It wasn’t really even the last lap, just the clip of Busch coming off of Turn 4 in a tight battle with Kasey Kahne.
Busch was behind Ragan entering the final turn and took the outside line. He got out of sorts and managed to keep his car off the wall and off Kahne’s side. When Busch righted himself, he outran Kahne to the finish line.
In a few seconds, we saw the elements of what has made Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota so successful this season.
In order: Busch didn’t have a winning car; he was no match for Johnson or even Greg Biffle, who was strong in second. Yet he managed a seventh-place finish; salvaging good runs on days when you don’t have the best car is a key component to the Chase and winning a title.
(And that shouldn’t be read as though Busch had junk the whole race. He was consistently in the top 20 and spent most of the race in the top 15.)
So, when it came time to move, Busch was in a position to do so. Beating Kahne for seventh ultimately means nothing to Busch; he’ll still enter the Chase as the points leader ahead of Carl Edwards, regardless of what happens on Saturday at Richmond.
Secondly, Busch got loose and was on the verge of wrecking. Yet he gathered his car and motored on.
Seeing such a move from Busch should be no surprise. He’s an aggressive driver and pushes his equipment to the edge; but his skill allows him to recover from situations like Saturday’s, which likely would have sent a lesser driver into the grass.
Moreover, he was determined to beat Kahne, even though it meant nothing to him. That’s also in line with what we’ve come to expect from Busch; he’s going to do his damndest to win everything – whether it’s a race or a smaller race within a race.
Lastly, when Busch got himself straightened out, he pulled ahead of Kahne in the last stretch to the finish line.
That speaks to the power that Gibbs has put under the hood; again, that’s nothing different than what we’ve seen this season. But it was curious to see it play out on such a small level.
Remember, Kahne had the inside line and took the final turn on that line. He didn’t have to deal with collecting himself, and he had the most direct line to the finish. In that battle, Kahne had the most to lose – he’s still looking in from the outside of the Chase – so it’s not like he could afford to give any ground.
Yet in that little head-to-head battle, Busch came out on top.
And yes, we happily make the admission that Dodge and Gillett Evernham have not been particularly strong this season. Would Busch have been successful if it were Jeff Gordon or Matt Kenseth next to him? It’s impossible to say, but in a sport that is defined by hundreths of a second, Busch’s victory was clear.
What he pulled off in the final turn was not as impressive as Johnson’s dominance or Biffle’s game effort to try to reel in Johnson. But it should serve notice that Busch was, and remains, the championship favorite.