Kyle Busch

Kyle Busch cruised to the top of the Pocono 400 on Sunday, the 14th chapter in the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. 

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver now has four wins this season, the most of any car in the series, and this triumph ended a seven-race winless streak at Pocono. With Sunday's victory, Busch expanded his lead atop the standings.

Think he's getting the hang of these? 🚗💨@KyleBusch | @JoeGibbsRacing pic.twitter.com/o1WeeOnGDT

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 2, 2019

Busch led for a race-high 79 laps after starting in third.

It was a good day overall for Joe Gibbs Racing as Erik Jones finished third and Denny Hamlin claimed sixth. 

For the third straight race, William Byron, the race's pole winner, finished ninth after doing so in the All-Star Race and Coca-Cola 600. The Hendricks Motorsports driver has three pole wins this season but has yet to convert those into a race victory. The No. 24 car led for 26 laps Sunday.

Kyle Larson won both Stage 1 and 2 to claim three playoff points but stumbled to finish in 26th after hitting the wall following a restart. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver led for 35 laps—the second-most behind Busch.

   

Pocono 400 Results

1. Kyle Busch

2. Brad Keselowski 

3. Erik Jones

4. Chase Elliott

5. Clint Bowyer

6. Denny Hamlin

7. Joey Logano

8. Daniel Suarez

9. William Byron

10. Aric Almirola

Full results available at NASCAR.com.

Austin Dillon had similar luck to Larson. After starting the race in fourth position, he was ousted after 28 laps when he tangled with Paul Menard's No. 21 car, which caused his No. 3 to crash into the wall at Turn 3: 

AD's day comes to an early end at @poconoraceway. ☹️

Take another look at what happened to @austindillon3. pic.twitter.com/hHZHKOOEmn

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 2, 2019

Austin Dillon doesn’t take much solace in Paul Menard taking the blame. #nascar @NASCARONFOX pic.twitter.com/UfRCmfuMB4

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) June 2, 2019

Similarly, reigning Pocono 400 champion Martin Truex Jr.'s day was done after 91 laps because of engine trouble. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver was fresh off winning the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway last weekend. Truex entered Sunday at sixth place in the Cup Series standings, 80 points off the lead. 

Not what you want to see if you're an MTJ fan. 😭@MartinTruex_Jr's crew pushes the No. 19 behind the wall after suffering engine issues. pic.twitter.com/Xubh8LYUL4

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 2, 2019

While the No. 19 car had won three of the last five races, Pocono marked his second "did not finish" this season—the other being at the Daytona 500. 

Kevin Harvick finished the race, albeit in 22nd place. His race was derailed by an uncontrolled tire violation, and after he served his pass-through penalty, the No. 4 car couldn't recover. On the broadcast, Harvick was said to have a cracked steering box.

The Stewart-Haas Racing driver is now a frustrating 0-of-37 all-time at Pocono. 

☹️@StewartHaasRcng | #Pocono400 pic.twitter.com/VWg0rA0TQH

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 2, 2019

Joe Gibbs Racing arrived to Pocono in first place with 528 points and will enjoy an extra boost thanks to Busch, Jones and Hamlin. 

The field's next chance to close in on Busch will be the FireKeepers Casino 400 on Sunday at Michigan International Speedway. 

William Byron will break from the pole position in Sunday's Pocono 400 after posting the best time during single-run qualifying Saturday at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania.

Kyle Busch also earned a place on the front row for the 14th race of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. Clint Bowyer and Erik Jones will break from Row 2 at the Tricky Triangle.

Byron picks up his third pole of the 2019 campaign, tying Kevin Harvick for the series lead.

Here's a look at the top 10 starters for Sunday's race (via NASCAR.com):

1. William Byron (24)

2. Kyle Busch (18)

3. Clint Bowyer (14)

4. Erik Jones (20)

5. Brad Keselowski (2)

6. Denny Hamlin (11)

7. Kyle Larson (42)

8. Jimmie Johnson (48)

9. Daniel Suarez (41)

10. Austin Dillon (3)

Byron's task now becomes trying to translate one of his front-row qualifying sessions—he's also started second three times—into his first win of the campaign.

