Busch

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Kurt Busch's victory Sunday in the Old Dominion 500 gave him two career victories, both on short tracks.

But this one was completely unlike the first.

In that race, he nudged Jimmy Spencer's car aside with 55 laps to go and won at Bristol, Tenn., leaving Spencer fuming about an unfair pass.

On Sunday, Busch had the lead with Johnny Benson on his bumper, but the banging was at a minimum even with Benson seeking his first win.

"He raced me great. I raced him great," Busch said.

The absence of postrace carping this time will make this victory easier to enjoy "because who finished second was a very professional race car driver this weekend," Busch said.

Benson joked about bumping Busch's car a few times in the closing laps, but never enough to allow him to pull even or pass the leader.

The last few laps also included another Spencer experience, Busch said, because Spencer didn't move aside to let the leaders fight to win.

"That's just the kind of professional that he is," Busch said.

Bodine watch

	T. Bodine

The Old Dominion 500 was Todd Bodine's first race since he was placed on probation for the rest of the year for careless driving, and brothers Brett Bodine and Geoffrey Bodine made it a family affair.

Before 20 laps had been run, Brett Bodine's car clipped the rear of John Andretti's in Turn 4, spinning Andretti and bringing out a caution.

Then, on lap No. 101, Geoffrey Bodine, filling in for Kenny Wallace because Wallace was racing in the Busch event in Memphis, spun out.

Geoffrey Bodine, with four career Winston Cup victories at Maertinsville, later had the lead for a time when he stayed out while the leaders pitted under caution, but he soon spun again and faded.

Todd Bodine stayed out of trouble and finished 30th, one lap down. Brett finished 38th and Geoffrey finished 39th, both three laps down.

Fast recovery

	Rudd

Ricky Rudd and Casey Atwood both went two laps down when they cut tires within the first 10 laps. Both had to labor slowly around the track and pit during green-flag racing.

But both had both laps back in short order, thanks to cautions that sent the rest of the field onto pit road and fast cars that allowed Rudd, then Atwood to pass leader Dave Blaney following a restart on lap No. 48.

Rudd worked his way into the top five before the race was half over and finished third. Atwood finished 21st and remained the only fulltime driver in the Winston Cup series not to lead a lap this season.

Rudd also came to the defense of track president Clay Campbell after the race. Campbell had been criticized all weekend for grinding the lower groove in both turns to remove bumps without first consulting the drivers.

"I think Clay went from a zero to a hero, it looks like," he said, noting the new surface seemed to present no difficulties in the race.

Rough weekend

	Petty

Kyle Petty and the three Petty Enterprises teams had a rough weekend that started even before they got to Martinsville.

On Thursday night at about 6 p.m., Petty received a call informing him that Jerry Nadeau, driver of Petty's No. 44 Dodge, was injured in a go-kart race and would likely miss four to six weeks with rib injuries.

The team quickly swapped Nadeau's seat and set-up in the car with the one's preferred by replacement driver Steve Grissom, who drove the car for several races this year and was still doing testing for the Pettys.

It was all downhill thereafter. All three Petty cars needed provisional spots to make the field for Sunday, starting 38th, 40th and 42nd.

Andretti finished 13th, Petty was 37th and Grissom was 40th. As for Nadeau, expected to be announced as the new driver for Thomas Moore's No. 36 Pontiac for next season, Petty has told him to plan on taking the rest of the year to recuperate and prepare for that ride.

"He doesn't owe it to us. He's done a phenomenal job for us," said Petty, the CEO of Petty Enterprises. "But he's got a deal next year with the 36 car and it would be better for him to heal up and get ready."

Grissom was signed just for Sunday's race, but with four events left on the season, including a stop in Atlanta, he may be called upon to drive the 44 again.

The 44 will be Christian Fittipaldi's car next season, with Petty planning to put the rookie in ARCA, Busch and Winston Cup races.

Pit stops