Nextel Cup champ Kurt Busch posted top-10 finishes in nine Chase races. Credit: Autostock

Chase rewind

From Loudon to Homestead, champion Busch was Mr. Consistency

All hail Kurt Busch. Or, judging by some of the fans' reaction after he clinched the point title at Homestead: Aw, hell -- Kurt Busch.

Either way, the 26-year-old Young Gun is the first Nextel Cup champion and the fourth-youngest NASCAR champ in the sport's 56-year history. The only drivers greener than Busch to win the title are Bill Rexford (1950) and Jeff Gordon (1995 and '97).

Inside the Numbers Chase for the Nextel Cup No. Driver Avg. Finish 1. K. Busch 8.9 2. J. Gordon 9.6 3. J. Johnson 10.2 4. M. Martin 10.5 5. T. Stewart 11.8 6. D. Earnhardt Jr. 12.6 7. R. Newman 17.3 8. M. Kenseth 20.8 9. J. Mayfield 22.2 10. E. Sadler 22.4

It doesn't matter whether you loved or loathed him, Busch's run in the inaugural 10-race Chase was remarkably consistent; he averaged an eighth-place finish and tallied at least five bonus points in nine events -- tops among the Chase contenders.

"We started off the Chase with a win and we finished with a top-five and a pole," said Busch, who averaged a Chase-best 148 points in the year-end playoff races.

"It's just unbelievable the way that (crew chief) Jimmy Fennig executed the whole program to give me the best racecars that I could possible drive and to give me equipment that would give me the position like we had (Sunday)."

Five drivers entered the season-ending Ford 400 with a mathematical chance of winning the championship, but realistically only Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Gordon figured to win the title. In the end, that threesome provided NASCAR with its closest point race in history as Busch held off Johnson by eight points and Gordon by 16.

KURT BUSCH •   Driver Page •   2004 Stats •   Ford Driver's Eye •   Gillette Young Guns Challenge •   Superstore: Kurt Busch gear

While the name had changed to the Chase for the Nextel Cup, the game remained the same: be consistent and get as many points as possible.

After the Richmond race on Sept. 11, NASCAR reset the standings for the top 10 drivers entering Loudon with Gordon in first place with 5,050 points. The rest of the Chase field included Johnson (5,045), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (5,040), Tony Stewart (5,035), Matt Kenseth (5,030), Elliott Sadler (5,025), Busch (5,020), Mark Martin (5,015), Jeremy Mayfield (5,010) and Ryan Newman (5,005).

Those drivers were to race for the title during the final 10 races:

New Hampshire
• Race recap

Sylvania 300 Chase for the Nextel Cup No. Driver Behind 1. K. Busch -- tie D. Earnhardt Jr. -- 3. J. Gordon -9 4. M. Kenseth -10 5. J. Johnson -30 6. E. Sadler -38 7. M. Martin -71 8. T. Stewart -124 9. R. Newman -136 10. J. Mayfield -142

A dominating performance gave Busch a sweep of the 2004 events at Loudon and lifted him into a tie with Earnhardt Jr. for the points lead.

"Well, No. 1 is in the books, but there's still an awful lot of work to do," Busch said after leading 155 of the 300 laps. The win was the third of the season and 11th of his career for Busch.

Kenseth was second, crossing the finish line 2.488-seconds -- about 20 car lengths -- behind his Roush Racing teammate. Kenseth won the Cup championship last year in a relatively boring runaway that helped NASCAR in its decision to change the point format.

On lap 64, Robby Gordon ignited a multi-car crash, drawing a two-lap penalty from NASCAR after hitting Greg Biffle from behind. Stewart tried to go around Biffle and Mayfield, and all of them wound up damaged.

Mayfield, who drove his way into the Chase with a victory at Richmond, and 2002 series champion Stewart got the worst of it. Both had to spend considerable time in the garage for repairs and wound up dropping out of the race early, with Stewart finishing 39th and Mayfield 35th.

