Race
Recap
Axalta
‘We Paint Winners’ 400
Pocono
Raceway – Long Pond, Pa.
Monday,
June 6, 2016
Race
Winner: Kurt Busch
Age:
37
Team:
No. 41 – Monster Energy/Haas Automation Chevrolet
Owner:
Stewart-Haas Racing
Crew
Chief: Johnny Klausmeier
IN THE WORDS
OF THE WINNER -- “It’s tough to
balance everything and when you have a fast car and an interim crew chief and
the way that the fuel mileage played out, I didn’t know if we were going to
have enough fuel. But, thanks to everybody at Haas Automation, Monster Energy
and Stewart-Haas. This is a wonderful win for us. We have been so close
all year. It’s a matter of just putting it all together, pit crew,
engine, thanks to Hendrick engines, and Chevrolet and everybody that works on
these bodies, the chassis’ you name it. It’s just so much fun to drive
and to be competitive and to be up front. Thanks a lot.”
-
Kurt Busch
----------------
· Kurt Busch won the 35th annual Axalta ‘We Paint Winners’ 400 at Pocono Raceway Monday afternoon, in a race that was postponed from Sunday due to inclement weather. For Busch, it was his 28th win in 554 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. It is his first victory and 12th top-10 finish of 2016. It was the eighth straight race in which he finished in the top 10.
· The victory snapped a string of 34 straight races without a win for Busch. Prior to today, his last win came on June 14, 2015 at Michigan.
· With the win, Busch moved into a tie with NASCAR Hall of Famer Rex White for 25th on the all-time wins list (28).
· This is Busch’s third win and 16th top-10 finish in 30 races at Pocono Raceway. It is his first victory there since August 5, 2007.
· Busch won today’s race with interim crew chief Johnny Klausmeier, who was replacing a suspended Tony Gibson. It is the first time a driver has won a Sprint Cup race with an interim crew chief since Matt Kenseth won the Bojangles’ 500 at Darlington on May 11, 2013 with Wally Brown as crew chief, who was replacing a suspended Jason Ratcliff.
· Dale Earnhardt Jr. (second) posted his 15th top-10 showing in 33 races at Pocono Raceway. It was his sixth top-10 finish of 2016 and his fourth finishing second.
· Brad Keselowski (third) compiled his sixth top-10 finish in 13 races at Pocono Raceway. It was his ninth top-10 finish of 2016 and his fifth in-a-row.
· Chase Elliott (4th) was the highest finishing rookie today. It was the fifth straight race in which he has finished in the top-10 and seventh time in the last eight races.
· Kevin Harvick (490) leads the 2016 Sprint Cup points standing by 25 points over Kurt Busch (465). The following are the top six drivers in points through the first 14 races:
Driver
Wins
Points
Kevin
Harvick 1
490
Kurt
Busch 1
465
Brad
Keselowski 2
442
Carl
Edwards 2
437
Kyle Busch 3
416
Jimmie
Johnson 2
415
·
With
the win, Kurt Busch becomes the ninth driver to qualify for the 2016 Chase for
the NASCAR Sprint Cup, a list which also includes Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch,
Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth and
Martin Truex Jr., all of who have taken checkered flags this year. The
Chase culminates with the Ford EcoBoost 400 Championship race on November 20 at
Homestead-Miami Speedway.
· In 15 career Sprint Cup starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Kurt Busch has compiled six top-10 finishes and four in the top-5. This includes a win in the 2002 Ford 400. Busch also celebrated the lone Cup championship of his career at Homestead-Miami Speedway, in 2004.
· Starting this year, the XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series will feature championship races at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 19 (NXS) and November 18 (NCWTS). Four drivers will compete amongst a full field for their respective title. The following are the top drivers in points thus far in the XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series:
· In 15 career Sprint Cup starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Kurt Busch has compiled six top-10 finishes and four in the top-5. This includes a win in the 2002 Ford 400. Busch also celebrated the lone Cup championship of his career at Homestead-Miami Speedway, in 2004.
· Starting this year, the XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series will feature championship races at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 19 (NXS) and November 18 (NCWTS). Four drivers will compete amongst a full field for their respective title. The following are the top drivers in points thus far in the XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series:
XFINITY Series
Driver
Wins
Points
Daniel Suarez 0 408
Daniel Suarez 0 408
Elliott
Sadler
1 397
Ty
Dillon 0 390
Brendan
Gaughan 0 363
Erik
Jones 2 359
Camping World Truck
Series
Driver
Wins
Points
Matt
Crafton 2 161
Timothy
Peters 0 149
Daniel
Hemric 0 144
Spencer
Gallagher
0 139
William
Byron 1 135
John Hunter
Nemechek 1 127
Johnny
Sauter
1 120
