Kahne, Busch find hope in otherwise lost seasons

CONCORD, N.C. -- For Kasey Kahne and Kurt Busch, for one night at least, it was like old times. Better times.

They were relevant again.

Kurt Busch

2008 Results

Starts	31
Wins	1
Top-5s	4
Top-10s	8
21st or worse	16
DNFs	3

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Kurt Busch talks about his third-place finish at Lowe's.

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On an October night at Lowe's Motor Speedway that was supposed to be mostly about the 12 drivers competing in the 2008 Chase for the Sprint Cup, non-Chasers Kahne and Busch turned back the clock and pushed toward the front.

They fell just short in the Bank of America 500, which was won by Chaser Jeff Burton. But Kahne finished second and Busch third, respectively, giving them hope for the future in seasons that have heretofore been littered with too much disappointment.

That was especially true for Busch, whose No. 2 Dodge fielded by Penske Racing had finished 21st or worse in eight of the 12 races leading up to Saturday night's event.

"For everyone at 200 Penske Way, this was a great night," Busch said. "We sniffed it. I smelled the lead for a little bit. Jeff Burton had a great car and Kasey Kahne beat us at the end for second, but we'll take third. Hopefully, the Kurt Busch fans out there saw a little glimmer of hope."

Driving the No. 9 Dodge of Gillett Evernham Motorsports, Kahne failed in his bid to become the first driver in history to win all three events hosted by LMS in the same season -- the non-points All-Star race and the Cup Series points events in the spring and fall. He won the All-Star race and the Coca-Cola 600 on successive weekends this past May.

But at least he came close to completing the unprecedented trifecta, and admitted afterward that second was the best he could have hoped for under the circumstances that unfolded late Saturday night.

"No, that was all we had. I did everything I could," Kahne said when asked if he thought he had a shot at catching Burton in the closing laps. "If it would have went 10 more laps, we probably would have been the same distance back or maybe even would have fallen back some. Kurt Busch seemed really strong there at the end. Second was the best we were going to do."

The pair of drivers had lots in common. Besides both driving Dodges and both trying to make the best of otherwise mostly lost seasons, they had learned some sobering lessons during a two-day test at the Charlotte-area track two weeks earlier. (Continued)