Photo: stewarthaasracing.com
Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), earned a top-five finish in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Saturday night. Busch, who won the race in 2010, earned his seventh top-five finish in the 32nd annual non-points race.
The race featured drivers who met one of the following requirements:
• Won a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in 2015 or 2016.
• Is a past All-Star Race winner who is a full-time Sprint Cup competitor.
• Is a Sprint Cup champion who is a full-time Sprint Cup competitor.
• Won the first segment of the Sprint Showdown.
• Won the second segment of the Sprint Showdown.
• Won the third segment of the Sprint Showdown.
• Placed first or second in the Sprint Fan Vote.
The 113-lap race around the 1.5-mile oval was broken up into three segments, including two 50-lap segments and a 13-lap final segment, and featured a 20-driver field.
Rain forced the cancellation of qualifying; as a result, the 20-car field was set per the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rulebook. Because teams did not get a complete practice session, the lineup was determined by 2015 owners’ points. Busch started third and ran inside the top-five until making his required pit stop on lap 25. He would go on to finish the first segment sixth.
Busch again ran inside the top-five for much of the second segment. Despite battling an extremely loose racecar, he would finish the segment fifth.
Prior to the start of the final segment, a field inversion determined that the top-11 cars would make a four-tire pit stop, while the remaining cars on the lead lap would stay on the racetrack and start at the front of the field. Busch lined up sixth but wound up getting pinned on the high side of the racetrack, while the leaders were able to take advantage of the lower, faster line to pull away. Busch was unable to regain ground over the final laps and would take the checkered flag in fifth.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to points-paying racing on Sunday, May 29, with the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte. The longest race on the Sprint Cup schedule gets underway at 6 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FOX beginning at 5:30 p.m.
