Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), finished third in the Go Bowling 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Saturday night at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. It was his third top-five of 2016 and his second top-five in 21 career Sprint Cup starts at the 1.5-mile oval.
“We battled hard,” Busch said. “I was trying to find all the different lines on the track to find speed. We did a lot of things good, but to win you’ve got to be great. We’re right there. We’re knocking on the door. Thanks to Haas Automation, Monster Energy, Chevrolet and everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing. It was a great third-place finish. We always want to win, and we’ve been doing really well with this Tony Gibson-led team.”
Photo: Stewarthaasracing.com
Busch started from the fourth position and ran inside the top-five for the first half of the race despite struggling with handling issues that at times saw his Haas Automation Chevrolet tight in the center of the corners and loose on exit.
Crew chief Gibson called for air pressure adjustments throughout the race, which improved the car’s handling. But Busch continued to struggle as the laps clicked off, so Gibson elected to make a wedge adjustment. Unfortunately, that adjustment caused the opposite effect of what was intended, and Busch struggled worse as a result. With extended green-flag runs, the No. 41 team did not get the opportunity they needed to pit and undo the changes. Busch finally got the chance to come to pit road under caution on lap 236.
Busch restarted in the 10th position, but he quickly advanced to third when an incident unfolded at the front of the field involving several of the front-runners. He was able to hold the position until the checkered flag waved.
“We’re doing everything right,” Busch said. “We’ve just got to find that last little step to be great. Tony Gibson does a great job leading these guys on this No. 41 team. We’re knocking on the door, we just need to put it together to find that final piece we need to get into victory lane. I feel like we’re the best car that hasn’t won a race, and I know if we keep this effort up, it’ll come to us soon.”
There were six caution periods for 30 laps, with five drivers failing to finish the 267-lap race around the 1.5-mile oval.
With round 11 of 36 complete, Harvick leads SHR in the championship point standings with 390, four ahead of second-place Kyle Busch. Kurt Busch is fifth with 350 points, 40 points out of first. Patrick is 25th with 188 points, 202 out of first. Stewart is 37th with 87 points, and currently sits 59 points behind 30th-place Regan Smith. Stewart is hoping to win a race over the course of the next 17 races and make it within the top-30 in the standings in order to earn a berth in the Chase for the Sprint Cup playoff in his final season.
The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the AAA 400 Drive for Autism on Sunday, May 15, at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. The race starts at 1 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1.
