Inferno #2
Inhumans: Attilan Rising #2
Marvel Zombies #1
Mrs. Deadpool and the Howling Commandos #1
Secret Wars 2099 #2
Secret Wars Journal #2
Silk #5
Silver Surfer #12
Spider-Gwen #5
Spider-Verse #2
Ultimate End #2
Weirdworld #1

Martin Truex Jr. Returns to Victory Lane in Pocono

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Martin Truex Jr. won the Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400 from Pocono Raceway on Sunday afternoon.

Photo courtesy Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images

Truex returned to victory lane for the first time since a win at Sonoma on June 23, 2013.

“It feels unbelievable,” Truex said in victory lane.

The victory was the culmination of an early season of strong runs, including a stretch over the last four races where he led over 450 laps.  The win locked Truex into the Chase for the Sprint Cup after running second in points for most of the season.  Truex said it was a testament to the determination of his team.

“I can’t thank all these guys enough on the Furniture Row Chevrolet, what a great group of guys.  I knew we were going to get one…I knew we had the team, I knew we had what it took.  Just had to get things to play out the way we needed them to.”

Truex’s return to victory lane is made even more special by the personal and professional struggles he has gone through the past two years.  Truex left Michael Waltrip Racing following the 2013 season after a Chase scandal caused NAPA to pull sponsorship, and last year his longtime girlfriend Sherry Pollex was diagnosed with cancer.

“I feel like I’m on cloud 9 right now, just awesome.  Last year and a half’s been tough, but this feels pretty dang good.”

The win was a popular one in the garage, with many drivers offering Truex praise on pit road following the race, and some heading to victory lane to congratulate Truex on his win.

“I’m really happy for Martin, I know he went through a lot,” runner-up Kevin Harvick said after the race.  “If you’re going to lose to somebody today, that’s a great person to lose to.”

Unofficial results:

1. Martin Truex Jr.

2. Kevin Harvick

3. Jimmie Johnson

4. Joey Logano

5. Kurt Busch

6. Matt Kenseth

7. Jamie McMurray

8. Kyle Larson

9. Kyle Busch

10. Denny Hamlin

11. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

12. Greg Biffle

13. Kasey Kahne

14. Jeff Gordon

15. Carl Edwards

16. Casey Mears

17. Brad Keselowski

18. Ty Dillon

19. Austin Dillon

20. Justin Allgaier

21. Tony Stewart

22. Clint Bowyer

23. David Ragan

24. Trevor Bayne

25. Landon Cassill

26. Alex Bowman

27. David Gilliland

28. Cole Whitt

29. Josh Wise

30. Brett Moffitt

31. Paul Menard

32. Matt DiBenedetto

33. Jeb Burton

34. Michael Annett

35. Travis Kvapil

36. J.J. Yeley

37. Danica Patrick

38. AJ Allmendinger

39. Ryan Newman

40. Brendan Gaughan

41. Sam Hornish Jr.

42. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

43. Aric Almirola

Photo courtesy Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images