It might not look like it at the moment but Kyle Busch is perhaps one of the greatest drivers of this generation. He displayed his immense racecraft in the Pocono Cup Series race in 2021 which he won by over eight seconds. Given the issues he had faced on the day, this particular win might be one of his most impressive performances. Towards the end of the race, the veteran was struggling with gear and fuel issues.
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Rowdy’s car had been stuck in fourth gear and he was low on fuel. In these situations, nursing the car to the finish line takes precedence over flat-out speed. Fuel management is one of the toughest aspects of motor racing and Busch managed it to perfection. It marked his fourth win on the track. After the race, he said that he extracted everything possible out of the #18 Joe Gibbs Racing car.
On this day in 2021, Kyle Busch won at Pocono! pic.twitter.com/SK1bt70dkm
— Nascarpixtures (@Nascarpixtures) June 27, 2024
“Sometimes these races aren’t always won by the fastest car, but I felt we had the fastest car, even though we were in the back and behind and having to come through and persevere through being stuck in fourth gear, no clutch, all that stuff. It’s all burned out,” he told NASCAR.
The Cup Series returns to the Pocono Raceway on Sunday and Rowdy finds the odds stacked against him like never before. But if anyone can rise through adversities and secure victory, it is the two-time Cup Series champion.
Stats are in favor of a Busch masterclass at Pocono this year
His stats at the Pocono Raceway suggest that he can pull it off. He has won four times at the track before and has 10 top-five finishes. Rowdy did well in the Chicago Street Race to finish P9 so he will have some confidence going into the event on Sunday. In the last 13 starts at the track, he has finished outside the top 10 only three times.
NASCAR’s power rankings lifted Rowdy four places thanks to the Chicago result. He will be hoping for a similar performance on Sunday. The veteran racer is on the longest winless run of his career right now. Breaking it at the ‘Tricky Triangle’ would mean a lot to the two-time Cup Series champion.
