Kurt Busch overcomes adversity and Jimmie Johnson to win at Martinsville

MARTINSVILLE, VA - MARCH 30: Kurt Busch, driver of the #41 Haas Automation Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway on March 30, 2014 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)
MARTINSVILLE, VA - MARCH 30:  Kurt Busch, driver of the #41 Haas Automation Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway on March 30, 2014 in Martinsville, Virginia.  (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)
MARTINSVILLE, VA – MARCH 30: Kurt Busch, driver of the #41 Haas Automation Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway on March 30, 2014 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)

Kurt Busch told his Stewart-Haas Racing crew on the radio early in the STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway Sunday that they were done for the day. After the checkered flag however Busch was in tears as he thanked his crew and celebrated his first NASCAR Sprint Cup series win in 84 races dating back to June 2011.

Busch had made contact in the pits with Brad Keselowski raising the ire of the 2012 champion during a caution on lap 40. Shortly after Busch told his crew they were done for the day. He and Keselowski made contact on the track later in the day, but Busch overcame his issues, took the lead from Jimmie Johnson with 17 laps to go and went on to score his 25th career win.

For the fifth time at Martinsville Johnson led the most laps 296 of 500, but unlike the previous four times, failed to win, settling for second. MORE>>>

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.