by DUSTIN LONG , News & Record

Little could he have imagined how soon things would change. Like a sudden downpour, drama filled Texas Motor Speedway, lasting all the way to the checkered flag when Kurt Busch's fuel gamble paid off for more than just him.

That was just part of a day that saw points leader Jimmie Johnson crash on the third lap, spend more than hour in the garage for repairs, finish a season-worst 38th and see his points lead shrink.

Johnson leads Mark Martin by 73 points heading into this weekend's race at Phoenix International Raceway. Only one other time in the Chase's history has the leader's gap been so large this late, but Johnson's woes give his foes hope.

"The race is still on, man," Martin said after his fourth-place finish. "I don't know why everybody tries to count this thing out and doesn't just wait and watch."

Johnson wasn't the only driver to leave disappointed. Kyle Busch, on the cusp of becoming the first driver to win a Truck, Nationwide and Sprint Cup race on consecutive days at the same track, was foiled when he ran out of gas three laps from the end. His teammate, Denny Hamlin, made the same type of fuel gamble and finished second.

Although Johnson has said that anything could happen in the Chase, many all but gave him his record-breaking fourth consecutive title after his points lead grew at Talladega.

Fortunes changed Sunday when he tried to pass Sam Hornish Jr. in turn 2. Hornish wiggled, skated up the track and hit Johnson's car on the left side door area. Johnson's right rear slapped the wall. He fought to regain control when Hornish clipped Johnson on the left front and sent Johnson's car cutting down the track where he slammed into the inside wall.

"I wish he could have waited two more laps before he lost control of his car," Johnson said, noting Hornish spun again later in the race.

The damage to Johnson's car was massive. The front had to be replaced. The rear-end housing was replaced. As was the rear deck lid, wing, suspension parts and driveshaft.

Crew chief Chad Knaus told Johnson that they were done after his initial inspection, but changed his diagnosis upon further examination.

"I just sat in the car and thinking through what went on and how I could have done something different," Johnson said, adding that he could see TV monitors in the garage and watched the progress of Martin and Jeff Gordon as repairs were made.

"I guess after enough time sitting there, I finally calmed down some and caught my breath, relaxed. The first 20 or 30 minutes of that were pretty painful."

Johnson was back on the track - more than 115 laps behind the leaders - when title contenders Juan Pablo Montoya and Carl Edwards crashed and Jeff Gordon spun to avoid the incident. Gordon struggled all race but finished 13th and remains third in the standings, 112 points behind Johnson.

Johnson's woes notwithstanding, this race was a Busch brothers reunion. Kurt and Kyle each led six times. Kyle Busch led 232 laps; Kurt 89. The rest of the field combined to lead 13 of the 334 laps.

Kyle Busch, not only looking to set history but running his first race with new crew chief Dave Rogers, seemed headed for the win until he ran out of fuel on the backstretch. Kyle Busch finished 11th and left without comment.

Kyle's misfortune benefited Kurt, who earned his second victory of the season and 20th of his career.

"It felt like old times, the way that we raced Legends cars with each other coming up through the ranks," Kurt Busch said.

There was never this much at stake for Kurt or fan Michael McGee, who won $1 million from race sponsor Dickies for picking Busch to win the race.

McGee, an agricultural teacher from Broken Bow, Okla., admitted he wasn't a big NASCAR fan.

"I watched it on TV every now and then, but I didn't follow it that close," he said.

Sunday, it was hard to look away with all that happened throughout the race.

Contact Dustin Long at 373-7062 or dustin.long@news-record.com RACE RESULTS

Sprint Cup

DICKIES 500

(At Texas Motor Speedway; Fort Worth)

Lap length: 1.5 miles

(Start position in parentheses)

1. (3) Kurt Busch, Dodge, 190 points.

2. (25) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 175.

3. (30) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 165.

4. (7) Mark Martin, Chevy, 160.

5. (24) Kevin Harvick, Chevy, 155.

6. (4) Tony Stewart, Chevy, 150.

7. (10) Clint Bowyer, Chevy, 146.

8. (8) Greg Biffle, Ford, 142.

9. (42) Jeff Burton, Chevy, 138.

10. (16) AJ Allmendinger, Ford, 134.

11. (5) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 140.

12. (26) Ryan Newman, Chevy, 127.

13. (1) Jeff Gordon, Chevy, 129.

14. (27) Martin Truex Jr., Chevy, 121.

15. (19) Marcos Ambrose, Toyota, 118.

16. (13) David Reutimann, Toyota, 115.

17. (17) David Ragan, Ford, 112.

18. (31) Scott Speed, Toyota, 109.

19. (14) Joey Logano, Toyota, 106.

20. (22) Jamie McMurray, Ford, 103.

21. (36) Casey Mears, Chevy, 100.

22. (33) Elliott Sadler, Dodge, 97.

23. (40) Michael Waltrip, Toyota, 94.

24. (41) John Andretti, Chevy, 91.

25. (9) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevy, 88.

26. (15) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 85.

27. (29) Robby Gordon, Toyota, 82.

28. (21) David Gilliland, Toyota, 79.

29. (39) Paul Menard, Ford, 76.

30. (38) Erik Darnell, Ford, 73.

31. (28) Bobby Labonte, Chevy, 70.

32. (32) Regan Smith, Chevy, 67.

33. (2) Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 64.

34. (43) Bill Elliott, Ford, 45.3, 61.

35. (35) Brad Keselowski, Dodge, 58.

36. (18) Reed Sorenson, Dodge, 55.

37. (20) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevy, 52.

38. (12) Jimmie Johnson, Chevy, 49.

39. (6) Carl Edwards, Ford, 46.

40. (11) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 43.

41. (37) Michael McDowell, Toyota, 40.

42. (34) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, 37.

43. (23) Mike Skinner, Chevy, 34.

Race statistics

Average speed of race winner: 147.137 mph. Time of race: 3 hours, 24 minutes, 18 seconds. Margin of victory: 25.686 seconds. Caution flags: 5 for 26 laps. Lead changes: 13 among 4 drivers.

Lap leaders: J.Gordon 1-11; Ku.Busch 12-57; Ky.Busch 58-87; Ku.Busch 88; Ky.Busch 89-145; D.Hamlin 146-147; Ky.Busch 148-167; Ku.Busch 168; Ky.Busch 169-172; Ku.Busch 173-207; Ky.Busch 208-268; Ku.Busch 269-271; Ky.Busch 272-331; Ku.Busch 332-334.

Leaders summary (driver, times led, laps led): Ky.Busch, 6 times for 232 laps; Ku.Busch, 6 times for 89 laps; J.Gordon, 1 time for 11 laps; D.Hamlin, 1 time for 2 laps.

* Kurt Busch gambles with fuel and wins, while Jimmie Johnson crashes early.

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