M&M'S® News
August 3, 2008
Kyle Busch and M&M'S® Team denied Pocono Redemption
Long Pond, PA (August 3, 2008)Redemption was on the minds of Kyle Busch and the No. 18 M&M’S® Racing Team at Pocono Raceway on Sunday afternoon and they came within a breath of earning some hard-fought satisfaction. They were denied that moment however when Busch ran out of fuel with two laps to go and had to make a quick stop for fuel. The loss of time and track position relegated the M&M’S Team to a 36th-place finish.
Busch and his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Team faced an uphill battle early in the event having to start from deep in the field in 27th position. A determined Busch methodically picked up positions on the track and moved into the top 20 by lap 15. Busch’s progression was not without challenges as he battled an ill-handling race car with handling issues that plagued the car in every way and in every turn of the track.
Steve Addington (crew chief) and the crew made numerous adjustments throughout the course of the event, and at times, the handling on the M&M’S Toyota would balance out and allow Busch to make effective passes on the track. Busch was in the top 10 and climbing by lap 55.
As the event continued the weather conditions changed and rain started to fall across the track around lap 130 and eventually forced NASCAR to drop the red flag which halted all racing action for approximately 45 minutes. During this time the team determined it could make it to the end of the race on one more pit stop. The strategy was employed by a number of competitors. With that strategy and a better-handling race car, Busch steadily raced his way into the top five.
Busch moved to fourth place with less than 10 laps to go in the race and was poised for a solid top-five finish. The finish was to be denied however when on lap 198 Busch reported that he was out of fuel. He quickly dove onto pit road for fuel. With the car out of fuel, the team had to push the car to start which cost them even more time. By the time Busch returned to the track he had lost a lap to the leader. He finished the day in 36th position.
“We went off the numbers that we had been getting all day long and I don’t understand why we didn’t get to the end,” Addington said after the race. “We should have made it to the stripe and just don’t totally understand why we got worse fuel mileage at the last run of the day. That’s the chance you take with it.”
Carl Edwards walked away with the win at Pocono, his fourth win of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Busch’s teammate Tony Stewart earned the runner-up finish position. The rest of the top-five finishers were Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick and David Ragan.
Busch maintains his lead in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver point standings, although by a smaller margin. Busch is 176 points ahead of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. who remains second in the point standings.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series travels to Watkins Glen, N.Y. for the second and final road course race of the 2008 season. The Centurion Boats at the Glen is scheduled for a 2 p.m. EDT start on Sunday, August 10. ESPN begins its live broadcast of the event with its Countdown to Green show at 1 p.m. Live radio coverage will be provided by the Motor Racing Network (MRN).
