Busch’s trademark used at OPS

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There was something special about Kyle Busch in 2005 when he ran the TD Banknorth Oxford 250 for the first time. He was 20 years old at the time and started 28th.

Oxford Plains Speedway has a couple of racing grooves, maybe even three depending upon who you talk to, but it is a cozy third-mile oval and passing can be a challenge.

It requires patience and diligence.

Busch had both and he also has an aggressive and creative driving style that has made him a villain to a lot of Sprint Cup fans.

On that particular night in 2005, it took Busch just 77 laps to maneuver from 28th place to the front.

He is the master of the bump draft and Jimmie Johnson is among the Sprint Cup drivers who can attest to Busch’s expertise.

Bump drafting is a tactic in which a driver strategically nudges the car in front of him to loosen the car’s handling, enabling him to pass the car.

Busch stole the Chicagoland 400 from Johnson on Saturday night using the bump draft on a restart with two laps remaining to pass Johnson on the outside and take his seventh checkered flag in the Sprint Cup series.

That same move was used by Busch in 2005 as he carefully moved cars out of the way in order to pass them. He would use whatever groove was available to make the pass.

“My spotter told me what he was doing so I just pulled over for him,” said Albany Township’s Ricky Rolfe. “I thought it would be easier to pull over for him than to have him move me.”

Rolfe was impressed by the fact Busch ran so well in a car in which he had very little seat time.

“He was really fast in a car that wasn’t his,” added Rolfe.

Busch wound up finishing sixth due to a loose lugnut.

Frenchville native Shawn Martin had fond memories of Busch.

“He was coming up behind me so I moved out of his way and waved him by. When he went by me, he gave me a wave [to thank me]. That was real neat. He’s an unbelievable driver,” said Martin.

And Busch is having a remarkable year, leading the Sprint Cup points by 262; winning five Nationwide Series races and two more in the Craftsman Truck series.

Between the three series, he has 26 top-five finishes in 46 races.

DeLong will be missed

It was March 31, 1999 and two Bangor Daily News photographers, Bob DeLong and Kevin Bennett, were in scramble mode at a computer store in Anaheim, Calif. They desperately needed to find the proper software for two cameras the BDN had just purchased.

DeLong and Bennett were to break in the digital cameras at the Frozen Four where the University of Maine would nab its second NCAA hockey title.

For anyone who knew DeLong, it came as no surprise he and Bennett were able to find the right software and get the shots they needed.

DeLong, a gentle and affable man with a calm demeanor and good sense of humor, never panicked. DeLong, who died last Friday, was also creative as he built several useful gadgets at home that were used by him and other staff photographers.

DeLong was a conscientious, first-class professional who cared deeply about his job, his family and his co-workers.

He’d give you the shirt off his back and ask if there was any other way he could help you.

He was a joy to work with and you were blessed to have him as a friend.

Bob will be sorely missed.

lmahoney@bangordailynews.net

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