The 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion hasn't finished better than sixth in any race, which is why he's 15th in the standings despite the qualifying success, with results of 21st (Daytona 500) and ninth (Coca-Cola 600) after his first two poles.

Back-to-back poles for Byron! Retweet to congratulate the No. 24 team.

Will they get it done tomorrow in Pocono?? pic.twitter.com/oQivzszTgB

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) June 1, 2019

Martin Truex Jr., a Row 10 starter, is the defending champion in the spring race at Pocono and also emerged victorious in last weekend's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The 30-year-old New Jersey native is hopeful his past success at this week's track, including two wins and 10 top-10 finishes in 26 career starts, leads to another strong showing.

"But places that we've had success before, it seems to translate a little bit and I think a lot of that is just driver confidence and understanding the race track and team kind of understanding it as well," Truex told reporters Friday. "Hopefully we have the right approach. It's going to be a tough weekend."

Busch was listed as the race favorite (5-2 odds, per Vegas Insider) before qualifying.

The Pocono 400 green flag is scheduled to wave Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1.

The 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series continues in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, this weekend as Kyle Busch seeks to snap a seven-race winless streak at the Pocono 400 on Sunday.

Drivers will come together at Pocono Raceway for Saturday's qualifying session in order to determine the lineup ahead of the 14th race of the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series.

Busch leads the driver standings by only six points after Joey Logano's run of four top-four finishes in his past six races significantly boosted his title prospects.

Logano is the only driver with a realistic chance of stealing the NASCAR Cup Series lead at Pocono, but there's a steady lineup of contenders waiting to break from the pack at this midway stage of the season.

         

Date: Sunday, June 2

Location: Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, Pennsylvania

TV Info: FS1 (U.S.)

Tickets: StubHub

       

TV Schedule, Start Times (All Times ET)

Saturday, June 1

11:35 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying

       

Sunday, June 2

2 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pocono 400

         

Driver Lineup (Per NASCAR's official website)

1. William Byron

2. Aric Almirola

3. Kyle Busch

4. Austin Dillon

5. Kevin Harvick

6. Daniel Suarez

7. Joey Logano

8. Clint Bowyer

9. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

10. Daniel Hemric

11. Kurt Busch

12. Chase Elliott

13. Alex Bowman

14. Martin Truex Jr.

15. Jimmie Johnson

16. Erik Jones

17. Paul Menard

18. Ryan Newman

19. Ryan Blaney

20. Denny Hamlin

21. Brad Keselowski

22. Chris Buescher

23. Michael McDowell

24. Ryan Preece

25. Kyle Larson

26. Matt Tifft

27. JJ Yeley

28. Ty Dillon

29. Bubba Wallace

30. Corey LaJoie

31. David Ragan

32. Landon Cassill

33. Bayley Currey

        

Preview

Whether talking about any given individual race or the sport as a whole, NASCAR is a test of endurance. Busch started his season strongly and has as many wins as any other driver this season (three), but the campaign could all begin to change at Pocono.

Thirteen races have been held this season, with another 13 left to run before the Cup Championship Play-Offs, making this as good a time as any for drivers to pause and reassess their prospects.

Kevin Harvick, for example, is fourth in the standings and only 50 points from the top—alongside Chase Elliott in third—and he's one of the high-profile stars out to end that win drought at Pocono:

Team Penske's Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. are the only other drivers to have won three races this year, and the latter in particular has soared after clinching all of those victories in his past five outings.

Hendrick Motorsports star Alex Bowman has also enjoyed a hot streak of late and moved into 10th place overall after finishing seventh at the Coca Cola 600 in Charlotte on Sunday:

Truex Jr. was the real star of that race as his pick-up in results continued. He could become the first driver to four wins this season—not to mention only the second to win back-to-back races—if he finishes first at Pocono.

