NASCAR: Kyle Busch seals spot in Chase for the Sprint Cup with victory in Atlanta
Kyle Busch secured a place in the Chase for the Sprint Cup after clinching a narrow victory in Atlanta.
Last Updated: 02/09/13 9:29am
Busch held off Joey Logano over a thrilling last-lap duel to claim his fourth victory of the year and ensure a berth in the 12-car play-offs after missing out last year.
"It's a whole different situation than 365 days ago," Busch said. "We needed to prove to ourselves that we're a championship contender."
Busch's Toyota proved troublesome early on, but his pit crew made several adjustments throughout a race blighted by a succession of cautions over the closing stages.
"My boys on pit road, they're amazing. I would do anything for them," said Busch, who moved to fifth in the Sprint Cup standings. "The championship is number one on anybody's list.
"You want to be the best in your realm of racing. I'm a NASCAR driver. I want to win a championship. I've yet to collect the big prize. One of these days it will happen. Maybe it'll be 2013. Hopefully, it is."
Martin Truex Jr. came home third in Atlanta despite racing with a broken right wrist, while Busch's brother Kurt and Ryan Newman completed the top five.
Harvick, Carl Edwards and Kasey Kahne also ensured their places in the play-offs with solid drives, while Jimmie Johnson retained his lead in the overall regular-season standings.
Logano gave himself a huge boost in his bid to clinch one of the remaining five play-off drives, which will be decided at Richmond next week.
Bowyer had looked set to claim victory as he led for 48 laps until he suffered mechanical problems that culminated with smoke billowing from his Toyota engine on lap 193.
Defending Cup champion Brad Keselowski took over the lead from Bowyer, but his hopes of winning his first race of the season ended when his car stuttered to a halt 18 laps from the finish.
