Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), scored a third-place finish in the Food City 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. For Busch and the entire No. 41 team, it was the kind of day where champions are made. It was his second top-five of 2016 and his ninth top-five in 31 career Sprint Cup starts at the .533-mile oval.
Photo: stewarthaasracing.com
“We just battled through it,” Busch said. “(Dale Earnhardt) Junior had trouble at the start, and I was 40th when we started the race. One car at a time, one set of tires at a time. And then we were in great position around lap 350. We got the lead from (Carl) Edwards for a little bit. And we just kept working on it. And there’s nothing more that I could have gotten out of the car. I’m really happy with the way that everybody worked together. I shouldn’t be happy about finishing third, but I’ll take it. It’s just a great effort. And the way that this team has come together is perfect. We just need to find that last little bit. Thanks to Haas Automation, Monster Energy and Chevrolet. It’s just wonderful to have a good group of guys to go out there each week to have a shot at it. And, I still don’t think I’m supposed to be happy about finishing third. But Edwards ran a great race. Congratulations to him.”
Busch’s race got off to an odd start; he fell back to 40th when Earnhardt, starting in 20th, had the power go out in his car as the field came to the green flag, bunching the cars behind him. Despite the setback, the No. 41 team was able to stay on the lead lap and make adjustments to their Haas Automation/Monster Energy Chevrolet during several trips to pit road over the course of the race. Their efforts paid off, as Busch vaulted to 10th on lap 155. He would continue his climb toward the front, overtaking Edwards for the lead on lap 357 and holding the point for 41 laps to bring his laps-led total at Bristol to 1,026.
Busch maintained a presence in the top-five for the remainder of the race. When the caution flag waved for an incident involving the No. 46 car on lap 485, Busch radioed the crew to let them know that he had a plan for the restart. Unfortunately for him, the caution flag waved again, not allowing him to execute his plan. However, he held his own over the closing laps and brought home a third-place finish.
“That was fun,” Busch said. “We were close. I spun the tires on the last restart. I felt like Carl would be difficult to beat. I hoped to give him the old bump-and-run on him in turn three on the high side, but I didn’t quite get there. I’m really happy with the crew and all the adjustments they made, we battled hard today.”
Busch’s SHR teammate Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 ditech Home Loans Chevrolet SS, started seventh and finished seventh. Ty Dillon, interim driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet SS for SHR as he subs for the injured Tony Stewart, started 34th and finished 25th. Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 Nature’s Bakery Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 27th. It was Patrick’s 126th career Sprint Cup start and her eighth at Bristol.
Carl Edwards won the Food City 500 to score his 26th career Sprint Cup victory, his first this season and his fourth at Bristol.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished .766 of a second behind Edwards while Busch, Chase Elliott and Trevor Bayne rounded out the top-five. Matt DiBenedetto, Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman and Joey Logano comprised the remainder of the top-10.
There were 15 caution periods for 102 laps with four drivers failing to finish the 500-lap race around the .533-mile oval.
With round eight of 36 complete, Harvick leads SHR in the championship point standings. He is the new points leader with 287 points, one point ahead of second-place Edwards. Busch is seventh with 247 points, 40 points out of first. Patrick is 25th with 131 points, 156 out of first.
The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the Richmond 400 on Sunday, April 24, at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. The race starts at 1 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FOX.