Bowman finished second three races in a row prior to Charlotte and is beginning to gather confidence, which he demonstrated when proclaiming Logano would "get his" following a recent run-in, via Fox:

Alex Bowman on Joey Logano: "It's all good and he'll get his for sure." pic.twitter.com/svU9x2dN7g

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) June 1, 2019

Denny Hamlin's output has suffered a little after a promising first third of the season, having now finished his past four races in 36th place, 21st, 16th and 17th in that order.

Truex Jr. won the Pocono 400 last year and was also the victor in 2015. Denny Hamlin (2006, 2010) and Jimmie Johnson (2004, 2013) are the only other active drivers to have won more than once at the track, though Truex Jr.'s more recent success suggests he could have the edge.

NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 takes place at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina this Sunday. William Byron topped qualifying to take pole, but Kyle Busch will be fancied to repeat 2018's success on this track.

Kevin Harvick also has history on his side, having won in Charlotte on two occasions. The last of those came in 2013, but the Stewart-Haas Racing star can still best any driver on his day.

       

Date: Sunday, May 26

Start Time: 6 p.m. ET/11 p.m. BST

TV Info: Fox

Live Stream: Fox Sports Go, fuboTV

Tickets: StubHub

      

Lineup (Per NASCAR's official website)

1. William Byron

2. Aric Almirola

3. Kyle Busch

4. Austin Dillon

5. Kevin Harvick

6. Daniel Suarez

7. Joey Logano

8. Clint Bowyer

9. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

10. Daniel Hemric

11. Kurt Busch

12. Chase Elliott

13. Alex Bowman

14. Martin Truex Jr.

15. Jimmie Johnson

16. Erik Jones

17. Paul Menard

18. Ryan Newman

19. Ryan Blaney

20. Denny Hamlin

21. Brad Keselowski

22. Chris Buescher

23. Michael McDowell

24. Ryan Preece

25. Kyle Larson

26. Matt Tifft

27. Matt DiBenedetto

28. Ty Dillon

29. Bubba Wallace

30. Corey LaJoie

31. David Ragan

32. Landon Cassill

33. Bayley Currey

34. Parker Kligerman

35. Ross Chastain

36. BJ McLeod

37. Reed Sorenson

38. Cody Ware

39. Quin Houff

40. Joey Gase

      

Busch to Win for 2nd Year in a Row

Form is always a good gauge for success, even in an event rarely short of a surprise or two. It's why Busch will be the driver to beat Sunday.

The 34-year-old has already recorded three wins this year. Busch boosted his case further when he offered a reminder of his comfort in Charlotte by finishing third in last Sunday's All-Star Race.

The Joe Gibbs Racing star crossed the line trailing Harvick and Chip Ganassi Racing's Kyle Larson.

Busch has the vehicle to improve Sunday, according to Michelle R. Martinelli of USA Today Sports' FTW! Racing: "His No. 18 Toyota is always one of the cars to beat, and if he stays out of trouble, there's a good chance he'll make a run for the lead late in the race."

.@KyleBusch gets into the wall while running second!

He slips back to third, as @KevinHarvick moves by. pic.twitter.com/hbkMqhrwIp

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 19, 2019

It's difficult to believe Busch won't live up to those words.

      

Harvick Set for Runner-Up Spot

It's been a tough season for Harvick, who has yet to post a win. His struggles were summed up by events during the All-Star Race.

The 43-year-old slipped behind Larson late on, despite leading for a race-high 33 laps, per NASCAR's official website.

It's not unusual since Busch leads all active Cup drivers with 1,370 laps led at Charlotte, according to Matthew Mayer of CBSSports.com.

He is also a proven winner in Charlotte, with 2011's race a prime example of his confidence on this track:

Dale Jr. ran out of gas. Kevin Harvick took the checkered. pic.twitter.com/GxYoBpzZGA

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 23, 2019

Harvick's experience means he is likely to have learned invaluable lessons from last week. Count on him setting the initial pace and staying in touch late on.

It won't be enough to snap the winless streak, but Harvick will drive a solid race worthy of another runner-up spot.  

For most of Thursday evening, it looked like Aric Almirola would take the pole for the Coca-Cola 600. 

