By AMANDA VINCENT
Kyle Busch dominated the Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa., on Sunday en route to his fourth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win of 2019. That tally makes him the winningest driver, 14 races into the season.
“It’s cool to get a win; cool to get a win at Pocono again with Rowdy Nation out there supporting us,” Busch said.
Busch’s latest Pocono win was his second-straight at the track and the third of his career at Pocono.
Brad Keselowski finished second.
“I think we had a pretty good Wabash Ford,” Keselowski said “We wanted a little bit more to be able to pass everybody, but you had to be so much faster that you just try to execute the best you can and hope things fall the right way. They fell decent, just not good enough to win today.”
One of Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Erik Jones, finished third. Chase Elliott and Clint Bowyer rounded out the top-five.
Busch took the lead on the restart that followed the caution after the conclusion of the first of two 50-lap stages in the 160-lap race. He, then, led most of the remainder of the race. In all, Busch was credited with 79 laps led.
Busch gave up the lead early in a cycle of green-flag pit stops with about 40 laps remaining. When Daniel Hemric pitted with 20 laps later to end the lengthy cycle, Busch reassumed the lead. Kevin Harvick was second to Busch before the final round of stops, but a penalty for an uncontrolled tire and the loss of power steering took Harvick out of contention.
Although Busch dominated the race, he failed to win either of the 50-lap stages that made up the first 100-lap of the race. Instead, Kyle Larson swept both stages.
After pole sitter William Byron led until a competition caution on lap 20, Kyle Larson took the lead with a two-tire pit stop and ran up front for the remainder of the opening stage.
Busch was among the drivers who pitted just before pit road closed in the final two laps of the opening stage. After others pitted during the caution between the two stages, and Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. remained on the race track, Busch took the lead soon after the race restarted early in the second stage.
When pit strategies varied in the second stage, with some teams pitting during at least one of three cautions in the stage and others pitting under green in the final laps of the stage, Larson wound up as the leader just before the second stage ended.
Larson wound up bouncing off the wall and off the pace after the final restart with fewer than 10 laps remaining in the race.
Busch was among the drivers who pitted just before pit road closed for the end of the second stage and stayed out during the caution at the end of the stage to retake the lead.
“I passed one guy on the outside in turn three, and that was the only guy I needed to pass, I guess,” Busch said. “It was hard otherwise. We kind of got stuck in traffic back, there, a little bit earlier in the race. We were about fifth or sixth and couldn’t really do anything. But, overall, my guys on pit road were awesome. Got some spots, there.”
Denny Hamlin finished sixth, Joey Logano was seventh, Daniel Suarez eighth, Byron ninth, and Aric Almirola finished 10th.
Below, is the complete finishing order of the Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway:
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