Kyle Busch stands up for brother; Stewart fourth

With one race remaining, Tony Stewart is in the driver's seat with a 52-point lead.
AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) -- It's a family thing.
Even as Kyle Busch celebrated victory at Phoenix on Sunday, he stood up for older brother Kurt, who was suspended by his team earlier in the day for a Friday night run-in with police.
"I just want to say I'm behind my brother 100 percent," the 20-year-old said after standing on top of his No. 5 Chevrolet and waving to the cheering crowd at Phoenix International Raceway.
Kurt Busch, the reigning Cup champion, was set down by Roush Racing earlier in the day for the final two races of the season because of a Friday night run-in with police.
Points gap
Chase leader Tony Stewart finished in fourth, and now holds a 52-point lead over Jimmie Johnson, who finished seventh. Stewart also has an 87-point cushion over Carl Edwards, who came into the race with two straight victories but finished sixth Sunday.
Kyle Busch was able to put aside his feelings long enough to win a race in which he had to battle back from a lap down and then outrace veteran and title contender Greg Biffle for his second Cup victory in 41 starts.
"You just try to put all that stuff aside and deal with it another time," the youngster said. "This isn't the area for all that stuff. Just being out here to perform my best is what I'm here to do week in and week out and there shouldn't be any kind of distractions.
"Whether or not you're on the rocks with your girlfriend or you're doing whatever else outside the racetrack, you come in here and get in that race car, you're focused and you're down to one duty, and that's obviously to win the race."
About Kurt
Unlike his younger brother, Kurt Busch made the 10-man Chase for the championship but was running in eighth, virtually eliminated from a shot at winning another title. Kenny Wallace filled in for the Roush team and finished 16th.
Biffle's Roush Racing Ford dominated the race, leading 189 of the 312 laps in the Checker Auto Parts 500. But the younger Busch, who drives for Hendrick Motorsports, used a pit stop strategy to get track position, taking the lead for the first time on lap 230 by staying out when the leaders pitted.
Biffle, who pitted, had slipped all the way to 13th for the ensuing restart. The Roush driver sliced through traffic and eventually caught and passed Busch on lap 280. But the youngster wouldn't give up, challenging the veteran and regaining the lead for good on lap 285 with a strong inside move on the mile oval.
"I knew if I could pressure him a few more laps I could probably heat up his right rear a little more and we could get by him," Busch said. "My stuff was pretty well worn out there at the end and I'm sure his was too."
Where Biffle stands
Biffle, who needed a strong showing to hang onto at least a chance to win the title, was not disappointed with his runner-up finish that left him in fourth place, 102 points behind Stewart with only next Sunday's Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway remaining.
"That is what we needed to do -- it's championship form right here," he said. "We wanted to win, but we came here and led a lot of laps and ran real strong and finished second. It just goes to show how solid this race team is."
He praised the Busch brothers, saying, "Both of those guys have a wonderful amount of talent and driving ability.
Busch went down a lap around the midpoint after pitting with a vibration, but got it back on a caution several laps later.
The suspension and the strong finish by the younger Busch took some of the spotlight away from the battle for the title, with Stewart finishing behind four-time champion Jeff Gordon.
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