Race report

NASCAR Cup Pocono II

Kyle Busch takes Stage 1 win at Pocono

Kyle Busch collected his eighth stage win of 2017 at Pocono Raceway on Sunday.

Lee Spencer

Edited: Jul 30, 2017, 9:09 PM

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Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Busch, who started from the pole, led 30 circuits in the 50-lap segment and finished 1.110-seconds over Martin Truex Jr.

"We're pretty fast but we have another one (Martin Truex Jr.) that's right there with us," Busch said. "This M&M's Camry feels pretty good up front and hopefully we'll get ourselves back up there where we need to and get what we can here."

Kevin Harvick finished third followed by Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, Jamie McMurray, Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott.

Kyle Busch took the outside lane for the start of the race. Busch didn’t complete the first lap before Matt Kenseth spun in Turn 3 and collected Chris Buescher, Austin Dillon, Aric Almirola, Michael McDowell, Matt DiBenedetto, Dale Earnhardt Jr., to bring out the first caution. The front end of the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford was destroyed. The No. 32 GoFas Racing team pushed DiBenedetto down pit road and into the garage.

“I saw some smoke, I saw some cars stop and I just piled into the accident,” Almirola said.

Kenseth came to pit road after flat-spotting his tires. Landon Cassill, David Ragan, Gray Gaulding, Danica Patrick, Jeffrey Earnhardt and Paul Menard also pitted before the restart.

The race returned to green on Lap 8 with Busch at the point followed by Truex, Hamlin, McMurray, Harvick, Blaney, Logano, Jones, Keselowski, Chase Elliott, Kasey Kahne, Daniel Suarez, Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch. McMurray moved back to third after completing the lap. Blaney moved up to fourth followed by Harvick.

After the first 10 laps, Busch held a 1.128-second lead over Truex. McMurray, Blaney, Harvick, Hamlin, Elliott, Jones, Logano and Keselowski rounded out the top 10.

On Lap 15, Blaney and Keselowski pitted fourth and 10th, respectively. Busch’s lead was 1.461-seconds over Truex. Johnson pitted the following lap. Harvick, Logano, Kahne and Bowyer came down pit road after 17 laps. Jeffrey Earnhardt limped onto pit road after losing power on the next lap and McMurray and Elliott pitted for service. Second-Place driver Truex pitted on Lap 20 along with Ty Dillon.

Busch pitted from the lead on Lap 22 after leading the first 21 laps. He turned the point over to Jones. Suarez, Stenhouse Jr., Trevor Bayne and Kenseth rounded out the top-five. Kyle Larson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. came into the pits on the following lap. Earnhardt received a speeding penalty and served his penalty two laps later. He dropped to 35th, one lap off the pace.

Jones relinquished the lead to Stenhouse after three laps to pit. Suarez, Kenseth, Danica Patrick and Austin Dillon completed the top five. When Menard pitted on Lap 28, Kyle Busch advanced to sixth followed by Truex, Blaney, Ragan and McDowell.

With 20 laps to complete the stage, Stenhouse held the point followed by Suarez, Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Truex, Austin Dillon, Blaney, Keselowski, Harvick and McMurray. Stephen Leicht received a speeding penalty and served his drive-thru on Lap 32.

Suarez pitted on Lap 35 allowing Kenseth to move up to second followed but Busch and Truex. After leading 11 circuits, Stenhouse pitted from the lead on Lap 36. Kenseth took the lead after spinning on the first lap. Kyle Busch, Truex, Keselowski, Blaney, Harvick, McMurray, Bowyer, Hamlin and Larson rounded out the top 10.

With 11 laps remaining, Harvick moved past Blaney and Keselowski for fourth-place. Busch regained the lead on Lap 41. Truex followed. Kenseth, who dropped to third, complained about his brakes. Harvick, Keselowski, Blaney, McMurray, Bowyer, Larson and Hamlin rounded out the top 10.

Busch’s lead was .766-seconds over Truex with five laps to decide the stage. Kenseth pitted on the next lap from third and dropped to 21st. Harvick took the spot followed by Keselowski and Blaney. McMurray, Bowyer, Hamlin, Larson and Elliott completed the top 10.

Derrike Cope and Jeffrey Earnhardt started at the rear of the field at the start of the race. Cope missed the Drivers’ Meeting, the No. 33 team made unapproved adjustments to the Hulu Chevrolet. It was 74-degrees when the race began at 3:21.

Jeffrey Earnhardt blew up as the stage ended and oiled the track in Turn 3.

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