Busch

AVONDALE, Ariz. -- A year ago, Kurt Busch was in the midst of a great late-season run that included three wins in the last five races.

The big finish to the 2002 season, including a sixth-place in the race at Phoenix International Raceway, made Busch one of the favorites to win this year's Winston Cup championship.

Instead, he is a distant ninth in points with two races to go and has failed to finish eight races this year -- tied for the most by any driver in the top 20 in the standings.

Busch appeared to have the best car on the track Sunday in the Checker Auto Parts 500, leading a race-high 98 of 312 laps. But an unplanned pit stop for gas cost sent him from the lead to 22nd.

Thanks to a late charge, he finished fourth behind winner Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman.

"Each week it just seems like we're behind the eight ball and all the bad breaks keep going against us," Busch said. "We felt we had to come in and top off. ... That was this week."

He was pleased to come back for a top five finish, though.

"Yeah, it's the same old story -- we just can't buy a break," Busch said. "Everything is turning against us, but our results are starting to turn around a little bit.

"This Phoenix mile has been good to me, so it's a good finish and we led some laps."

Finding the groove
Newman held off Busch for a third-place finish Sunday, a big improvement on his first three races here.

Newman, whose best previous finish at PIR was last year's 18th, was very happy with the improvement.

"I've always known what the fast line was," he said. "It was just a matter of communicating with the team and having everything together to get it right.

"We kept tuning on the car and the guys did an awesome job, both on strategy and at the same time tuning the racecar to the racetrack with my feedback."

Trading places
Crew chiefs Pat Tryson and Ben Leslie will swap places on Monday, with Tryson taking over Mark Martin's No. 6 Roush Racing Ford and Leslie moving to Ricky Rudd's No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford.

Both teams have had disappointing seasons, with Martin 17th in the points and Rudd 21st. Neither driver has won a race in 2003.

Roush and the Wood Brothers have a working relationship, with Roush providing engines and technical support for the No. 21.

Team owner Jack Roush said one reason for the swap was the expected move by the Wood Brothers from Stuart, Va., to Charlotte, N.C., where most of the Winston Cup teams are based.

"That will put them a lot closer to our operation so, beginning with that move, we are going to revitalize the No. 21 car by putting Ben with the Wood Brothers and Ricky Rudd. That will allow the No. 21 program to get closer to our operations in Concord (N.C.)."

Team co-owner Eddie Wood said he expects the swap to make both teams stronger.

"For the next couple of weeks, it will be like one race team with two drivers. Everybody is going to be working together. Pat will use whatever he needs and Ben will be able to take whatever information that he needs from both groups. Hopefully, that will carry over into next year."

Martin finished 10th and Rudd 17th in their last races with their current crew chiefs.

He's back
Martin, the winningest driver in Busch Series history, will unretire for three races next season as part of a Roush Racing deal with sponsor Pennzoil.

Martin retired from Busch in 2000 with 45 race wins. He and teammates Matt Kenseth and Jeff Burton will each drive three races in cars sponsored by Pennzoil, which will also be an associated sponsor on all of Roush's Nextel Cup cars in 2004.

"I'm confident we can pick up where we left off ... as a highly competitive team that is capable of running up front and winning races," Martin said. "I can't wait to get started."

Team officials said the race schedule for the new program will be announced later.

Spark plugs
Track officials estimated Sunday's crowd at 100,000. ... Earnhardt's best previous finish in three starts at Phoenix was fifth last year. ... Earnhardt's win was Chevrolet's third Phoenix victory and only the fifth time in 16 races at PIR that a Ford has not won.