Date: Oct. 9, 2016
Event: Bank of America 500 (Round 30 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Start/Finish: 4th/6th (Running, completed 334 of 334 laps)
Points: 3rd with 3,036 points, 27 ahead of 9th place in Round of 12
Winner: Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
- Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 Interstate All Battery Center Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), finished sixth in the rain-delayed Bank of America 500 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.
- Busch qualified fourth in the 500-mile race, which was postponed from Saturday night due to heavy rain throughout the weekend. What started out as a solid run ended up with a series of unfortunate events during the first half of the event. Busch, after advancing to second, had to make an unscheduled pit stop on lap 92 for a delaminated right-front tire. He returned to the field and eventually settled into the 25th position, one lap down.
- Knowing there were plenty of laps left to make up for the lost positions, Busch and crew chief Adam Stevens began working on the balance of the car. Busch noted the front of the car was tight in the center of the turn but then loose from the rear when exiting.
- Stevens called Busch to pit road during a caution on lap 156 for four tires, fuel and adjustments. The team received a penalty during the stop for an uncontrolled tire and being over the wall too soon. Though Busch was the beneficiary of the caution and gained a lap, he was forced to restart from the rear of the lead pack in the 18th position.
- Busch rejoined the top-10 but was soon collected in an accident during a restart on lap 254. The car suffered heavy damage to the front end, but the crew was able to make repairs on pit road during the caution period to keep Busch on the lead lap. Though he lost a significant amount of positions yet again, he quickly began gaining ground after the restart.
- Busch was scored 11th when he came to pit road for the final time under caution on lap 312. He picked up four spots on pit road and restarted seventh with 18 laps remaining. He was able to gain one position before crossing the finish line to take it home in sixth. Busch remains third, 27 points ahead of ninth-place Austin Dillon, in the Round of 12 in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship.
Busch Discusses the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte:
“Anything can happen – that’s why you’ve got to run these races. So am I surprised? A little bit. Am I shocked? No. We’ve just got to keep doing what we know how to do, and luckily we had the opportunities to be able to battle back with our Interstate All Battery Center Camry. We need to keep working ourselves back in the position to where we can have a good, strong finish.”
The following are the race results of Busch’s Team Interstate teammates in Sunday’s Bank of America 500:
- Matt Kenseth and the No. 20 Toyota finished second.
- Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 19 Toyota, finished 12th.
- Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Toyota, finished 30th.
The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule – the fifth race of the Chase – is the Oct. 16 Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. The race starts at 2:15 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC.
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
