Busch Finally Snaps 36-Race Winless Drought
LONG POND, Pa. – Kyle Busch ended the longest winless drought of his career by winning Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Overton’s 400 at Pocono Raceway.
Busch had the fastest car all weekend. He won the pole Sunday afternoon, circling the 2.5-mile triangular circuit with a 50.175-second lap at 179.372 mph. He backed that speed up during the first segment, easily winning the stage by a comfortable margin.
The second stage wasn’t as kind to Busch, who got shuffled back into the pack via pit strategy following a caution when the driveshaft in Kyle Larson’s No. 42 Chevrolet failed and dropped debris on the track.
Stuck back in traffic, Busch was one of several drivers who opted to pit just prior to the end of the second stage, which was won by Clint Bowyer when he opted not to pit. By doing so, Busch lined up fourth for the start of the third stage behind Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick.
Truex dominated the the first half of the final stage, leading Hamlin, Harvick and Busch comfortably until he made his final scheduled pit stop on lap 127. Busch, who was running fourth when the round of pit stops started, chose to stay out longer and inherited the lead from Truex.
Busch finally made his final stop on lap 135, which gave the lead to Brad Keselowski, who also hadn’t pitted yet. While Keselowski was leading, Busch was rapidly closing in on Truex, Hamlin and Harvick with fresher tires.
Hamlin managed to cycle out in front of Truex and Harvick, who were battling for position in traffic before Harvick moved by. Keselowski finally made his pit stop with 19 laps left, cycling Hamlin into the lead with Harvick and Truex right behind him and Busch closing in a hurry.
One lap later Busch drove by Truex to take third while the battle for the lead between Hamlin and Harvick intensified. With 17 laps left Harvick got alongside Hamlin coming down the frontstretch and was able to complete the pass into turn one. Busch followed Harvick past Hamlin for second and quickly began challenging for the lead.
Through turn three on the same lap Busch got the opportunity he was looking for. Harvick got loose in turn three, allowing Busch to close up on Harvick and bump the rear bumper of Harvick’s No. 4 Ford to move him out of the way. Busch moved to his inside and easily took the lead in his No. 18 Toyota.
“I wouldn’t even call that a bump and run, that was almost accidental,” Busch said after the race.
Kyle Busch poses in victory lane after winning Sunday’s Overton’s 400 at Pocono Raceway. (Dave Moulthrop Photo)
Once out front, Busch turned on the afterburner and quickly pulled away from the battle for second. By the time Busch crossed under the checkered flag he had built up a 6.178-second lead over Harvick, who settled for second.
The victory snapped a 36-race winless drought dating back to the 2016 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“It’s been a frustrating year but this certainly relieves a little bit of that,” said Busch, who gave Toyota it’s 100th NASCAR Cup Series victory. “I wouldn’t say all of it, but Adam (Stevens, crew chief) and these guys did an awesome job today. I can’t say enough about this M&M’s Caramel Camry.
“The pit crew, they do a great job each and every week and we had to rely on them there on that final stop to give me a good stop so we didn’t loose too much time to those guys because we had so much distance that we were letting them have on us with those fresher tires,” Busch explained. “It’s just been a frustrating year but an awesome day today.”
The victory was Busch’s first at Pocono in the NASCAR Cup Series and leaves just one track, Charlotte Motor Speedway, where he has yet to score a points paying Cup Series victory.
Harvick came home second for the second-straight race at Pocono Raceway and was the highest finishing Ford during the Overton’s 400. Harvick said he got really loose and he nearly had to come to a stop in turn three when Busch bumped him en route to taking the lead late in the race.
“I knew the only chance I had was to get through the corner correctly and I got in there and got loose all the way through the corner,” Harvick said. “I just kept holding the break down, holding the break down and holding the break down and finally I’m sure he (Kyle Busch) thought I was going to go and I didn’t accelerate. I was trying to stay on the bottom to park the thing to get going and he just had a good pull (run).
“Kyle had the class of the field all weekend. His car was really, really fast. He got the pole and got the win.”
Truex came home in third, with Hamlin fading to fourth at the finish. Keselowski charged back through the pack with fresh tires to complete the top-five.
Bowyer came home sixth after winning the second stage, followed by Daniel Suarez, Erik Jones, Matt Kenseth and Chase Elliott.
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Source :speedsport.com
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