Dover
• Race recap

MBNA America 400 Chase for the Nextel Cup No. Driver Behind 1. J. Gordon -- 2. K. Busch -1 3. D. Earnhardt Jr. -18 4. J. Johnson -57 tie M. Martin -57 6. E. Sadler -96 7. M. Kenseth -99 8. R. Newman -107 9. T. Stewart -135 10. J. Mayfield -157

Newman left misfortune behind and ran away from the field, while four-time series champion Gordon took the points lead.

"If we can finish in the top five in the last nine races, I can pretty much guarantee us a championship," Newman said after winning. "But we can't finish 33rd, first and then 33rd. ... This is a big step in the right direction. We'll just do the best that we possibly can, and if we don't deserve it then we won't get it.

"We've got to forget about (the win) right now," he said. "If you're spending time celebrating, you're not spending time working."

Gordon finished third behind Martin in the race and was one point ahead of Busch, who finished fifth and lost the point lead when he was passed by Dale Jarrett with six laps to go. Earnhardt Jr., who fell to third in the title chase by finishing ninth, was 18 points behind Gordon.

Kenseth finished 32nd after spinning out and hitting a tire barrier at the end of pit road. That caused the race to be halted for 12 minutes while repairs were made.

Talladega
• Race recap

EA Sports 500 Chase for the Nextel Cup No. Driver Behind 1. K. Busch -- 2. D. Earnhardt Jr. -12 3. J. Gordon -48 4. M. Martin -98 5. M. Kenseth -137 6. T. Stewart -139 7. R. Newman -146 8. E. Sadler -153 9. J. Johnson -159 10. J. Mayfield -267

Earnhardt Jr. charged from 11th place to a victory and the point lead in the last five laps.

Although he was at or near the front virtually the entire EA Sports 500, leading a race-high 78 of the 188 laps, Earnhardt fell behind when crew chief Tony Eury Sr. decided to gamble on two fresh right-side tires on his final pit stop.

Other drivers got ahead of Earnhardt Jr. by staying on the track or taking only fuel on their final stops during the last of five caution periods in the race. But it made little difference once the green flag waved for lap 184.

The last lap turned out to be the wildest of the race, with Biffle hitting the wall and crashing into rookie Kasey Kahne in Turn 2, far behind the leaders.

NASCAR kept the green flag out and Sadler, who had a spectacular flip on the front straightaway in this race last year, did it again -- sliding backward into the grass and doing a flip before landing on his wheels as he crossed the finish line. He wound up 22nd and fell to eighth in the standings.

Asked about the significance of his fifth victory at Talladega, Junior said, "It don't mean s--- right now. Daddy's won here 10 times." That slip of the tongue cost Little E $10,000 and 25 points, which ultimately dropped him to second in the standings.

Kansas
• Race recap

Banquet 400 Chase for the Nextel Cup No. Driver Behind 1. K. Busch -- 2. D. Earnhardt Jr. -29 3. J. Gordon -79 4. E. Sadler -143 5. M. Martin -150 6. T. Stewart -173 7. M. Kenseth -180 8. R. Newman -232 9. J. Johnson -247 10. J. Mayfield -257

The biggest gripe about the 10-man Chase for the Nextel Cup was that the drivers not in the title battle would be ignored. Nobody could ignore Joe Nemechek after he held off Ricky Rudd to win and finish off a weekend sweep.

Nemechek, who did a backward victory lap on the 1 1/2-mile oval to honor the memory of his brother, John, killed in a Truck Series race in Homestead, Fla., in 1997, was relieved to win after nearly getting too conservative.

"There at the end I was trying to save gas and here come Ricky Rudd out of nowhere," Nemechek said. "I was like, 'Holy Moley.' I had to get back on it. He got beside me one time, but I wasn't going to let it happen."

He passed Rudd and Jamie McMurray and dueled with championship contender Sadler before grabbing the lead on lap 231, staying out front the rest of the way for his fourth career victory and first since May 2003 at Richmond. It was the first time since the championship battle began at New Hampshire that one of the title contenders had not won.

Biffle finished third, followed by Sadler, Mayfield and Busch, who came into the race with a 12-point lead over Earnhardt Jr. in the standings and finished leading Junior, who finished ninth, by 29 points.

