The No. 97 crew helped Kurt Busch overcome an early tire problem for an eighth-place finish at Talladega. Credit: Autostock

Busch loses ground, but eager to race at Kansas

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Defending Nextel Cup champion Kurt Busch has faced more hurdles than Gail Devers thus far in 2005 Chase. And until Sunday they were successful in tripping him up.

And while the first two setbacks significantly halted his progress, the latest such obstacle -- a blown right-front tire while leading the UAW-Ford 500, and subsequent contact with the outside wall -- merely slowed him down. A speed bump.

Inside the Chase Point standings after 'Dega No. Driver Pts. Behind 1. T. Stewart 5,519 -- 2. R. Newman 5,515 -4 3. R. Wallace 5,443 -76 4. J. Johnson 5,437 -82 5. G. Biffle 5,421 -98 6. C. Edwards 5,419 -100 7. M. Kenseth 5,408 -111 8. J. Mayfield 5,407 -112 9. M. Martin 5,381 -138 10. Ku. Busch 5,339 -180 • Race Results, click here • Cup Standings, click here Nice finishKurt Busch talks about his eighth-place finish UAW-Ford 500Catch all the 'Dega highlights with TrackPass Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

Busch rallied to finish eighth Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway in a race that sent many Chase contenders home prematurely, Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin among them.

"We bounced back -- bunch of hurdles we have to overcome," Busch said. "We haven't been given any breaks so far this Chase, but we're opening the door to finish well."

Despite the top-10 finish -- his first since winning at Richmond three weeks ago -- Busch still lost 10 points to the championship leader. He entered the event 170 points Johnson, and leaves 180 points behind new leader Tony Stewart.

"Once again, we're not getting any breaks right now," Busch said. "A top-10 is great. To have a beat up and bruised racecar after a flat tire, and for some unknown reason we had another bad luck issue.

"Eighth was great considering our car was very damaged, but it's just a question of 'Why do we get a flat tire while leading?' We bounced back, though. It's Talladega. There was a bunch of kids up there that had never won before racing hard, and they're going for it. Made for some antsy times."

Busch is antsy to get to Kansas next weekend. His car was the fastest during testing at the 1.5-mile oval.

"Next week at Kansas we're going for it," he said. "We're dialed in."