Kurt Busch had a strong run going in the GoBowling.com 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, but a flat right-rear tire and subsequent contact with the outside retaining wall on lap 154 saw his hopes for a top-10 finish disappear with only a handful of laps remaining in the 160-lap event. However, the driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) was able to rally in the closing laps to record a 13th-place finish.
Busch started fourth in the 43-car field and led three times for 30 laps en route to scoring his eighth top-15 finish this season.
On the opening lap Busch advanced to third when he was able to get around the No. 2 of Brad Keselowski. When the caution flag waved on lap nine for an incident involving the No. 48 of Jimmie Johnson, crew chief Daniel Knost elected to bring Busch to pit road for right-side tires and fuel. Now on a different pit cycle than many of his competitors, Busch restarted in the 21st position. When the rest of the leaders made their way to pit road for service, the No. 41 car assumed the race lead for the first time on lap 31. Busch would hold the point for 12 laps before making his next scheduled visit to pit road for routine service.
Green-flag racing dominated much of the race, seeming to play in Busch’s favor. Knost and Busch agreed to stick to their plan of making their scheduled stops when their fuel window opened in an effort to be leading when the time was right, at the end of the race.
After a multicar incident on a lap-117 restart took out a dozen cars, teams began to alter their strategy. Knost elected to leave Busch on the racetrack while some of the others running on a slightly different strategy opted to pit under caution when pit road opened. That allowed those drivers to stop just 10 laps later for a splash of fuel, while Busch pitted a handful of laps later. Needing a full tank of fuel, Busch found himself mired back in the 14th position. While Busch was able to race his way back inside the top-10, on lap 154 he suffered a flat right-rear tire, causing the Haas Automation Chevrolet to make contact with the outside wall. Busch brought his No. 41 machine to pit road for fresh tires and sheet-metal repair, and the Las Vegas native was able to rebound from the setback to score a 13th-place finish.
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