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| | Sunday, November 12 Gordon, not Martin, is Busch farewell winner | |||||
| Associated Press HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Jeff Gordon denied Mark Martin a big finish. Martin, bidding farewell to the Busch Grand National Series, settled for second place Saturday behind Gordon in the Miami 300. Gordon's Chevrolet led the final 71 laps in the 200-lap race and won by .241 seconds. "Those last 70 laps were some of the hardest I've driven," Gordon said. "You've got to drive those Busch cars hard, and when you have a guy like Mark Martin breathing down your neck, you've got to race even harder." Martin holds the Busch Series record with 45 career wins, 14 more than second-best Jack Ingram's total. At age 41, Martin has decided to focus next year on Winston Cup. Martin held open the possibility of returning to the Busch Series when he retires from Winston Cup. But he said he's frazzled from competing on both circuits. "I'm going to smile a little more, and stop and sign that autograph I haven't had time to sign," he said. "The only thing that's going to be a hole in my life is if my Winston Cup car runs like a dog. When that Winston Cup car runs bad, if I get in a Busch car, at least everyone says, `It's not Mark."' Martin won five races this year in the Busch Series, a steppingstone to Winston Cup. But as NASCAR's popularity grows, drivers find it increasingly difficult to compete in both series. Gordon, who has competed sporadically in the Busch Series, also is giving up the circuit this year. "I'm tickled I was able to battle with a guy like Mark in my last race," Gordon said. Gordon earned $89,575 for his fifth career Busch win. His average speed was 125.450 mph. He took the lead during the last of five cautions coming out of a pit stop on lap No. 129. Passing is difficult on Homestead's 1½-mile oval, and while Martin made repeated charges, his Ford could never pull even. "I ran way better than I expected," Martin said. "Homestead would not be a track that would be considered my strong suit." Jeff Green finished third, Jason Keller fourth and Jeff Burton fifth. Bobby Hamilton Jr., who started on the pole thanks to a track-record qualifying run of 151.490 mph, finished 22nd in the 43-car field. The polesitter has never reached the winner's circle in six Busch Series races at Homestead. | ALSO SEE Miami/HotWheels.com 300 results Notebook: Rudd sticks with what almost worked AUDIO/VIDEO   In their final Busch race, Jeff Gordon gives credit to Mark Martin for helping the Busch Series grow.wav: 115 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 Busch Series champion Jeff Green is proud of the success he's achieved this season.wav: 102 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 | |||||