Then William Byron took the track, scorched the field and walked away with his second pole of the 2019 season. Byron went around Charlotte Motor Speedway in 29.440 seconds with an average speed of 183.424 mph to start on the inside of the front row in Sunday's race.

Almirola will start on the outside of Row 1, while Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon and Kevin Harvick round out the Top Five.

1. William Byron

2. Aric Almirola

3. Kyle Busch

4. Austin Dillon

5. Kevin Harvick

6. Daniel Suarez

7. Joey Logano

8. Clint Bowyer

9. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

10. Daniel Hemric

11. Kurt Busch

12. Chase Elliott

13. Alex Bowman

14. Martin Truex Jr.

15. Jimmie Johnson

16. Erik Jones

17. Paul Menard

18. Ryan Newman

19. Ryan Blaney

20. Denny Hamlin

Full results at NASCAR.com

To the top of the board goes @WilliamByron!

The @TeamHendrick driver bumps @Aric_Almirola late in #BuschPole qualifying: https://t.co/WJ94Lfts3v pic.twitter.com/Kthst3enFy

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 23, 2019

 

Byron previously won the pole at the Daytona 500 before finishing 21st. He has just two top 10s in points races this season but is coming off a ninth-place finish in last week's All-Star race in Charlotte. During his rookie season, Byron had finishes of 39th and 34th at Charlotte.

"I think it's a true test of your fitness level and mental capacity as a driver, not just for the heat but for the endurance it takes," Byron said of the Coca-Cola 600, per Reuters.

"Team-wise, there was a stretch for a few years that it was easier to make it 600 miles, but now with the performance as critical as it is, I think the cars are pushed more and the engines are pushed more, making it harder to go the full distance. I think this race really is a test of everything you have as the sport just gets more and more competitive."

Almirola also noted the endurance needed to run the 600-mile trek while also noting the race presents a unique opportunity for points. 

"What you have from a driveability and balance standpoint from the race car at the beginning of the race is not what you have at the end," Almirola said. "You're trying to figure out what it takes to get your car to win at the end, and you have to be good at all facets because there are a lot of points to be made."

Byron and Almirola don't have to look far for guys with experience winning the race. Kyle Busch is the defending champion and will start in third, while 2017 winner Austin Dillon starts fourth. 

Martin Truex Jr. won the Gander RV 400 at Dover International Speedway on Monday, following Sunday's weather postponement. 

Retweet to congratulate @MartinTruex_Jr on winning the #GanderRV400 at the @MonsterMile! 🏁 pic.twitter.com/47TkAyjAnG

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 6, 2019

MTJ! Retweet to congratulate the No. 19 team on their WIN in Dover. pic.twitter.com/93jBCmCu0S

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 6, 2019

It was his 21st NASCAR Cup win, second in the past three races and third at the Delaware concrete track. 

The New Jersey native held off a stiff challenge from Alex Bowman, who also finished just behind Truex in the second stage and now has been the runner-up in consecutive races.

This was fun!

Watch as @MartinTruex_Jr and @AlexBowman88 battle it out for the stage victory at the @MonsterMile. #GanderRV400 pic.twitter.com/75SwqB3M28

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 6, 2019

Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliott, Erik Jones, Joey Logano, William Byron, Clint Bowyer and Kyle Busch rounded out the top 10 finishers.

Logano, the defending Cup series champion, won the first stage.

Truex made quite the comeback Monday, starting from the back of the field after failing his pre-race inspection twice Sunday, per Jim Utter of Motorsport.com.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver said on Fox Sports 1 after his victory (h/t Jerry Bonkowski of NBC Sports):

"It feels incredible. What a race car we had today. We've got one hell of a team. We came here with a new setup this time. We had been good, but not good enough.

"Thanks to all these fans for coming out here today. This is awesome. I promise, it wasn't easy. It was a lot of work, it was tough, but this race car, man, was incredible. Without Talladega (finished 20th), we would have won two in a row."

They'll definitely keep that setup. 😉@MartinTruex_Jr looks back on how his team got it done today at the @MonsterMile. pic.twitter.com/xMxvli6yyx

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 6, 2019

Truex is cooking right now. He was excellent on Monday, winning by 9.5 seconds, though Bowman has been putting together some nice races of late himself, particularly in his past two. 

