Kenseth fills up with win as Busch/Logano run out of gas

The first half of today’s Windows 10 400 (An example of the ever-confusing sponsored race title that itself ends in a number) took a long, long time.

So did second- and third-place finishers Brad Keselowski and Jeff Gordon. He was scored as the first driver one lap down. But Busch also was in save mode and as he approached Turn 2 on the final lap, he reported to the crew, “It’s out”.

It all felt so right to Kenseth, but the story of Sunday’s race is that, for once, everything everybody else on pit road and in those cars knew, turned out to be wrong. Debris flew behind the wall, but there were no injuries. The red flag lasted about fifteen minutes.

“It’s bad for just our team to lose a auto that quickly into this race”, he said.

Kevin Harvicks No. 4 suffered engine failure only 20 laps into the race. His exit was forced by a scary wreck in which his auto Clipped the outside wall in Turn 3 and shot across the track into pit lane. But we’d catch an untimely caution or something.

Harvick had to go to the garage, where his team determined his engine completely expired.

Series leader Juan Pablo Montoya finished 11th.

Gordon’s farewell to Pocono has him the track’s career leader in wins with six and laps led. Or when Ricky Stenhouse Jr., not seeing the slowing Sam Hornish Jr. ahead, plowed right into the back of the No. 9 auto in an accident that resembled something you’d see on any freeway in America. Kurt Busch spun, tried to save his vehicle and was plowed into by Hornish. Then came the final lap, the one Busch had called his own for three weeks and four of the past five. All of Keslowski’s crew member were uninjured. Harvick won in 2011 and Dillon is the defending champion of the race. The race totaled eight cautions, well shy of the surprisingly high record of thirteen.

For Kyle Busch, his incredible luck lately ran out half a lap early.

The average window for pit stops at Pocono is 30-32 laps. When the last stint remained green, they began saving fuel too late – after pushing each other for the lead. I won at Pocono, I didn’t think that would ever happen, and I won a fuel-mileage race.

Matt Kenseth proved to be a master of saving fuel in winning at Pocono on Sunday.

With three laps to go, Logano’s number 22 Ford started swerve, indicating Logano had run out of fuel. Kenseth pitted for the final time on Lap 123. Logano ultimately finished 20th.

And then – you guessed it – Busch saw his chance at a fourth consecutive Cup Series win go by the wayside as he ran out of fuel.

In a similar Fox Sports reportm Kenseth said that his victory at Pocono was really unexpected.

Fuel mileage, always a factor, whether it’s buying a vehicle, or getting one to victory lane.

Though this finish was a minor setback for a driver the caliber of Busch, one can still not let the greatness of what he is doing slip them by. Kenseth won at Bristol in April. In mid-May, Busch announced his return to the circuit. However, while Logano could afford the risky strategy, Busch could not. A top 30 point standing is important because that is the cutoff line for Chase drivers. He returned in May for the All-Star race, after missing the first eleven events.

Kenseth and crew could afford to gamble on fuel as he already had a victory and an nearly guaranteed spot in the Chase by virtue of being 331 points up on 30th place.

Instead Busch finished 21st.

The result, which is Kenseth’s second win of 2015, locks the Joe Gibbs Racing driver into the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

NASCAR goes to Watkin’s Glen global next Sunday for the Cheez-It 355.