Busch, Gordon settle for top-fives in wild Cup race (cont'd)

But both barely knew who they were racing with -- except for each other -- while the track got slicker as rain began to fall.

"It was funny, the fact that [Gordon] thought that those cars were lapped cars, because we thought the same thing," Busch said. "My crew chief didn't relay to me the information about the No. 07 [Casey Mears] or the No. 00 [David Reutimann] or the other cars that ended up finishing strong, because I thought I was just aiming for the 24 [Gordon]."

“

I was trying to be careful. The honest thing is I didn't realize I was racing those guys for position, and I wasn't sure who was a lap down and who was on [the lead lap] who was stretching fuel, what was going on.

”

-- JEFF GORDON

"I was trying to be careful," Gordon said. "The honest thing is I didn't realize I was racing those guys for position, and I wasn't sure who was a lap down and who was on [the lead lap] who was stretching fuel, what was going on.

"But I thought it was interesting that some guys that we were racing were racing really hard. And it took a little bit out of my car to push that hard behind somebody, because when you get up behind somebody, you lose the nose and it makes the tires go away a little bit.

"Once I got by, I felt like I could pull Kurt, but then it started raining. It got to where it was raining pretty hard down in [Turns] 3 and 4 and I started checking up and being probably a little bit too cautious, and [Busch] was being real aggressive.

"You know, for all good purposes, I felt like we were racing one another for the win, hoping that the 20 was going to have to either pit or run out [of fuel]. I basically checked up and when he got to my inside, it was going to be another race like it was on those restarts -- it was going to be a lot of eight tires are better than four and we were just seeing how it turned out."

But the 11th and final caution flew as they headed into Turn 3 and the race, ultimately, was over.

"I had no idea the 20 car [Logano] was the leader," Busch said. "I found out they were throwing a yellow and the 20 was leading at the same time, so kind of a bummer. When I drove into 3, catching [Gordon] big time, the crew chief radioed in and said, '20 is the leader.' It almost startled me. I forgot where the brake pedal was or the steering wheel because it was, like, 'wait a minute; I thought I was racing the 24.'"

Earlier in the day, the restart difficulties both Gordon and Busch alluded to came up when, following a restart, Busch tried to get going from the bottom groove and slid up into Gordon, moving him up the race track. Gordon came on his radio and in effect, threatened to retaliate if Busch did it again.

Afterward, both men said it was a false alarm caused by the restart procedure that puts all lead lap cars at the front of the field, lined up two-by-two.

"I felt like I was on ice out there [so] I took the outside lane [when leading on restarts]," Gordon said. "I could get a good start, but you know it's funny that Kurt was saying he wasn't very good on the restarts, because I felt like he's a lot better than I was.

"I couldn't even run in the bottom lane and he could get down there but he couldn't quite clear me and the one time, I don't know if he just slipped or what, but pushed me pretty wide, and it almost got a little ugly. At that point, you know that whoever gets out front seems to have a huge advantage, and that's why I was fighting as hard as I was on the inside, and while he was fighting as hard as he was on the inside."

"When you inject [double-file restarts] into our racing, it seems like it changed the whole game," Busch said. "There's more to think about and [Sunday] after Lap 150, you don't know when the rain is going to come, the race would have been complete -- I actually had raindrops on my windshield.

"To me, that's the whole race and you better go get what you can, so I pushed the go button, over stepped the line, rubbed Jeff a little bit and knew the boundary line that I crossed. I stepped over the line a little bit but that's the excitement.

"I think Jeff can have a smile on his face right now. It's great, this sport has been clean and these guys you race with are clean and you can rub a little like that and still finish second or third -- that's all right.

"But yet, if I was on the outside and he was on the inside restarting, he probably would have slid up into us. It's just a slick track. You need five or six laps to get going and then start racing."

"If I was on the inside," Gordon said with a laugh, "I might never have made it."

What was best for Busch, and most important about his day, was his team maintained its usual high level of performance.

"I think consistency is important, and you have to continue to do that if you want to make the Chase," Busch said. "But if [the point leaders] stretch it out, no matter how far they stretch it out, as long as I'm in the top 12, then we're going to make the Chase. If we got a win [Sunday], those extra 10 points would carry into the Chase. That was my mind set, try to go for the win and if they finish ahead of us, they slide away with more points but as long as I keep my cushion on 12, that's the most important part."