Kurt Busch drove his #41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Chevrolet to victory on Monday in a race that was held back a day to to in-climate weather. The NASCAR veteran collected his first win of the 2016 Sprint Cup Series and closed the gap between him and NASCAR points leader Kevin Harvick. Kurt Busch won the Axalta We Paint Winners 400 at Pocono Raceway by outlasting the rest of the top contenders as many of them attempted to conserve their gas mileage to the finish.
It truly was a total team effort because Kurt Busch did it with a replacement crew chief in team engineer John Klausmeier, who was sitting in for Tony Gibson while Gibson was serving a one-race suspension imposed earlier in the week by NASCAR officials.
“It’s tough to balance everything,” Kurt Busch said from victory lane. “We had a fast car and an interim crew chief. And we didn’t know if we had enough fuel to make it. … This was a wonderful win for us. We’ve been so close all year. It’s just so much fun to drive and be up front.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. had an impressive showing finishing in the second position. The prodigy’s hot-rod improved throughout the race and gave Earnhardt Jr. the chance to try to run down Kurt Busch in the closing laps of the contest. It wasn’t meant to be for the Hendrick Motorsports racer as he like most of the field, needed to conserve enough gas to make it to the end. All in all Earnhardt Jr. was pleased with his teams performance for the race.
“Well, the 41 was up there trying to save some fuel,” Earnhardt said. “He couldn’t make it all the way running hard, and I didn’t know if we could. My Crew chief Greg Ives was saying we could but I didn’t see how we were the only ones that could. We all pitted around the same time. Overall, I happy about the performance of my team.”
Third place finisher and pole position winner Brad Keselowski was a handful of drivers that wasn’t concerned about wether or not he would have enough fuel to make it to the end. The #2 Miller Lite sponsored driver put the pedal to the medal for the last 15 laps but ran out of time.
Keselowski was turning the fastest circuits of the top three racers but getting to the back bumper of someone at Pocono Raceway and passing them is a whole different ballgame. The finish was considered quite an accomplishment considering Keselowski was sent to the back of the field for altering his race car during a pit stop.
Rookie sensation Chase Elliott once again continues his surge to the top of the Sprint Cup Series point standings. The #24 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet was out front for a race high 51 circuits and re-started better than any car in the field. With 33 laps to go, Elliott was passed by his teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the race’s re-start. The battle that ensued between the two competitors left the back door open and Kurt Busch drove right through it to the lead.
“Really we lost the race on the restart,” Elliott said. “The 88 and me were racing pretty hard. He was really trying to get his lead back, and he knew if he could get the lead, he was going to win the race. He got us loose a little bit. That slowed us up some, and allowed Kurt to take the advantage out front in the clean air.”
The #22 Pennzoil Ford Fusion driven by Joey Logano crossed the finish line in a respectable fifth place. The Penske Racing driver jumped out to the lead for the first 16 Laps of the event and looked as if he was going to be the one to beat.
After the first round of pit stops under the competition caution, Logano and his team decided to surrender track position and opt for a four tire change that placed him a little further back in the field. Shortly after the re-start, while battling his way to the front, he got tangled up with fellow competitor Ryan Newman and damaged the right rear of his race car. From then on it was one spot at a time with an aerodynamically challenged hot-rod.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Matt Kenseth fielded a fast car that was good enough for a sixth place showing. The #20 Dollar General Toyota Camry was in front of the field for 31 laps and appeared to be the mid race pick to take the checkered flag. After numerous pit stops and some lost track position, Kenseth never seem to find that same mojo and couldn’t gain on the front cars while in traffic. The speedster and his fellow teammate Carl Edwards were the only two Joe Gibbs Racing machines that graced the top 10. Edwards finished right behind him in the eighth position.
Point leader Kevin Harvick and his #4 Freaky Fast Jimmy Johns took home a ninth place finish for their efforts on Monday. Harvick was turning the fastest laps when the race was concluding but was to far back in the field to have a chance to compete for the lead. The Stewart Haas Racing stud had to come into the pits under green flag racing for a plash of fuel and that sent him towards the middle of the field for the last 20 laps of the event.
Ryan Blaney, another sensational rookie driver managed to close out the top 10 in the tenth spot. Blaney never found his way to the front five positions during the event but was fast enough to hang around near the front and secure a promising finish.
The Final Results for the Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400 at Pocono Raceway:
1. (9) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 160 laps.
2. (8) Dale Earnhardt Jr, Chevrolet, 160.
3. (1) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 160.
4. (13) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 160.
5. (2) Joey Logano, Ford, 160.
6. (11) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 160.
7. (3) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 160.
8. (5) Carl Edwards, Toyota, 160.
9. (4) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 160.
10. (14) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 160.
11. (21) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 160.
12. (22) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 160.
13. (24) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 160.
14. (10) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 160.
15. (25) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Ford, 160.
16. (32) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 160.
17. (26) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 160.
18. (23) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 160.
19. (17) Martin Truex Jr, Toyota, 160.
20. (16) Aric Almirola, Ford, 160.
21. (28) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 160.
22. (35) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 160.
23. (34) David Ragan, Toyota, 160.
24. (29) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 160.
25. (18) Chris Buescher, Ford, 159.
26. (15) Greg Biffle, Ford, 159.
27. (38) Josh Wise, Chevrolet, 159.
28. (40) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, 159.
29. (39) Jeb Burton, Ford, 158.
30. (37) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, rear gear, 155.
31. (12) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 150.
32. (33) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 145.
33. (20) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 135.
34. (6) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 131.
35. (7) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, accident, 125.
36. (31) Landon Cassill, Ford, 121.
37. (19) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, accident, 117.
38. (36) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, accident, 102.
39. (30) Brian Scott, Ford, 81.
40. (27) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota, accident, 57.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 125.49 mph.
Time of Race: 3 hours, 11 minutes, 15 seconds.
Margin of Victory: 1.126 seconds.
Caution Flags: 10 for 40 laps.
Lead Changes: 14 among 10 drivers.
