July 28, 2003
1:37 PM EDT (1737 GMT)
BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Quite often when dissed by a competitor -- as he was Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway by Kurt Busch -- Jimmy Spencer makes it clear that he has a long memory.
"I never forget," he says.
He voiced that very opinion yet again Sunday after Busch tapped his rear end with 55 laps remaining to regain the lead he'd lost just one lap prior, a lead that Busch ultimately converted into victory in the Food City 500. But Busch, whose win Sunday marked the first of his NASCAR Winston Cup Series career, didn't quite see it that way.
He not only questioned Spencer's memory, he flat out said he forgot a former altercation.
"Jimmy Spencer forgot about what he did to me last year at Phoenix," said an elated Busch in Victory Lane. "I'm not gonna say I don't forget things, I just didn't think I should give up the lead that easily."
One year after Elliott Sadler stretched his final set of tires 162 laps to earn his first career win here, Busch rode the same set of rubber 157 circuits to a similar outcome. He was running second to Dale Earnhardt Jr. on lap 409 when the caution flew.
Earnhardt Jr. pitted, cycling Busch into the lead. He stayed out front until Spencer got by him in lapped traffic 34 laps later. The following lap, Busch tapped the rear end of Spencer's Dodge to regain the lead, an advantage he never relinquished, earning win number one in his 48th career start.
Spencer was disgruntled following the race, and offered Busch a bit of advice.
"I never touched him, never laid a tire on him," said Spencer of the love tap. "He just hit me in the back bumper. When you're up in the top-five, you better respect your competitors, 'cause it'll come back to haunt you. I didn't do anything to him, he shouldn't have done it to me."
After the love tap, Busch extended his lead by more than a second when Hermie Sadler slammed the wall with 20 laps to go, bringing out the day's 14th and final caution. Despite the worn tires, Busch got an excellent restart when the race resumed with 15 laps remaining, then stretched his lead over Spencer with each passing lap.
"I saw Elliott Sadler do it last year," said Busch, a Las Vegas native, of the long tire run. "These tires last forever. The line in Vegas? 50 to 1, 10 to 1, I don't know. My mom always puts money on me. I tell her not to, but I'm glad she did today."
Spencer's second-place finish is by far his best of the season, but having nearly won after an eight-year drought, that offered little solace.
"Busch just smashed right into me," Spencer said on the radio as he exited his machine. "I never forget. Only thing is, when I smash back, he won't finish."
Ricky Rudd earned his best finish of the year with a third-place effort, while Earnhardt Jr. rolled home fourth. Earnhardt Jr. led a race-high 181 laps before the last tire stop - one he says did not cost him the race.
"I didn't think we were good enough to win," Earnhardt Jr. said. "People might think we gave up the win, but no, we'd have given it up eventually, anyway."
Earnhardt Jr. was involved in some post-race fireworks, as well. As the final laps wound down, he engaged in heated battled with Robby Gordon, a lapped car. Gordon said Earnhardt Jr. had turned his Chevrolet sideways earlier in the event.
After restarting 10th following the last tire stop, Earnhardt Jr. made up six positions lost on the stop before reaching Gordon. Unable to pass Gordon, he was unable to ascend any higher than fourth in the final rundown.
Miffed, he tapped Gordon after the checkered flag. Gordon then retaliated on pit road, spinning Earnhardt Jr.'s Chevrolet around a la last season's Jeff Gordon/Tony Stewart saga. Both Earnhardt Jr. and Robby Gordon were summoned to the NASCAR trailer following the altercation.
"Damn (Gordon) racing the leaders with about 10 to go, that's why it takes three or four times for him to get into the Winston Cup Series, cause he don't pay attention and he don't know what he's doing," Earnhardt Jr. said. "He was a moving chicane the whole race, he wouldn't move."
Gordon disagreed.
"I think he was the moving chicane," Gordon said. "The only reason he finished there is 'cause he moved everybody outta the way. After the race, he ran in the side of me, so I hit him back."
Former Winston Cup director Gary Nelson said Gordon would likely receive a penalty similar to Stewart's a year ago, which entailed a $10,000 and probation through August."
Speaking of Stewart, he was forced out of the Home Depot Pontiac prematurely. Running third on lap 366, Stewart spun all alone in Turn 2. He had been complaining for more than 100 laps that he was extremely sore from last week's accident at Darlington. Following the spin, Stewart handed over the reins to Todd Bodine.
After all that, Busch prevailed. After a cool-down lap, he snagged the checkered flag and course the half-mile Bristol bullring, waving it out the window.
"We're really proud of Kurt," said team owner Jack Roush. "All the guys at the 97 have really stepped up this year. This is a great win today. There's gonna be a lot more of that to come."
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