SONOMA, Calif., June 26 (UPI) -- Kurt Busch won his first Sprint Cup victory of the season Sunday, finishing ahead of Jeff Gordon to claim the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma, Calif.
The victory was the initial road course win for Busch, who pitted only twice during the 110-lap race and bested Gordon by 2.7 seconds for his 23rd of Sprint Cup career win.
Gordon had trouble handling his car but picked up momentum down the stretch for a second-place finish.
Sprint Cup points leader Carl Edwards came in third after opting out of this weekend's Nationwide Series race in Wisconsin.
Clint Bowyer claimed fourth and Marcos Ambrose finished fifth.
The race was marked by two clashes between Tony Stewart and Brian Vickers. Dale Earnhardt Jr. got caught up in one of their mishaps and had to quit the event with a broken radiator.
