Skip to content

KURT BUSCH – 2017 Las Vegas Race Report

Event:               Kobalt 400 (Round 3 of 36) 
Series:               Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 
Location:          Las Vegas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Format:             267 laps, broken into three stages (80 laps/80 laps/107 laps)
Start/Finish:      17th/30th (Running, completed 263 of 267 laps) 
Point Standing: 7th (93 points, 39 out of first)
Race Winner:    Martin Truex Jr. of Furniture Row Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-80):

  • Kurt Busch started 17th, finished 12th.
  • Busch was scored as high as 10th during Stage 1.
  • Battled a loose-handling condition for much of the Stage.
  • Visited pit road at the conclusion of Stage 1 for right-side tires, fuel and chassis adjustments. 

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 81-160):

  • Started 15th, finished 17th.
  • Experienced an electrical issue that forced him to shut off everything but the fan for the rear gear.
  • Made a pit stop during green-flag conditions on lap 126 for four tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments.
  • Struggled with a tight-handling condition at the beginning of the run but loose as the laps clicked off.
  • Visited pit road at the conclusion of Stage 2 for four tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments. 

Final Stage Recap (Laps 161-267):

  • Started 18th, finished 30th.
  • Struggled with a tight-handling condition.
  • Forced to pit on lap 201 to replace batteries under green-flag conditions. Lost four laps. 

Notes:

  • Busch made his 16th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start at his home track.

 Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“We went through a lot today. Obviously it wasn’t the day we were hoping to have with our Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford Fusion. We didn’t have the long-run speed or the balance, and we had an electrical issue that forced us to change batteries on pit road. We kept battling, we didn’t give up. I hoped to have a better run here in front of the hometown fans.”

Next Up:                                                                        

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Camping World 500k on Sunday, March 19 at Phoenix International Raceway. The race starts at 3:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FOX.