Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Chevrolet SS in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), overcame a pit road miscue and an overheating issue in the late stages of Sunday’s Bad Boy Off Road 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon to earn a fifth-place finish in the second race of the 2016 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Photo: Stewarthaasracing.com
“We had everything thrown at us, even the kitchen sink at one point,” Busch said. “I feel like the way that this team and everybody felt like: We needed to have a solid finish, but you just can’t ask for it. It felt like we were up against the odds, and then the car ran great. Really proud of the overnight adjustments, and what we did better this time around than when we raced here last time was restarts. I think that showed that Stewart-Haas Racing, we went to work on that. Kevin (Harvick) got the win today, real happy for him, and we got a great top-five with the Monster Energy/Haas Automation Chevy.”
Busch started 13th in the 40-car field, and despite struggling with handling woes that saw the No. 41 loose on corner entry and exit, he was able to maintain position inside the top-15. As green-flag conditions dominated much of the first half of the event, crew chief Tony Gibson called for wedge and air pressure adjustments that kept the No. 41 Chevrolet up with changing track conditions.
With 60 laps remaining, Michael Annett made contact with the wall, forcing NASCAR to display the caution flag. While Busch and Gibson agreed it would be best to stay out, they changed course when some of the other lead-lap cars came to pit road. That was when Busch’s afternoon seemed to take a turn for the worse. As the Monster Energy/Haas Automation team went to work servicing the left side of the No. 41, the front tire took a bad bounce into the jack, causing it to fall prematurely. The crew recovered, but the extra time on pit road saw Busch drop to 16th for the restart.
Shortly after the race went back to green, the No. 88 car got loose in front of Busch, resulting in damage to the grille of the Monster Energy/Haas Automation Chevrolet. Busch reported that his water temperature had climbed to over 300 degrees, and there was serious concern that the high temperature would lead to terminal damage. Fortunately, Busch was able to get into some clean air to keep the temperature as low as possible over the remaining 33 laps while gaining positions as well. Busch raced his way into fifth on lap 295, and he was able to hold the spot for the final five laps to record his seventh top-five finish of the 2016 season and his eighth top-five in 32 starts at New Hampshire.
There were six caution periods for 31 laps with two drivers failing to finish the 300-lap race.
Harvick, Busch and Stewart are representing SHR in this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and they entered the second race of the 10-race, 16-driver Chase ranked 14th, 10th and 12th, respectively, in the Round of 16 standings. Harvick leaves New Hampshire in second place and is locked into the Round of 12 thanks to his victory at New Hampshire. Busch is 11th with a 15-point margin over 13th place. Stewart is 15th, 11 points outside of the top-12. Following the third race of the Chase at Dover (Del.) International Speedway, only those Chase drivers who have won a race or are among the top-12 in points will advance to the Round of 12.
