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KURT BUSCH – 2017 Chicagoland Race Report

Event:               Tales of the Turtles 400 (Round 27 of 36)
Series:               Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location:          Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois (1.5-mile oval)
Format:             267 laps, broken into three stages (80 laps/80 laps/107 laps) 

Race Winner:    Martin Truex Jr. of Furniture Row Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Cheverolet)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-80):

  • Kurt Busch started 17th, finished 13th.
  • Busch said his No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford Fusion was tight and loose during the opening laps.
  • On lap 40 Busch pitted for four tires, fuel and a tire pressure adjustment while he was 12th.
  • Busch stayed on the lead lap and finished 13th before pitting at the start of Stage 2. 

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 81-160):

  • Started 12th, finished eighth and picked up three bonus points.
  • Busch pitted on lap 83 for four tires, fuel and a tire pressure adjustment.
  • On lap 110, Busch was in seventh and said the car was loose.
  • Busch hit pit road on lap 123 while running seventh to take four tires, fuel and a wedge and tire pressure adjustment. 

Final Stage Recap (Laps 161-267):

  • Started eighth, finished 19th.
  • Under caution on lap 163 Busch pitted for four tires, fuel and a wedge and tire pressure adjustment. He said the car was still “a tick loose.”
  • Busch entered into the top-five on lap 174.
  • On lap 190, Busch said he had a small vibration. He fell to 10th before pitting on lap 200 for four tires and fuel.
  • Busch was caught speeding on pit road and had to serve a pass-through penalty.
  • The vibration was gone, but Busch was 20th and one lap down.
  • He finished the race in 19th position, two laps down. 

Notes:

  • Busch finished eighth in Stage 2 to earn three bonus points.
  • There were four caution periods for a total of 21 laps.
  • Twelve of the 40 drivers in the Tales of the Turtles 400 finished on the lead lap.
  • Martin Truex Jr. won the Tales of the Turtles 400 to score his 12th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his fifth of the season and his second at Chicagoland. His margin of victory over second-place Chase Elliott was 7.179 seconds.
  • Truex leads the championship standings with 2,102 points and holds a 27-point advantage over his nearest pursuer, Kyle Larson.

Playoff Standings (with two races to go before Round of 12):

  1. Martin Truex Jr. (2,102 points) 1 win
  2. Kyle Larson (2,075 points) +49 points
  3. Kevin Harvick (2,067 points) +41 points
  4. Brad Keselowski (2,061 points) +35 points
  5. Kyle Busch (2,061 points) +35 points
  6. Chase Elliott (2,059 points) +33 points
  7. Denny Hamlin (2,058 points) +32 points
  8. Jimmie Johnson (2,046 points) +20 points
  9. Matt Kenseth (2,039 points) +13 points
  10. Ryan Blaney (2,034 points) +8 points
  11. Jamie McMurray (2,031 points) +5 points
  12. Austin Dillon (2,026 points) 0 points
  13. Kurt Busch (2,026 points) -0 points
  14. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2,022 points) -4 points
  15. Kasey Kahne (2,021 points) -5 points
  16. Ryan Newman (2,019 points) -7 points

Next Up:

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the ISM Connect 300 on Sunday, Sept. 24 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon. It is the second race of the 10-race playoffs, and it starts at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN.