Kyle Busch saved his NASCAR season by winning a gutsy side-by-side sprint to the finish against Mark Martin in the Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway Saturday. Fighting hard for a berth in the Chase for the championship, Busch drove a steady and smooth race at one ofAmerican stock cars' toughest tracks to end a 13-race winless run and keep his title hopes alive. His fourth win of the season – tied with Martin for most in the series –jumped him two spots in the standings to 13th. With two races to go before the 12-driver field is set, Busch trails 12th-place driver Matt Kenseth by just 34 points. “No pressure on us yet!” his team radioed after he crossed the finish line. “We're not going down without a fight!” Busch was silent for a few seconds before celebrating with a smokey burnout on the front straight and his traditional bow to the crowd. He then grabbed the checkered flag from a NASCAR official, but gave it to a fan through a hole in the fence. “I hope this just isn't a fluke to get in the Chase,” he said in Victory Lane. “We need to run well at Atlanta and Richmond.” Martin, the pole-sitter, finished second in the 1,000th start of his career. Just like Busch, he improved his Chase chances and moved up two spots to 10th. But he could have moved Busch out of his way several times over the final 50 laps, including the dramatic four-lap sprint to the finish. Instead, he raced him clean and defended his decision not to use his bumper on Busch. Marcos Ambrose was third, while Greg Biffle and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top five. Hamlin came back from an early tire issue. Ryan Newman was sixth and was followed by Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kenseth. Four-time series champion Jeff Gordon struggled and finished 23rd.