Charlotte
• Race recap

UAW-GM Quality 500 Chase for the Nextel Cup No. Driver Behind 1. K. Busch -- 2. D. Earnhardt Jr. -24 3. J. Gordon -74 4. E. Sadler -157 5. M. Martin -186 6. T. Stewart -204 7. M. Kenseth -215 8. J. Johnson -227 9. R. Newman -271 10. J. Mayfield -349

Johnson thought he needed a victory to jump back into contention for the Nextel Cup championship.

He got it, and it still wasn't enough.

Johnson won -- leading teammate Gordon across the finish line for a 1-2 finish for Hendrick Motorsports -- but gained almost no ground in the Chase.

On a night in which almost all 10 of the championship contenders had some sort of trouble, Busch and Gordon rebounded the best. The two bounced back from a wreck in the first turn of the first lap to salvage stellar finishes and retain their hold on the top of the point standings.

Busch finished fourth and held a 24-point lead over Earnhardt Jr., who finished third. Gordon, who also had a second minor accident midway through the race, was 74 points back.

Despite a series of bad breaks to most of the contenders, nine of the 10 finished 14th or better.

Martinsville
• Race recap

Subway 500 Chase for the Nextel Cup No. Driver Behind 1. K. Busch -- 2. J. Gordon -96 3. D. Earnhardt Jr. -125 4. J. Johnson -207 5. M. Martin -224 6. T. Stewart -246 7. E. Sadler -255 8. M. Kenseth -260 9. R. Newman -266 10. J. Mayfield -364

Johnson's series-high sixth victory of the season was overshadowed by word that a plane carrying members of the Hendrick Motorsports organization crashed, killing all 10 people aboard.

NASCAR officials informed Johnson and three other Hendrick drivers -- Gordon, Terry Labonte and Brian Vickers -- of the crash after the race. Johnson was excused from Victory Lane.

Johnson pulled away from Rusty Wallace and Newman on a restart with seven laps to go to climb four spots in the Chase. Busch was solid again and moved one step closer to wrapping up NASCAR's first playoff championship.

In a race where Gordon struggled and Earnhardt Jr. was never a factor, Busch finished fifth and expanded his point lead to 96 over Gordon and 125 over Junior, who fell to third.

Those who died in the plane crash included Ricky Hendrick, Rick Hendrick's son; John Hendrick, Rick Hendrick's brother and president of Hendrick Motorsports; Kimberly and Jennifer Hendrick, John Hendrick's 22-year-old twin daughters; Joe Jackson, an executive with DuPont; Jeff Turner, general manager of Hendrick Motorsports; Randy Dorton, the team's chief engine builder; Scott Lathram, a pilot for NASCAR driver Tony Stewart; and pilots Richard Tracy and Elizabeth Morrison.
→ Hendrick Motorsports Tribute, click here.

Atlanta
• Race recap

Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 Chase for the Nextel Cup No. Driver Behind 1. K. Busch -- 2. J. Johnson -59 3. J. Gordon -72 4. M. Martin -81 5. D. Earnhardt Jr. -98 6. T. Stewart -145 7. R. Newman -186 8. E. Sadler -237 9. M. Kenseth -257 10. J. Mayfield -316

Johnson held off Martin's dominating car to win, easing some of the pain after the tragedy that struck Hendrick Motorsports a week earlier.

Martin had the best car, his Ford leading 227 of the 325 laps. But a late yellow flag cost him the top spot, and the 45-year-old driver, four-time series runner-up couldn't chase down Johnson at the end.

Johnson beat Martin by 0.293 seconds -- about five car lengths -- to become the first driver in six years to win three consecutive races.

"The No. 6 car was coming, but I had 10 angels riding along," Johnson said. "I feel bad for Mark. He had the dominant car. But things happen for a reason."

Busch blew an engine on lap 52, pulling into the garage with smoke billowing from his Ford and settled for a next-to-last place finish. But Busch managed to keep his points lead when six others in the 10-driver playoff ran into major problems, too.

Kenseth blew an engine and finished 41st. Sadler was 36th after a collision in the pits messed up his steering. Gordon battled an ill-handling car and wound up 34th. Mayfield cut a tire early, scraped the wall and had to battle just to finish 26th. Newman was leading when a mistake in the pits forced him to come back in; he wound up two laps down in 17th.

