Kyle Busch crosses the finish line to win Sunday’s Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa. Matt Slocum/Associated Press
LONG POND, Pa. — Kyle Busch had a Joe Gibbs Racing team member slide in his Toyota through the window during a pit stop, trying to figure out how to mend a fried stick shifter stuck in fourth gear.
It’s rare a NASCAR driver has a passenger in the car, so Busch made small talk with car chief Nate Bellows.
“Wait,” Busch said, “you don’t want to go with me?”
The Toyota never did get fixed. There were 115 miles to the Pocono finish, and Busch had only one gear. But he had a full tank of gas, and that turned into a critical factor late in the race.
Busch came through in the clutch – even when he raced without one – and busted Hendrick Motorsports’ winning streak as he denied the organization a shot at NASCAR history.
Busch stretched his fuel in his broken Toyota and outlasted late leaders William Byron and JGR teammate Denny Hamlin as they saw their shot at the checkered flag disappear over the final few laps when they ran out of gas.
“Sometimes these races aren’t always won by the fastest car,” said Busch, who got his second win of the season.
Sometimes they’re won by a car that could use a push to Victory Lane.
“We’re going down the front straightaway and I’m like, damn, `I wish I could clutch it,’” Busch said. “I didn’t have one. I probably could have done a better job saving fuel, but I was just lifting off the gas instead of being able to clutch it.”
Busch drove the final 46 laps on the 2 1/2-mile oval knowing another stop in the pits would end his race.
“It took some brute force to hold that thing back, to hold it in,” Busch said.
Kyle Larson, whose blown tire on the last lap cost him a win Saturday, was second for Hendrick Motorsports. Hendrick had won six straight points races, including Alex Bowman’s victory Saturday in the first race of Pocono’s doubleheader.
Hendrick was trying to become the first team since NASCAR’s modern era began in 1972 to win seven straight races.
“Seemed like every point of the race, everything that happened in the race, nothing went my way,” Larson said. “Restarts, just guys messing up in front of me, me getting shuffled out of the groove, bad lane choices on my part, everything didn’t go my way.”
Bowman started the streak in May at Dover and Chase Elliott followed the next week at Texas. Larson then ripped off three straight points victories at Charlotte, Sonoma and last week at Nashville – and squeezed in the $1 million All-Star race for four wins, total – all while Hendrick Motorsports became the winningest organization in NASCAR history.
Brad Keselowski was third, Kevin Harvick fourth and Bubba Wallace fifth in his best finish of the season for Michael Jordan’s 23IX team.
Hamlin faded to 14th.
“Fuel mileage got us the last two weeks,” Hamlin said. “We can’t see the checkered right now.”
URBAN YOUTH
Larson met with 40 students at the Urban Youth Racing School and he announced plans to race in the school’s go-kart race in August in Philadelphia.
The Philly-based program that creates opportunities in racing for minorities developed a deeper relationship with Larson after he was suspended last season for using a slur during an iRacing event. Larson often calls or Zooms with the students and bought the school racing simulators.
“Just having that relationship where they can pick up the phone and call me if they have questions about iRacing or something is pretty neat,” Larson said. “It’s a closer friendship, relationship with them. I think all of them look up to me and I think that’s great to be there for them whenever they need me.”
NASCAR made a $70,000 donation on Sunday to the school.
UYRS founder Anthony Martin said Larson and other NASCAR drivers will compete Aug. 7 in a go-kart grand prix near the school’s location in Philly.
“A lot of our students have never been to a race before, so to actually come see it up close, be a part of it, smell the gas, hear the sounds are very important,” Martin said. “Actually being here is a lot different than seeing it on television.”
Copy the Story LinkComments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
