Photo: Stewart-Haas Racing
Date: May 13, 2017
Event: Go Bowling 400 (Round 11 of 36)
Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Kansas Speedway in Kansas City (1.5-mile oval)
Format: 267 laps, broken into three stages (80 laps/80 laps/107 laps)
Start/Finish: 6th/19th (Running, completed 267 of 267 laps)
Point Standing: 15th (246 points, 229 out of first)
Race Winner: Martin Truex Jr. of Furniture Row Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-80):
● Kurt Busch started sixth, finished 10th.
● Battled a loose-handling condition on entry and was tight off the corners for much of the stage.
● Finished Stage 1 in the 10th spot, earning one bonus point.
● Visited pit road at the end of Stage 1 to take four tires, add fuel, insert a spring rubber in the right rear and get a wedge adjustment.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 81-160):
● Started 12th, finished 27th.
● Continued to battle a loose-handling condition on entry and was tight off the corners.
● Was run into by Jimmie Johnson on lap 100, resulting in cosmetic damage to the right side of his Ford Fusion.
● Had a flat right-front tire on lap 134, requiring him to make a green-flag pit stop. Busch lost two laps as a result.
● Took the wave-around on a lap-137 caution, then got the free pass on a lap 147 caution to return to the lead lap.
● Visited pit road on lap 149 to take four tires and fuel.
Final Stage Recap (Laps 161-267):
● Started first, finished 19th.
● Staying out under the caution between stages while everyone else pitted gave Busch the lead.
● Continued to battle a tight-handling condition through the middle and exit of the corners.
● Got left-side damage on a lap-262 restart while running fourth.
● Lost 15 positions in the closing laps to finish 19th.
Notes:
● Busch made his 23rd Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start at Kansas Speedway.
● Busch led once for a total of three laps.
Next Up:
The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race Saturday, May 20 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. Coverage of the non-points-paying event begins at 8 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1.
