Kurt Busch Finishes 13th at Pocono

07.31.2017

Photo: Stewart-Haas Racing

Date: July 30, 2017
Event: Overton’s 400 (Round 21 of 36)
Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Pocono (Pa.) Raceway (2.5-mile triangle)
Format: 160 laps, broken into three stages (50 laps/50 laps/60 laps)
Start/Finish: 18th/13th (Running, completed 160 of 160 laps)
Point Standing: 14th (494 points, 329 out of first)

Race Winner: Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Clint Bowyer of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-50):
● Kurt Busch started 18th, finished 15th.
● Navigated first-lap incident in turn three by going high to avoid a spinning Matt Kenseth.
● Busch pitted his Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford Fusion on lap 20 for four tires, fuel and a minor tire pressure adjustment.
● On lap 38, Busch reported that his car was loose in all three corners.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 51-100):
● Started 15th, finished fourth. Earned seven bonus points.
● Busch pitted under caution on lap 52 for four tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment.
● The No. 41 remained loose through the track’s corners, so Busch pitted on lap 71 for four tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment.
● Leaders pitted late in the stage, but Busch stayed out to finish fourth.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 101-160):
● Started 13th, finished 13th.
● Busch radioed to his team that his car was handling better. He pitted on lap 102 for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment.
● Busch pitted on lap 124 for four tires and fuel.
● In the latter part of the race the car developed a slight vibration, but Busch persevered and brought it home to a 13th-place finish.

Notes:
● This was Busch’s 33rd Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start at Pocono and his 597th career NASCAR Cup Series start.
● There were five caution periods for a total of 21 laps.
● Sixteen of the 38 drivers in the Overton’s 400 finished on the lead lap.
● Kyle Busch won the Overton’s 400 to score his 39th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his first of the season and his first at Pocono. His margin of victory over runner-up Kevin Harvick was 6.178 seconds.
● Martin Truex Jr. leads the championship standings with 823 points and holds an 85-point advantage over his nearest pursuer, Kyle Larson.

Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“I thought we did a good job on strategy based off the pace of our car. We were just kind of welded to 15th place all day. We weren’t close enough to gamble and pit while it was under green conditions. We just kept chipping away at it. Restarts for us were 50-50; some were good, some were bad. Overall, we experimented with some suspension and we know not to do that again.”

Next Up:
The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the I Love New York 355k on Sunday, Aug. 6 at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International. The race starts at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN.