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KURT BUSCH – 2017 Monster Energy All-Star Race Report

Event:               Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race (non-points event)
 Series:               Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 
Location:          Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval) 
Format:             70 laps, broken into four stages (20 laps/20 laps/20 laps/10 laps)
Start/Finish:      5th/4th (Running, completed 70 of 70 laps) 
Race Winner:    Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-20):

  • Kurt Busch started fifth, finished seventh.
  • Battled a loose-handling condition on entry and was tight off the corners for much of the stage.
  • Visited pit road at the end of Stage 1 for four tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments. 

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 21-40):

  • Started seventh, finished fourth.
  • Struggled with a loose-handling condition throughout the stage.
  • Visited pit road at the end of Stage 2 to take his set of four option tires, fuel and wedge and air pressure adjustments. 

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 41-60):

  • Started sixth, finished fourth.
  • Ran as high as second in the stage.
  • Experienced a tight-handling condition through the middle and exit of the corners.
  • Visited pit road at the end of Stage 3 to take four tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments. 

Final Stage Recap (Laps 61-70):

  • Started fourth, finished fourth. 

Notes:

  • Busch made his 16th Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star start at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
  • He earned his eighth top-five and 10th top-10 All-Star Race finish.

Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 4 Monster Energy Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing: 

“The fun factor was at an all-time high tonight and we did a great job through everything, I’d say at an A-minus level. We wanted to win tonight for our sponsor, Monster Energy. They put a ton into this and the excitement and the value of coming tonight, I thought the fans got their money’s worth. We were good on pit stops. We were good on restarts. We were good on setup and adjustments and picking which lane, we just didn’t do anything exceptional tonight. We still ran top-five all night, so that’s what we’ll take away. We had short-run speed tonight, but we have to switch all that for the long 600-mile endurance race next week. We wanted to put on a show tonight. We ran an A-minus and that’s not gonna win you a million bucks. Congrats to Kyle.”

Next Up:                                                                        

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, May 28 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. The race starts at 6 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FOX.