Kurt Busch drove the No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) to a sixth-place finish in the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, earning his 11th top-10 of the season, his 10th top-10 in 32 career Sprint Cup starts at Charlotte, and his 13th consecutive top-10 finish at mile-and-a-half racetracks, dating back to Kansas Speedway in Kansas City on May 9, 2015.
Photo: stewarthaasracing.com
Busch came into the 400-lap race around the 1.5-mile oval looking for his first victory of the season and his second in the Coca-Cola 600, the longest race on the NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule. However, a series of slow pit stops and an ill-handling racecar would hamper his ability to contend for the win.
Busch started 13th in the 40-car field and quickly advanced to 10th on lap eight. He would maintain position inside the top-10 for the first half of the race, except during scheduled green-flag pit stops, despite battling an ill-handling racecar that saw his Monster Energy/Haas Automation Chevrolet tight in the center of the corners and loose on exit. Crew chief Tony Gibson called for adjustments on each pit stop, but Busch continued to struggle as the track conditions changed from day to night.
The handling issues persisted and worsened as the race neared the three-quarter mark. Hesitant to make too big a change and negatively impact the racecar, Gibson called for a minor adjustment. The team found that Busch had a tire that was going down, so the decision to make a conservative call paid off.
As the race came to a close, Busch raced his way to the fifth position. The Monster Energy/Haas Automation driver was determined to get a top-five finish, but Brad Keselowski got around him with 13 laps remaining. As a result, Busch took the checkered flag in sixth.
There were four caution periods for 19 laps, with only two drivers failing to finish.
The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400 on Sunday, June 5, at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. Coverage by FOX Sports 1 begins with NASCAR RaceDay at 11:30 a.m. EDT, and the race broadcast begins at 1 p.m.