Finally, Earnhardt Jr. was in position to seize the point lead when he clipped rookie Carl Edwards on the backstretch and slammed into the inside wall with just 15 laps to go. Junior's heavily damaged car couldn't finish, leaving him in 33rd for the second week in a row.

Phoenix
• Race recap

Checker Auto Parts 500 Chase for the Nextel Cup No. Driver Behind 1. K. Busch -- 2. J. Gordon -41 3. D. Earnhardt Jr. -47 4. J. Johnson -48 5. M. Martin -102 6. T. Stewart -142 7. R. Newman -150 8. E. Sadler -322 9. M. Kenseth -336 10. J. Mayfield -355

Earnhardt Jr. pulled away from Gordon in a pair of overtime laps to win and tighten the championship chase with two races to go.

Busch overcame a couple of mistakes to finish 10th and held on to the series lead, but the top four drivers were separated by just 48 points.

Earnhardt Jr., who had a dominant car through most of the race, was in third place, trailing Gordon and Casey Mears when a caution came out on lap 282 of the race scheduled to go 312. After the restart Junior began to pull away when Mears, with a tire going flat, spun into the wall, bringing out yet another yellow flag on lap 307.

Moments later, Robby Gordon's engine blew. NASCAR stopped the cars on track on lap 310 as safety workers cleaned up the debris from Mears' crash and the oil from Gordon's engine failure.

Once the race resumed, NASCAR ordered one extra lap of caution, then finished with only the second green-white-checker since the rule was adopted earlier this year to assure fans of seeing a racing finish.

Earnhardt Jr. pulled away once the green flag waved, running off to his sixth win of the season and second consecutive Phoenix victory. Newman, who struggled most of the day after starting from the pole, grabbed second place from Gordon.

Most of the title contenders struggled during the race. Newman and Johnson lost laps when they pitted for what they thought were flat tires. Busch also had to bounce back after a spinout and running out of fuel.

Darlington
• Race recap

Southern 500 Chase for the Nextel Cup No. Driver Behind 1. K. Busch -- 2. J. Johnson -18 3. J. Gordon -21 4. D. Earnhardt Jr. -72 5. M. Martin -82 6. T. Stewart -185 7. R. Newman -244 8. M. Kenseth -383 9. E. Sadler -383 10. J. Mayfield -404

Johnson got some unexpected help from teammate Gordon, whose crew made an uncharacteristic mistake in the pits. Johnson took advantage of the opportunity to win the final Southern 500 and move within easy reach of point leader Busch with one race remaining.

Johnson, who gave his crew credit for getting him to the lead late in the race with two fast pit stops, had to overtake Kahne and McMurray after they stayed out when the other leaders pitted for tires during the last of eight caution periods.

The race restarted with 18 to go in the 367-lap event and Johnson, in third, passed Kahne for second place on lap 352 and took the lead from McMurray on 359. Then he pulled away to his 14th career win.

Johnson, who beat Martin to the finish line by 0.959-seconds -- about six car-lengths -- also won the race in March on Darlington's tough 1.366-mile oval. Gordon led a race-high 155 laps. Johnson led 124.

Gordon, a six-time Darlington winner, appeared on the way to an easy victory, dominating the second half of the race until he pitted on lap 337 during another caution period. His car came down on an air hose, costing him precious time and he came out sixth.

Johnson dominated most of the 26-race regular season, but lost a big lead when his No. 48 Chevrolet team started to experiment with new parts. He then started the 10-race playoff poorly, falling to ninth place, 247 points behind leader Busch after the first four races.

But four victories in the last five races, combined with a sixth-place finish at Phoenix, gave the third-year Cup driver momentum going into the season finale.

Homestead
• Race recap

Ford 400 Chase for the Nextel Cup No. Driver Behind 1. K. Busch -- 2. J. Johnson -8 3. J. Gordon -16 4. M. Martin -107 5. D. Earnhardt Jr. -138 6. T. Stewart -180 7. R. Newman -326 8. M. Kenseth -437 9. E. Sadler -482 10. J. Mayfield -506

Busch overcame a broken wheel early in the race and rallied back to win the closest championship in NASCAR history.

