The Chase Point Standings: Race #8 of 10
1 Jimmie Johnson 6,297
2 Mark Martin -73
3 Jeff Gordon -112
4 Kurt Busch -171
5 Tony Stewart -178
6 Juan Pablo Montoya -236
7 Greg Biffle -247
8 Denny Hamlin -322
9 Ryan Newman -324
10 Kasey Kahne -399
11 Carl Edwards -4340
12 Brian Vickers -520

After all was said and done at Sunday’s Dickies 500 at the brilliantly fast 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway, the Busch brothers, Kurt (90) and Kyle (232), led a total of 322 of 334 laps. However, and despite leading far less laps, it was Kurt who flashed beneath the checkered flag with the win when brother Kyle’s Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota ran out of gas with just three laps remaining.

Placing runner-up to Busch was Denny Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Third went to Matt Kenseth in a Roush Fenway Racing Ford, while Mark Martin’s Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was fourth. Kyle Busch, his car lifeless on pit lane, was scored with a 13th-place finish.

Jeff Gordon, who won the spring Texas race, led the opening lap of the 500-mile affair. Then, on lap three, disaster struck three-time and reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson was crashed on the backstretch after Sam Hornish Jr. spun into him and sent the #48 Chevrolet into the wall. Johnson and the Chevy limped behind the wall and came back well over 100 laps later to finish a heartbreaking 38th. Johnson now leads Martin in the Chase for the Sprint Cup by 73 points with just two races remaining (Phoenix and Miami).

Kurt Busch took the lead for the first time on Lap 12, shoving Gordon back to second. Seven laps later, Kyle Busch made it a Busch 1-2 at the front. At the 50-lap mark, Kurt led his younger brother by 3.961 seconds. As the laps clicked off and the caution and green flags flew, on lap number 182, Kurt was in the lead, his brother Kyle behind him and Reutimann in third. Then Reed Sorenson blew a right-front tire to bring out caution No. 5 on Lap 205. Kyle got the lead back on pit road this time, with Kurt second, followed by Reutimann, Stewart, Kenseth, Earnhardt and Mark Martin when the race restarted on Lap 213.

At the 300-lap mark, Kyle led Reutimann by 1.383 seconds, but the younger Busch didn’t have enough fuel to finish unless he drastically slowed his pace. Kurt, meanwhile, was fourth behind Kenseth. Kenseth was the first of the leaders to come in for gas while Martin made his stop on Lap 319. At the same time, Kurt Busch passed Reutimann for second and was 4.128 seconds behind Kyle. Then, on lap number 332, it happened. Kyle ran out on gas, his brother went flying by and that was the end of the story.