With 33 laps to go, substitute crew chief John Klausemeier told Kurt Busch was told that he'd be two laps short on fuel in Monday's rain-delayed Axalta "We Paint Winners" 400 at Pocono Raceway. Turns out he had enough to pick up his first win of 2016 and even throw in a burnout to celebrate. "We just had to balance everything," said
Busch, who got to the stripe 1.126 seconds ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr. "We had a
fast car, a (suspended) crew chief, and the way the fuel mileage played
out, I didn't know if we would have enough fuel. It's a wonderful win for us. We have
been so close all year. It was just a matter of putting it all together." It was the 2004 Cup Champion's first win since the 2015 TOYOTA OWNERS 400 at Richmond International Raceway, and the third of his career at the Tricky Triangle.
Chase Elliott's phenomenal rookie season continued yesterday, scoring his fifth consecutive top-10 finish with a fourth-place showing (including a race-high 51 laps led) at Pocono Raceway. "We certainly had, I feel like, one of our best days of the year
personally," Elliott said. "I thought for us to be able to contend and
lead laps all day and have a car that could fight for the lead the
majority of the day... I thought was great." It certainly was, and the finish put him in the company of NASCAR royalty. It was the rookie's fifth top-5 of the year, which ties Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s 1979 rookie mark
through the first 14 races in a season.
We're used to seeing borderline historic stretches of success out of Kyle Busch and the No. 18 car. Remember last Spring when he went on a tear that saw him win four races in a five week stretch? Or when he turned it on during last year's Eliminator Round, scoring three consecutive top-5 finishes before claiming the 2015 Sprint Cup Championship? Or how about earlier this season when we saw him finish either first or second in five of six races - starting with a win at the STP 500 in Martinsville? Well Monday's race saw the continuation of a not-so familiar streak for the defending Series Champ. After smacking the wall with 51 laps to go, Busch was forced to the garage and sent to his third consecutive finish of 30th or worse. With three wins on the year, his Chase dreams are secure - but no doubt he'd like to see some luck come his way sooner than later.
Drivers have already raved about the success of NASCAR's new aerodynamics package at the likes of Auto Club, Richmond, Charlotte, and more. But now we'll see how it performs at one of NASCAR's fastest tracks - Michigan International Speedway. "The collaboration between NASCAR and the other stakeholders to improve
the racing has produced tremendous results this season. I look forward
to a continuation of that when we get to Michigan," said Brad Keselowski. "The racing is more in
the hands of the drivers than it has been in quite some time and I
think we are just scratching the surface as to what this package can
become." And the Michigan-native isn't the only driver who's anxious to see how the package will perform this weekend. "I expect the racing to be really good," said Kyle Larson. "I think with you lifting the
groove will move up some. It’s just going to be really exciting racing."
