Pocono – Kyle Busch survived a late-race restart to win the Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway Sunday afternoon in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.
Today’s victory is a season-high fourth of the year for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, and third career victory in Pocono. Busch led four times for a race-high 79 laps enroute to victory at the Tricky Triangle in Long Pond, PA.
Busch reached another milestone with the victory, tying Rusty Wallace with 55 career wins in the Cup Series. “It’s pretty special – It’s pretty cool to continue to get with and eclipse many of these great names that helped build our sport and make it what it is today.”
Pocono 400 Race Notes
The Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway had 8 cautions for a total of 28 laps, with five incidents in today’s race.
Pole sitter William Byron led 25 laps in the Pocono 400. The second year driver started strong, leading the opening segment of the race before the competition caution on Lap 20. After falling back in the pack, Byron struggled to progress through the field ultimately finishing 9th.
Kevin Harvick‘s team received a penalty on pit road for an uncontrolled tire. Harvick’s string of bad luck and poor performance continued in the Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway.
Kyle Larson swept both stages, leading 35 laps. However, with 9 laps remaining Larson made contact with the outside wall, forcing the Chip Ganassi Racing driver to the pits.
Last week’s winner Martin Truex Jr. lost an engine and retired from the race. Engine troubles have been less common in 2019 with the new rules package producing nearly 200 less horsepower than last season.
Paul Menard made contact with Austin Dillon to bring out the first caution of the day. The incident forced Dillon to retire from the race after contact with the Turn 3 wall.
AD's day comes to an early end at @poconoraceway. ☹️
— #NASCARSalutes (@NASCAR) June 2, 2019
Take another look at what happened to @austindillon3. pic.twitter.com/hHZHKOOEmn
