Notebook

Busch avoids taking sides in Daytona 500

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Kurt Busch had the car to race with the leaders, just not the luck.

Busch shared the closing-lap spotlight at the Daytona 500, along with Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart and Scott Wimmer, who finished 1-2-3. Busch wound up as a crucial player in the whole thing, even though he was lapped and finished 16th.

It was quite a different scene from last year, when he admitted he had a mediocre car, yet finished second when he caught a break and the race was shortened by rain.

On Sunday, Busch dropped back when he cut a tire in the 45th lap. He spent the rest of the day playing catch-up, but couldn't make up the lost lap. Nevertheless, he was a key player at the end.

Tailing the two leaders, Earnhardt and Stewart, Busch could have offered drafting help to either in their fight for the lead.

When Earnhardt darted around Stewart to take the lead with 20 laps left, Busch briefly offered help to Stewart, but to no avail. When Stewart made his unsuccessful move to regain the lead with five laps to go, Busch pretty much stayed out of it.

Earnhardt gave Busch credit for letting he and Stewart decide the race.

"He was trying not to be a factor either way, and I can understand that," Earnhardt said.

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MORE BAD LUCK: The cars were barely warmed up when white smoke came spewing out of the back of Mark Martin's car. Another Daytona 500 failure was sealed before he even broke a sweat.

Rusty Wallace lasted a little while longer, but then a crash took him out, too.

Now well into the fortysomething crowd, two of NASCAR's better-known names were shut out again at the Daytona 500 on Sunday. Wallace fell to 0-for-22 in NASCAR's biggest race. Martin is 0-for-20.

"I thought all week we had a chance to win this thing," the 45-year-old Martin conceded. "I'm not going to get many more chances."

Every year, they come in with optimism. Martin's stemmed from the offseason union of his car owner, Jack Roush, with Robert Yates Racing's boss in a multimillion-dollar engine-building program for their Fords.

The 48-year-old Wallace, meanwhile, felt he ran well enough to compete all week, although he never really got the chance to find out. His day ended when he wrecked in an accident that also included Jeff Green, Ken Schrader and Jamie McMurray.

"I'm real disappointed. I wanted it real bad, but it wasn't to be done today," Wallace said. "It's going to be a long week. I thought I had a car to win today."

Another fortysomething driver, Ricky Rudd, didn't have any major mishaps but finished 18th and dropped to 0-for-27 at the Daytona 500.

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CHAMPION'S CURSE: Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s first Daytona 500 victory Sunday made him eager to take the next step: winning a series championship.

If history is any indication, it won't be easy.

Only once since 1977 has the winner of the Great American Race gone on to the win the series title the same year. Four-time series champ Jeff Gordon won the Daytona 500 and the title in 1997.

"It's good to get this out of the way. Now it's championship time," Earnhardt said.

Lee Petty (1959), Richard Petty (1964, 1971, 1974 and 1979) and Cale Yarborough (1977) are the only other drivers to win the season opener and the series title.

Under NASCAR's new scoring system, Earnhardt received an extra five points for winning. But Stewart picked up the five bonus points for leading the most laps, meaning he only trails Junior by five points (185-180).

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ROUGH DAY FOR ROUSH: Roush Racing had an uneven performance at the Daytona 500.

Roush had two drivers out of the race in the first 25 laps, and then had the other three finish in the top 16.

Mark Martin had engine trouble after seven laps, then Jeff Burton joined him in the garage with similar problems.

"It might be two separate issues, I don't know," Burton said. "I'm not gonna blame the engine guys."

Defending series champion Matt Kenseth, pole-sitter Greg Biffle and Kurt Busch were ninth, 12th and 16th, respectively.

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PIT STOPS: Kevin Harvick finished fourth, his third consecutive top-10 finish at Daytona and his second straight fourth-place showing in the Daytona 500. ... Jeff Gordon made up the most positions, finishing eighth after starting 39th. ... The race leader at the halfway point has failed to win the Daytona 500 each of the last 12 years. Tony Stewart led at the halfway mark Sunday. ... Greg Biffle was penalized late for speeding on pit road. He was fourth with 40 laps to go, but fell back to 12th after the stop-and-go penalty. ... There were four caution periods but none in the last 120 laps.