Weekend That Was: MIS (cont'd)

It was a credit to his improved maturity as a racecar driver, and a reward for the dogged perseverance of a team that refused to give up when it could have done so and later offered up a litany of excuses instead of hoisting the race-winner's trophy.

Quality time

After an un-Happy Hour, Tony Stewart left Michigan in a good mood after charging from the back to finish third.

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Other developments during the weekend were more subtle, but perhaps no less significant.

Take Tony Stewart. His No. 20 Chevrolet got its right-front end mashed up in an accident that wasn't his fault during the final Cup practice on Saturday at MIS. Stewart was more than peeved. He was furious with driver David Gilliland, who had failed to hand signal that he was slowing and headed for the pits as Stewart bore down on him.

The ensuing accident cost Stewart what his crew chief, Greg Zipadelli, called the most critical 45 minutes of practice because it was the 45 minutes of practice during which track conditions on Saturday most closely mirrored the ones that were expected during Sunday's steamy race under sunny, clear skies.

Yet Stewart, as frustrated as he was, calmed himself even as he talked with the media and chided Gilliland for doing something "stupid." And when his team spent extra time at the track late Saturday afternoon, Stewart stayed there with them -- when in the past [and probably at some point again in the future], he might have stormed off to his motor coach.

Stewart felt like his presence in the garage helped, even though he wasn't one of the guys swinging a mallet.

"Times when they've had to do that before, I've not stayed necessarily," Stewart said. "But I didn't have any plans [Saturday] and it was just in one of those modes where the guys weren't down about it. I stayed for what I thought was going to be a little bit, and it ended up that I stayed for the whole thing. The end result was that the guys did appreciate that."

It was a sign of leadership from a guy who in the past might not have even considered it. He went on to finish third in the race after qualifying 41st -- marking the biggest gain for a driver at a Cup race in the history of MIS.

"That wasn't the difference between 23rd or third," said Stewart, "but just to show those guys once in a while and reassure them that you care as much as they do about it, I think is probably a big thing."

Well, it was a little thing that ended up being big.

Hope for Busch

Almost overlooked in the aftermath of all that transpired in the Michigan race was the impressive sixth-place finish of Kyle Busch.

Busch had a busy week leading up to the race, basically becoming the No. 1 free agent in the sport when it was announced that Dale Earnhardt Jr. was going to drive for Hendrick Motorsports beginning next season. As a spin-off result of that, Busch and team owner Rick Hendrick mutually agreed to part ways to make room for Earnhardt.

But Busch handled what appeared to be a monumental distraction like an old pro, making him even more appealing to team owners who are lining up to try to woo him into their folds. One of those, Ray Evernham, said that Busch reminds him of a young and more impetuous Tony Stewart -- and that he considers that a real good thing.

"There were people that would have written Tony off, and that would have been a huge mistake," Evernham said. "I don't know. I never really compare drivers and stuff. But if you look at some of the problems [Kyle] has had, you could compare him to Tony. And that's not a bad person to be compared to -- because Tony has done a tremendous job in maturing and becoming a great NASCAR race driver. And he's a good person, too. I see those qualities in Kyle." (Continued)