Kyle Busch resigned to four races without his crew chief

LONG POND, PA - JUNE 10: Kyle Busch drives the #18 M&M's Red, White, & Blue Toyota during practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Axalta presents the Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway on June 10, 2017 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)
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LONG POND, Pa. –  Kyle Busch won the pole for Sunday’s Axalta presents the Pocono 400 without his crew chief, Adam Stevens, on the pit box, and that’s a good thing – because Busch won’t have Steven’s services for the next four races.

Last Sunday at Dover International Speedway, Busch’s pit crew failed to attach the left rear tire to the No. 18 Toyota before the jack dropped. As a consequence, Busch rolled around the one-mile track on three wheels, eventually limping back to pit road.

When a wheel falls off a car, the team draws a penalty, and part of the punishment is a four-race suspension for the crew chief. Though Busch would argue there was no intent on the part of his team to violate a rule, NASCAR doesn’t infer intent when dealing with infractions that deal with safety issues.

Joe Gibbs Racing opted not to appeal the penalty, largely because of the position of the four suspension races on the schedule.

“When you look at the stretch, I think the biggest thing is we looked at the four races – none of them are (playoff) races,” Busch said. “I would have appealed it, because I think there was a reason to. I think there was also a reason not to with going to Pocono and Michigan, Sonoma and then Daytona. We’ll do what we need to do.

“And at least he (Stevens) can stay home with his kids more often the next couple days and not have to travel all the way out to Sonoma and miss that one. I think his wife and my wife had a wine date in Sonoma, so she’s still coming but it’s going to be fun. To work as hard as we do and do what we do without him, it’s going to be fun because it is a challenge, but it’s also sad at the same time, because you have to be without one of your main people.”

The Pocono pole, at least, is a good start to what could be a difficult month. Then again, perhaps not. Busch also topped the speed chart in Saturday’s final practice, turning a lap at 175.421 mph on the triangular 2.5-mile track.

SHORT STROKES

Early in final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Pocono Raceway, the Chevrolet of Kyle Larson slipped in the Tunnel Turn and slid sideways, lighting up the tires in a dense cloud of smoke. Larson kept the car off the wall, however, and polesitter Kyle Busch, who was trailing Larson through the corner got past the spin without incident…

Larson nevertheless was third fastest behind Busch (175.421 mph) and Brad Keselowski (175.285 mph) in Happy Hour, posting a lap at 175.210 mph before his spin. Chase Elliott was fourth quickest at 175.077 mph. Though Toyotas swept the top three in Friday afternoon’s knockout qualifying session, Busch was the only Toyota driver in the top 10 in final practice.

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.