Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-50):
● Kurt Busch started fifth, finished seventh. Earned four bonus points.
● Quickly moved to fourth at the start of Stage 1.
● Made a green-flag pit stop for four tires, fuel and adjustments on lap 16 to correct a tight-handling condition.
● After several cars in front of Busch made green-flag pit stops, he was able to drive his Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford Fusion back into the top-10.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 51-100):
● Started 12th, finished eighth. Earned three bonus points.
● Car became loose after adjustments made at the conclusion of Stage 1.
● On lap 66, Busch pitted under green-flag conditions for four tires and fuel.
● After a red-flag period, Busch battled his way to an eighth-place finish on a one-lap shootout that ended the stage.
Final Stage Recap (Laps 101-160):
● Started 15th, finished fourth.
● Busch drove his Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford into the top-four at the beginning of the final stage.
● On lap 125, Busch made a green-flag pit stop for four tires and fuel. He came off pit road in 17th.
● In only four laps, Busch battled his way back into the top-10.
● With 17 laps to go, Busch took his last pit stop under caution for four tires and fuel.
● Busch restarted in the seventh position and moved through the field to secure his second top-five finish of 2017.
Notes:
● Busch came into the Axalta presents the Pocono 400 as the defending race winner.
● Busch’s fourth-place finish was his 14th top-five and 19th top-10 in 32 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Pocono. It was his second top-five and seventh top-10 of 2017.
● Twenty-four of the 39 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● There were 13 lead changes among nine drivers.
● There were four caution periods for a total of 18 laps.
● Ryan Blaney won the Axalta presents the Pocono 400 to score his first career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory. His margin of victory over second-place Kevin Harvick was .139 of a second.
Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“It was warm and we battled really hard today and had a nice, consistent run. I just didn’t have any special speed, but we ran good lap times, so I’m really proud of our Haas Automation/Monster Energy guys. It’s great to see a Ford in victory lane, so congratulations to the Wood Brothers. To see Ryan Blaney win – he’s going to be a superstar in this sport. He’s a good kid. I’m going to keep pushing hard, though. We’re chiseling away at this and we’re going to get in good position.”
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