It started on lap 253 when the No. 20 Chevy of Tony Stewart spun coming out of Turn 4. Jr. slowed to avoid the wreck, but Busch was unable to see Earnhardt's car amidst the cloud of smoke and his No. 5 Chevy rear-ended the No. 8 machine, causing heavy damage to both vehicles. Both cars appeared capable of winning the race, but the real story wasn't the crash involving Busch and Earnhardt, but rather what happened when the No. 5 car returned to the track with nine laps to go.

A crew repairing a banged up racecar is nothing new, and many a driver has been forced to ride around the track in a patched up junker. However, Busch wasn't behind the wheel of the No. 5 car when it returned – Earnhardt Jr. was, creating one of the most shocking moments in Nextel Cup for quite some time.

Forget the fact that Junior was driving the same car that slammed into him and ended his chance at his first win in nearly a year. Busch and Earnhardt are on different teams and both drivers will likely compete against each other for the championship this season. On the surface, it would seem that Junior was an idiot for helping out his competition, but in reality Junior came out a winner in the deal while Hendrick Motorsports and the No. 5 team were the big losers.

By racing the final nine laps, Junior moved the No. 5 car past Jimmie Johnson in the final running order, gaining the team a whopping three points. In the long run, the odds of Junior missing the Chase for the Cup by three or fewer points to Busch are as close to zero as odds get. Both drivers should easily be in the top 12 in points, making three points in the seventh race of the season essentially meaningless.