Robby Gordon congratulated Dale Earnhardt Jr. for winning at Michigan, but few fans lauded the sport's most popular driver. Credit: Autostock

Busch '06: Top Finishes

It's tough to remember starts of races. It's tougher to remember halfway points. But finishes -- that's what makes a race. The three top finishes in the 2006 Busch Series season did more than kick up a little dust.

Edwards wrecks Edwards, then gets booed

	Dale Earnhardt Jr. was booed in Victory Lane after the Busch race at Michigan. Credit: Autostock
	Carfax 250 Results Pos. Driver Make 1. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevy 2. Casey Mears Dodge 3. Robby Gordon Chevy 4. Matt Kenseth Ford 5. Mark Martin Ford 23. Carl Edwards Ford • Complete results, click here Victory LaneJunior wins amid controversy at Michigan Final lapsDale Jr. bumps Carl Edwards, then takes the checkers Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

A three-wide pass for the lead in the closing laps.

A green-white-checkered finish.

And NASCAR's most popular driver wrecking the driver who's always smiling for the win.

What else could magnify the Carfax 250 Busch Series race at Michigan in August? Um, try a post-race altercation.

Edwards put his No. 60 Ford to the front with a daring three-wide pass of Earnhardt and leader Robby Gordon with just seven laps to go. The trio appeared like they were starting the Indy 500, matched side-by-side-by-side when the caution flag came out for a crash between Kurt Busch and Denny Hamlin.

After hesitation, NASCAR declared Edwards the leader via the scoring loop. Gordon was second for the Lap 121 restart.

The drama would have to wait as Todd Kluever ran out of gas two laps later, setting up the green-white-checkered finish.

Edwards got the thing going one final time for the two-lap shootout, but Gordon and Earnhardt were on his tail. Gordon made the first move, immediately diving to the inside of Edwards just past the green flag. Despite owning the car Gordon was driving, Earnhardt didn't bite and stayed behind Edwards.

In Turn 2, Edwards appeared to get loose and slide up the track a bit, and that slight hitch in Edwards' momentum evaporated the gap between him and Earnhardt so much that Earnhardt couldn't get off the gas, tapped Edwards and sent him spinning down the backstretch.

Since NASCAR makes only one attempt at a clean overtime, the race was over. After minutes of studying tape, it was official -- Earnhardt was the winner. Gordon wound up third behind Casey Mears thanks to a last-second pass.

But things weren't over that quickly.

With Earnhardt celebrating his second Busch Series win of the season (the other was at Daytona in July), a steamed Edwards crashed the party in Victory Lane to have words with the winner as boos rang out at Michigan International Speedway. Junior appeared to even laugh at the whole thing. However, it wasn't funny business when Edwards grabbed Earnhardt's collar during the discussion. Smiles quickly erased, but the two separated quickly.

Edwards later put forth an apology for the confrontation and an on-track bump after the race.

"I put everything I can into winning races," said Edwards, who was fined $20,000 and placed on probation by NASCAR. "I was wrecked and I reacted. It was wrong on my part."

Menard holds off the champ at Milwaukee

Paul Menard is set to move up to the Cup Series in 2007, and if there was any question as to whether he's ready or not it may have been answered in the closing laps at The Milwaukee Mile.

Paul Menard earned his only NASCAR victory when he held off Kevin Harvick at Milwaukee. Credit: Padraic Major/NASCAR

AT&T 250 Results Pos. Driver Make 1. Paul Menard Chevy 2. Denny Hamlin Chevy 3. J.J. Yeley Chevy 4. Jason Leffler Chevy 5. Mike Wallace Dodge 19. Kevin Harvick Chevy • Complete results, click here Victory LanePaul Menard celebrates his first Busch victory at Milwaukee Final lapsPaul Menard holds off Kevin Harvick for the victory Tough dayKevin Harvick talks about racing Paul Menard Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

After running near the front all night, Paul Menard worked his way to the top spot with 30 laps remaining in the AT&T 250 and was set to cruise to his first Busch Series victory. With four laps left in the scheduled 250-lapper, however, a restart put Kevin Harvick on Menard's yellow bumper. If Tony Stewart is the most feared Cup driver in the rearview, Harvick held that title in the Busch Series with his quest to break Sam Ard's record for the most victories in a season.

That didn't sit well with Menard.

Harvick, who may have had the faster racecar, locked onto Menard, who was trying to protect the coveted bottom groove at Milwaukee.

"He didn't want to go up there, I guess," Menard said of Harvick's refusal to attempt a pass on the outside. "He thought the best way was through me."

So Harvick nudged Menard. And nudged some more. And some more.

Harvick tapped the DEI driver so hard in Turn 2 that the rear of Menard's No. 11 Chevy lifted and the car turned sideways in the corner. Menard righted the machine, kept his bottom position and watched Harvick spin to his worst finish of 2006.

Following the battle closely was third-place J.J. Yeley, and when the Harvick-Menard dance finished, Yeley had such a run on second place that his Chevrolet tapped Harvick and sent him into a 360 as much of the field drove by; seven cars wadded up trying to avoid the spin.

Harvick collected himself and wound up 19th of 21 cars on the lead lap, by far his worst performance in a season that saw him finish only three times outside the top 10.

Menard, however, pulled away after a lengthy caution and green-white-checkered ending that extended the race eight laps past its set distance.

The win made Menard the second non-Cup driver in as many weeks to win a Busch race after David Gilliland won at Kentucky. As it turned out, they were the only two non-Cup drivers to win a race.

Kurt Busch gets wild with Robby Gordon to win The Glen

The rearview mirror wasn't the only place Kurt Busch saw Robby Gordon. Credit: Al Bello/Getty Images for NASCAR

Zippo 200 Results Pos. Driver Make 1. Kurt Busch Dodge 2. Robby Gordon Chevy 3. Jamie McMurray Dodge 4. Greg Biffle Ford 5. John Andretti Ford • Complete results, click here Victory LaneKurt Busch celebrates his NBS win at The Glen Final lapsRobby Gordon hits the grass, then Kurt Busch on the final lap Runner-upRobby Gordon talks about racing Kurt Busch Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

By the time Kurt Busch completed the final lap of the Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen, his car went from bright yellow and clean to covered in dust, two donut marks on the driver's door and white-wall tires -- not by choice.

On the race's final restart -- a scheduled green-white-checkered finish, no less -- Busch paced the single-file grid through the first half of The Glen's one-groove road course. A victory appeared certain for Busch as he maintained his lead throughout the first of the two-lap overtime.

But there was one more lap.

The snake passed the esses halfway through the track's 2.45-mile map and then into the chicane, where the single groove became a little wider thanks to Robby Gordon.

Gordon used a little bit of his off-road experience only without his Trophy Truck. Running second, he dipped his two right-side tires over the curb and into the grass through the right-hand portion of the chicane, eliminating the two-carlength lead. In the following left-hand portion, Gordon drove his car completely over the rumble strip and into the grass as fire breathed from beneath his No. 7 Chevy.

The move slammed Gordon into the side of Busch's No. 39 Dodge and sent both of them across the asphalt and into the grass in the third twist of the tricky turn. Busch used Gordon's car as a cushion, and it turned out to be the victory move. Coming off the corner, momentum carried Gordon wide while Busch was able to navigate under control and pull away in the final four turns.

"We knew we were better than him there," said Gordon, who admitted he did use his brakes. "I just tried to move him, and he saved it and pushed me back on the other side. Fun race."

"That was some really good racing there," said Roy McCauley, Busch's crew chief. "It got a little rough, but Kurt showed just how good of a driver he really is. I don't think you'll see a better show here at Watkins Glen for a while."