Photo: Stewart-Haas Racing
Date: Aug. 6, 2017
Event: I LOVE NEW YORK 355K at The Glen (Round 22 of 36)
Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International (2.45-mile road course)
Format: 90 laps, broken into three stages (20 laps/20 laps/50 laps)
Start/Finish: 18th/6th (Running, completed 90 of 90 laps)
Point Standing: 14th (528 points, 353 out of first)
Race Winner: Martin Truex Jr. of Furniture Row Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Daniel Suarez of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-20):
● Kurt Busch started 18th, finished 27th.
● Busch ran in the 14th position for the majority of the stage.
● On lap 16, Busch pitted under green-flag conditions for four tires, fuel and adjustments, and came off pit road in 27th.
● At the conclusion of the stage, Busch did not pit and gained 18 positions for the start of Stage 2.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 21-40):
● Started ninth, finished eighth. Earned three bonus points.
● Busch battled to position his Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford Fusion as high as seventh in Stage 2.
● He remained within the top-10 for the duration of the stage.
● Due to pit strategy, Busch opted not to pit at the conclusion of the stage.
Final Stage Recap (Laps 41-90):
● Started eighth, finished sixth.
● Busch raced in and around the top-10 for the majority of the final stage.
● Due to fuel strategy, Busch and many others were forced to conserve fuel.
● In the closing laps, several cars in the top-five pitted for fuel, promoting Busch just outside of the top-five.
Notes:
● This was Busch’s 17th points-paying Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start at Watkins Glen and his 598th career start.
● Busch’s sixth-place finish in the I Love New York 355 was his eighth top-10 at Watkins Glen and his 10th top-10 this season.
● There were three caution periods for a total of eight laps.
● Twenty-nine of the 37 cars finished on the lead lap.
● Martin Truex Jr. won the I Love New York at The Glen 355k to score his 11th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his fourth of the season and his first at Watkins Glen. His margin of victory over second-place Matt Kenseth was .414 of a second.
● Truex leads the championship standings with 881 points and holds a 116-point advantage over his nearest pursuer, Kyle Busch.
Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:
How do you feel you ran today?
“We ran hard on every single lap today and hit every turn flawlessly. We did a great job.”
Next Up:
The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Pure Michigan 400 on Sunday, Aug. 13 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. The race starts at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN.
