FanHouse Kyle Busch

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) -- Kyle Busch only needed the green flag to drop to win his first NASCAR title. His coronation was never in doubt and neither, really, was the outcome of the Nationwide Series finale.

Busch made it a double dose of celebration for Joe Gibbs Racing, wrapping up the series championship before turning a single lap and capping Saturday night at Homestead-Miami Speedway with his ninth trip to Victory Lane.

"It's not easy to win in any division in this sport when you're racing against some of the best," Busch said. "It's a big deal."

Notes, quotes and a dash of commentary from a NASCAR weekend in Texas.

What a difference a crew chief makes.

Kyle Busch, a Sprint Cup nobody in the last few weeks, rocketed back to his expected form with new team leader Dave Rogers calling the shots Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway. Busch had the dominant car and led 232 of 334 laps before a fuel miscalculation or a blind shot at a win kept him from making history by being the first driver to win three races in one weekend.

And strangely, Busch's old form of letting his crew chief do the post-race talking returned, too.

Where: Texas Motor Speedway
Time: Sunday 3:15 p.m. EST
TV/Radio: ABC, PRN Radio
Twitter: @FanHouseRacing
Forecast: Mostly cloudy, Low 70s
Distance: 334 laps (501 miles)
Pole Winner: Jeff Gordon
2008 Winner: Carl Edwards
Ladies and gentleman, there was nothing wrong with last week's race at Talladega -- if you ask Tony Stewart or NASCAR.

This week, each of them blamed the fan uproar solely on the media (mainly ESPN) for ultimately putting such ideas about the bad racing at Talladega into the heads of fans. Race fans, Stewart and NASCAR feel, were induced with propaganda by television to believe that they were getting shafted by NASCAR.

Notes, quotes & commentary after 501 laps around a Virginian paperclip.

I get what NASCAR is trying do, I really do.

They want these races to be dramatic, to make good television and perhaps provide a sense of danger to fans like ESPN's Ed Hinton believes they crave. It's no different than any other sport, movie or story -- dramatic moments bring eyeballs.

But at some point, NASCAR needs to get a whole lot better at not allowing a stalled race car to sit in peril at the start/finish line in the name of a dramatic finish.

Despite turning in a four-win 2009 season and leading Kyle Busch to a series best eight victories last year, Steve Addington (far right, with Busch) is being replaced by Dave Rogers as crew chief of Busch's No. 18 Toyota beginning with the Nov. 8 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway.

Addington, 45, who has served as crew chief of the No. 18 car for five years, will be reassigned within the Joe Gibbs Racing organization, according to a news release from the team on Tuesday.

"We evaluate all of our teams on an ongoing basis and believe this is a change that will make the 18 team stronger as we prepare for next season,'' said JGR President J.D. Gibbs. "We think highly of Steve and the job he has done and we look forward to him remaining a part of the JGR family."

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Brad Keselowski held off points leader Kyle Busch on the final lap to win the Kroger On Track For the Cure 250 in a green-white-checker finish in Saturday's Nationwide Series race at Memphis Motorsports Park.

Keselowski was leading when a caution came out with two laps to go because Stephen Wallace spun after tangling with Matt Kenseth. Wallace banged into Kenseth's car after the race and the two had words on pit road.

Keselowski held onto the lead through the overtime segment. Busch finished second and leads Carl Edwards by 215 points in the standings.

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Tony Stewart may be working spots for Burger King at the moment, but at the end of Sunday's race, he was making chicken salad.

"It was making chicken salad out of chicken you know what," said Stewart after finishing 5th. "We were pretty fortunate to get a couple of breaks there when we needed them."

The 'breaks' Stewart was talking about including getting back on the lead lap after falling behind thanks to a miscue on pit road. You could also toss in the fact that he kept his Chase hopes alive by not taking a finish deep in the field.

Casey Mears has had a downright awful season in 2009, but it got a little bit better on Sunday.

Race: Pepsi 500
Where: Auto Club Speedway, Fontana, Calif.
Time: Sunday 3 p.m./EST
TV/Radio: ABC, Motor Racing Network
Twitter: Updates @ FanHouseRacing
Forecast: Mid-70s, Clear
Distance: 250 laps (500 miles)
Pole Winner: Denny Hamlin
2008 Winner: Jimmie Johnson


A nice bout with the flu has Kyle Busch reeling this weekend at Auto Club Speedway. Busch was leading yesterday's Nationwide Series race when he came to pit road under caution to have Denny Hamlin relieve him of his driving duties.

Please follow Joey Logano's actions and keep your hands and feet inside this ride we call Sprint Cup Notes & Quotes at all times.

Michael Waltrip's crash on lap 86 didn't look too vicious compared to Joey Logano's tumbling crash on lap 31, but when you take into account the angle of impact and sudden stop Waltrip's No. 55 experienced, it would easily be the most dangerous of the two.

His Toyota suffered a blown right front tire that uncontrollably rocketed Waltrip into the outside wall. After getting out of his damaged machine, Waltrip was feeling awful thankful for the safety improvements NASCAR has implemented in the past few years.

RICHMOND, Va. -- If the Chase for the Championship can live up to the race that launched it, NASCAR will be must-see TV for these last 10 races of the season. So let the games begin.

The 12-driver playoff field wasn't set until the final lap of Saturday's Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway ending with a storybook scenario complete with heroes and villains, white and black hats, sentimental favorites and potential spoilers.

Mark Martin is in. Kyle Busch is out. Brian Vickers made it. Matt Kenseth did not.

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