Photo: Stewart-Haas Racing
Date: April 24, 2017
Event: Food City 500 (Round 8 of 36)
Series: Monster EnergyNASCAR Cup Series
Location: Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway (.533-mile oval)
Format: 500 laps, broken into three stages (125 laps/125 laps/250 laps)
Start/Finish: 15th/25th (Running, completed 494 of 500 laps)
Point Standing: 18th (163 points, 197 out of first)
Race Winner: Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-125):
● Kurt Busch started 15th, finished 35th.
● Battled a tight-handling condition at the beginning of the stage, but got loose as the laps clicked off.
● Got loose while racing the No. 6 Ford for position and hit the inside wall, resulting in heavy left-side damage to his Ford Fusion.
● Lost three laps to the leader as repairs were made on pit road under the caution.
● Visited pit road at the conclusion of Stage 1 to take four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 126-250):
● Started 35th, finished 33rd.
● Battled a tight-handling condition throughout the stage.
● Visited pit road twice during a caution period, the first time for repairs and the second for tires and adjustments.
● Visited pit road at the conclusion of Stage 2 to take four tires and fuel.
Final Stage Recap (Laps 251-500):
● Started 33rd, finished 25th.
● Made multiple chassis and air pressure adjustments, which improved the handling over the course of the segment.
● Twice took the wave-around, getting two of his laps back.
● Gained eight positions in the final stage to finish 25th.
Notes:
● Busch made his 33rd Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Next Up:
The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Richmond 400 Sunday, April 30 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. The race starts at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FOX.
