LOUDON, N.H. (Sept. 22, 2013) — Kurt Busch salvaged a 13th-place finish in Sunday’s Sylvania 300 Sprint Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.Busch, who started fourth in the 300-lap race, never could find the proper grip and speed to run up front in his Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet.
“We didn’t hit it right on the adjustments today,” said Busch. “It was nobody’s fault, we all agreed what adjustments to make and it just didn’t work out. We struggled with the handling and couldn’t make a move to the front.”
Busch lost one spot in the driver standings and is currently seventh after the second of 10 Chase playoff races. He is only four points out of fourth.
“There’s still a long ways to go in this Chase,” noted Busch, the 2004 NASCAR champion. “When you’re off the way we were today and still finish 13th I guess it’s not all that bad. But this Furniture Row team has developed higher expectations throughout the year and when we don’t meet those standards we’re disappointed, and that’s the way it should be.”
Busch, who finished ahead of six Chase drivers, found himself as low as 26th before mounting a comeback on the 1.058-mile oval.
“While we aren’t pleased with where we finished (13th), we fought for every position and gave it our best effort,” stated Busch. “But we know we can do much better and we’ll keep on plugging away.”
The race winner was Matt Kenseth, his second straight victory. Rounding out the top-10 in order were: Kyle Busch, Greg Biffle, Jimmie Johnson, Jamie McMurray, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Brian Vickers, Jeff Burton, Carl Edwards and Martin Truex Jr.
There were 19 lead changes among 11 drivers and seven cautions for 37 laps.
The next race is Sunday (Sept. 29) at Dover (Del.) International Speedway.