"I'm worn out," the second-year Richard Childress Racing driver said after the race. "This is the physically hardest race of the year for me, for sure. Things went Martin's way today. I wish I was in Martin's way at the end of the race, but we had a shot at it and that's all you can ask for. ... It'd be better if we had a trophy, but we needed this one, for sure."

Larson was pleased with his third-place finish:

.@KyleLarsonRacin (P3) got the solid day he needed.

This is his eighth top-10 finish in 11 races at the @MonsterMile! pic.twitter.com/ogHCqSo3cy

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 6, 2019

Not everyone was happy after the race. A few folks weren't pleased with the new rules package in place, which, according to Autoweek.com, "features a horsepower target of 550 for tracks larger than 1.3 miles. That means Dover features 2018 level horsepower with the added downforce of the 2019 regulations."

Kyle Busch, in particular, wasn't pleased, though he wasn't alone (WARNING: NSFW LANGUAGE).

Let me second @KyleBusch statement, this package sucks. Has nothing to do with where he finished https://t.co/2lQXukinFq

— Bob Leavine (@BLeavine) May 6, 2019

.@KevinHarvick post-race (P4) 👇🏼

"Here's the hard thing about the package. I think that NASCAR's tried to accomplish a lot of things with one particular package, but you look at how the cars drive behind each other & from a driver's standpoint, it's hard to race them. Anywhere."

— Davey Segal (@DaveyCenter) May 6, 2019

Busch—who tied Morgan Stewart's 1990 record for the most top-10 finishes to start a season (11) and sits atop the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup leaderboard with 430 points, 15 points clear of Logano—hasn't been shy about his misgivings with the current rules package.

"You pretty much know as a driver what too fast is," he added last week. "If you (crash here) with the speeds we are carrying into the corner, it is going to hurt. The faster you go, the harder you are going to hit the wall.

Chase Elliott will hope to seal back-to-back wins in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series for the first time in his career when he starts on pole at Dover International Speedway for the Gander RV 400 on Sunday.

Hendrick Motorsports' No. 9 took the top qualifying position in Dover, Delaware, on Friday and will line up in the front row as he looks to build on his first win of the season at Talladega last week.

Elliott will be joined at the front of the race by Hendricks team-mate William Byron, 21, another young gun looking to leave his mark on an experienced field and get his first win of 2019.

NASCAR reporter Bob Pockrass posted a complete lineup for the 11th race of this season:

Lineup for Cup race Sunday at Dover. ⁦@NASCARONFOX⁩ pic.twitter.com/7MY2CVOIIL

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) May 3, 2019

       

Date: Sunday, May 5

Location: Dover International Speedway, Dover, Delaware

TV Info: FS1 (U.S.)

Tickets: StubHub

       

TV Schedule, Start Times (All Times ET)

Saturday, May 4

9:05 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (second practice)

12 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (final practice)

       

Sunday, May 5

2 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Gander RV 400

        

Preview

There are more than 100 points separating drivers' championship standings leader Kyle Busch from Elliott down in seventh, but the latter's season looks to be on the up of late.

The 23-year-old Hendricks Motorsports star finished top 10 in only two of the first nine races this NASCAR Cup Series, but a first win of 2019 in Lincoln, Alabama, last Sunday has transformed his prospects.

Elliott is yet to finish lower than 19th in any race this year and has been a reliable force for his team as they look to drive up the standings. The Georgia native expressed his satisfaction to have team-mate Byron at the front with him after he took the Busch Pole Award in Dover qualifying:

While he may not have won this race specifically, Elliott knows how it feels to triumph at Dover International Speedway after he clinched victory in the Dover Outdoors 400 last season.

That was the first of two wins in the space of three races for him last term, but he's hoping to go one better by recording successive race victories for the first time in his young career come Sunday:

Retweet to congratulate @chaseelliott on the dramatic win at @TalladegaSuperS!#GEICO500 pic.twitter.com/CK4AYetXeM

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) April 28, 2019

Veteran Jimmie Johnson is yet to win a Series race so far in 2019, but the most successful driver in Dover 400 history will hope this event can yet again bring him some good fortune.

