Kyle Busch spent more time than any driver out front Sunday at Pocono Raceway. And when he was there, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver was untouchable.
For the fourth time this season, Busch pulled into victory lane after driving away from the field off a restart with 10 laps to go. Busch, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series points leader, now leads the series in victories and has won three of the last four Pocono races after going winless in his first 25 races at the track.
“I passed one guy on the outside of Turn 3, and that was the only guy I needed to pass, I guess,” Busch told FOX Sports 1. “It was hard otherwise. We kind of got stuck in traffic back there a little bit earlier in the race; we were about fifth or sixth, and couldn’t really do anything. Overall, my guys on pit road were awesome, we got some spots there, got track position — Adam Stevens (crew chief) and some of our race calls got us further up toward the front.
“It’s cool to get a win here. Cool to get a win at Pocono again,” Busch added. “Having some M&M’s Hazelnut Spread Camrys that are fast like this makes my job a hell of a lot easier.”
Brad Keselowski’s finished second, taking the runner-up spot from Erik Jones on the final restart and pushing Jones to a third-place finish. Jones has now finished a season-best third three times.
Completing the top five were Chase Elliott and Clint Bowyer. Denny Hamlin followed in sixth with Joey Logano seventh, Daniel Suarez eighth, William Byron ninth, and Aric Almirola completing the top 10.
Byron started the day from the pole and led 26 laps.
Busch cycled into the race lead for the final time with 21 laps to go when Daniel Hemric pitted. Many teams split the race strategy, which is how Busch and crew chief Stevens continually put themselves in the right position. Busch led a race-high 79 laps.
Larson won Stages 1 and 2, but tagged the wall after the final restart. Image by Whitton/LAT
Kyle Larson was having a great day after winning both Stage 1 and Stage 2, but bounced off the wall when the race restarted for the final time. Larson was not clear of Clint Bowyer when the two made contact, sending the No. 42 Chevrolet hard into the outside Turn 1 wall and then to pit road.
Larson finished 26th after leading a total of 35 laps.
Last year’s Pocono winner, Martin Truex Jr., finished 35th after retiring from the race with a mechanical failure.
The Pocono 400 had 13 lead changes among none drivers and eight cautions.
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