Busch had to go into overtime to win it, with a late caution flag forcing NASCAR to run four extra laps to finish the race under a green flag. It made no difference, though, as Busch held on to finish fifth and wrap up the Nextel Cup title by just eight points over Johnson.

The new champion came into the season-ending Ford 400 leading Johnson by 18 points and Gordon by 21. It looked as if that might not be enough when the right front wheel broke, nearly putting Busch into the wall separating the pit lane from the racetrack on lap 93.

Somehow, Busch kept his car off the wall, made a stop for repairs and managed to stay with the leaders, finally fighting his way back to a fifth-place finish. That was just good enough for the 26-year-old driver to win his first Cup title. The closest previous 1-2 finish came in 1992 when Alan Kulwicki beat Bill Elliott by 10 points.

Gordon and Johnson gave it everything they had, finishing second and third after Biffle grabbed the lead on a restart on lap 269 and held off Johnson.

VIDEO Chase recap How we've reached the final race in The Chase

"This is in parallel to the Super Bowl or to the World Series, to snag this first championship that NASCAR put together with this new format and to be the first Nextel Cup champion," Busch said during his celebration in Victory Lane. "It took so much from within. It's like any other championship in the world.

"I felt like I had the whole world on my shoulders every lap, but I had my whole team behind me and I had the fan support and I knew that I had the equipment to (win). ... To be able to pull through and finish like we did -- to cap off a great season -- it's an unbelievable feeling."

Chase Facts & Figures

• Smallest point lead: Gordon by 1 over Busch after Loudon.
• Largest point lead: Busch by 96 over Gordon after Martinsville.
• Most bonus points accumulated: 55 by Busch.
• Fewest bonus points accumulated: 10 by Mayfield.
• Highest average points per race: 148 by Busch.
• Fewest average points per race: 99 by Sadler and Mayfield.
• Eight of the 10 playoff races were won by Chase drivers.
• Busch became the 27th driver to win the NASCAR title.
→ Complete list, click here.

News of Note

CHASE FOR THE NEXTEL CUP •   Inside the Chase •   Official Standings •   Superstore: Chase driver gear •   Expanded access to the Chase on TrackPass

• Each of Biffle's three career wins have come on superspeedways.
• Chevrolet now leads Ford 556-554 in all-time victories since 1949.
• Busch led the point standings for the final eight weeks.
• Kahne won the Raybestos Rookie of the Year Award.
• Four drivers were in the top 10 all season: Earnhardt Jr., Stewart, Sadler and Kenseth.
• Busch is the fourth champion in the past five years who did not lead the series in wins.
• At least one rookie of the year contender has won a Bud Pole in each of the past nine years.
• There has been a first-time Bud Pole winner in each of the past 18 years.
• For the first time since 1994, there was not a first-time winner.

Drive for '05

Ford Champions Year Driver Wins 2004 K. Busch 3 2003 M. Kenseth 1 1999 D. Jarrett 4 1992 A. Kulwicki 2 1988 B. Elliott 6 1969 D. Pearson 11 1968 D. Pearson 16 1965 N. Jarrett 13

If history is any indication, Martin and Earnhardt Jr. are primed to win their first championship in 2005.

Since 1975, the champion's average finish in the previous year's point standings is 4.5. So depending on how you want to round it, Martin (fourth) or Junior (fifth) has the pole position for next year.

Busch is only the third driver in the past 30 years to win the championship after not being in the top 10 in points the previous year; he was 11th last season. Kulwicki was 13th in 1991 before capturing the '92 title and Dale Earnhardt hoisted the Cup in 1993 after being 12th in '92.

However, if Busch wins again in 2005, he'll join Gordon (1997-98), Earnhardt (1994-93, '91-90 and '87-86), Darrell Waltrip (1981-82) and Cale Yarborough (1976-78) as the only repeat champions since 1975.

(And yeah, we know Richard Petty won in 1974-75, but those seasons bridged two previous point systems.)