After starting 11th in the 40-car field, Busch ran in the top-10 for much of the race despite struggling with handling issues that had his Chevrolet loose exiting the corners while tight in the center. Crew chief Tony Gibson called for wedge and air pressure adjustments each time the No. 41 came to pit road, while Busch adjusted the track bar inside the racecar to help fine-tune the chassis. As a result, Busch was able to hold steady in the top-10 despite his handling woes.
Busch was running 12th when the caution flag waved with 10 laps remaining. He and Gibson agreed to pit for one last round of adjustments to give him what he needed to improve his position. Unfortunately, Busch didn’t get much opportunity to put his fresh tires to use as three more incidents would limit the amount of green-flag laps toward the end. On the final restart, Busch lined up 11th and took the white flag in 10th. But on the last lap, contact from Austin Dillon would force Busch out of the groove, allowing Dillon and a handful of other drivers to get by him. He crossed the finish line 16th, a disappointing result considering the strong run the No. 41 team had.
Busch’s teammate Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS, led the four-car SHR contingent Sunday by finishing sixth.
Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Chevy Summer Sell Down Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 11th. Stewart was headed toward a top-10 finish until a pit-road speeding penalty with 38 laps remaining put him a lap down at the tail end of the field. Stewart restarted in 30th on lap 135, but he rallied to regain his lap and pick up 19 positions before the checkered flag waved.
Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 Nature’s Bakery Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 22nd after getting collected in a multicar accident with only seven laps remaining.
Kyle Busch won the Brickyard 400 in dominating fashion by leading three times for a race-high 149 laps. Busch survived four late-race restarts that pushed the event into overtime to collect his 38th career Sprint Cup victory, his fourth of the season and his second straight at Indianapolis. Busch’s margin of victory over second-place Matt Kenseth was 2.126 seconds. Finishing third was Jimmie Johnson, while Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson rounded out the top-five. Harvick, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr., Dillon and Paul Menard comprised the remainder of the top-10.
There were eight caution periods for 34 laps, with seven drivers failing to finish the 170-lap race around the 2.5-mile oval, which went 10 laps past its scheduled 160-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.
With round 20 of 36 complete, Harvick continues to lead SHR and the series in the championship standings. He remains first with 671 points, 24 ahead of second-place Brad Keselowski. Kurt Busch is third with 627 points, 44 behind Harvick. Patrick is 24th with 373 points, 136 ahead of 31st-place Chris Buescher. Stewart is 27th with 317 points, 80 ahead of 31st.
Harvick, Busch and Stewart are all eligible to compete in the 16-driver, 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, which begins after the Sept. 10 race at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. All have won a race this season and are among the top-30 in points, the two requirements necessary to secure a spot in the Chase. Patrick can also earn a Chase berth by winning a race and staying inside the top-30. Six races remain before the Chase begins Sept. 18 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois.
The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the Pennsylvania 400 on Sunday, July 31 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. The race begins at 1:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN.
SHR Press Release.
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