Kyle Busch used to hate going to Pocono but after winning three of the last four races at the track, that hate has turned to affection. Busch led the final 21 laps of Sunday’s race after green flag pit stops, holding off Brad Keselowski for his fourth win of the season. Busch led a race-high 79 laps.
“I just can’t say enough about everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing,” said Busch. “Everybody that works there works so hard to build these awesome Camrys. … We’ve had an amazing roll this year here so far. We’ve been doing well.”
The win was also Busch’s 55th in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, which tied NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace for ninth on the career win list. Next on the list is the late Dale Earnhardt, who won 76 races.
“We didn’t have the speed enough to pass guys, but we could run with them,” said Keselowski. “… You had to be so much faster that you just try to execute the best you can and hope things fall the right way. They fell decent, just not good enough to win.”
Following Busch and Keselowski were Erik Jones, Chase Elliott and Clint Bowyer.
Drivers who have essentially locked into the playoffs are Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex. Other drivers currently in the Top 16 in the point standings without a win are Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Ryan Blaney, Clint Bowyer, Alex Bowman, Aric Almirola, Daniel Suarez, William Byron, Erik Jones and Kyle Larson.
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series returns to action this weekend at Michigan International Speedway. The Series returns to Kansas Speedway on Oct. 20.
June 3, 2019