Another star of the Hendricks Motorsports family, Johnson starts in Row 6 and is hoping to recapture a title he's won six times in his career, at least four times more than any other driver. The most recent of those wins came in 2017, with Johnson clinching victory in five of the past 10 editions of the Gander RV 400.

Aric Almirola will drive the No. 10 for Stewart-Haas Racing and lines up in Row 4 alongside Denny Hamlin despite having his car chief ejected on Saturday following two failed inspections.

Standings leader Busch will start on Row 11—one behind older brother Kurt—and is hoping to bring Joe Gibbs Racing a fourth victory of the Cup Series, still yet to place outside the top 10 in any race this term.

Saturday's Toyota Owners 400 in Richmond, Virginia, is the next stop of the 2019 NASCAR season.

After eight races, Kyle Busch sits top of the standings. He picked up his third victory of the year last time out at the Food City 500.

Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing have been the dominant forces in 2019. Denny Hamlin, Busch's team-mate, has won two races himself and sits second in the standings.

Team Penske duo Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski have won the other three races between them, so there  will be numerous other outfits looking to muscle in on the winning action on Saturday at the Richmond Raceway.

                    

Date: Saturday, April 13

When: 7:30 p.m. ET

Location: Richmond Raceway, Richmond, Virginia 

TV Info: Fox

Tickets: StubHub

              

Lineup to be added after Friday qualifying at 5:40 p.m. ET on FS1.

                    

Busch, 33, is a serial winner at Richmond. He has won the Toyota Owners 400 on five previous occasions, including last year's race.

And he also won at Richmond Raceway in September in the Federated Auto Parts 400.

If he wins a sixth Toyota Owners 400 on Saturday, he will equal the legendary Richard Petty's record in the race.

Given Busch's remarkable form at the circuit and the fact that he is the championship leader, it is difficult to look past him claiming another victory on Saturday:

Kyle Busch leads all active drivers with 6 Richmond wins. pic.twitter.com/WwUQJUEj4f

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 12, 2019

Qualifying will be crucial, but Busch won from No. 17 on the grid last time out, while pole-sitter Chase Elliott finished 11th.

Ryan Blaney was the fastest man in qualifying at Bristol, as he set a track record, and he looked like he could be the man to beat. He finished fourth in the Food City 500—his fourth top-five finish in his past five races.

That is impressive form from the Team Penske driver, and he will be desperate to join Logano and Keselowski by getting a win on the board at Richmond.

However, it is not a track where he has enjoyed previous success. 

Another man to look out for is Kevin Harvick. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver won eight races last year on his way to finishing third in the championship.

In two races at Richmond in 2018, he also enjoyed two top-five finishes.

Harvick has yet to win in 2019 but has finished top 10 in six of the eight races this season and could well get a victory on the board on Saturday.

The Food City 500 came down to a battle of the Busch brothers.

On Sunday, it turned out Kyle had the better car.

Kyle Busch drove his No. 18 to the checkered flag for his third win of the 2019 Monster Cup season, besting Kurt Busch by seven-tenths of a second. The win is Kyle's eighth at Bristol and second straight in the spring race.

Gonna need to expand the Bristol Trophy case! 🏁 @Skittles | #RowdyNation pic.twitter.com/TyTz0AfLPX

— Kyle Busch (@KyleBusch) April 7, 2019

A family tradition!@KyleBusch | @BMSupdates pic.twitter.com/MQJSL6ala8

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) April 7, 2019

"That one was tough; I really wanted to beat him," Kurt said, per Ellen J. Horrow of USA Today. "I was going to wreck him. I was wanting to stay close enough so that when we took we took the white, I was just going to drive straight in to [Turns] 3 and 4. I mean he's already won. I figured he could give a little love to his brother. No, of course not. 

"I wanted that one bad. I feel like him right now—all mad because I didn't win."

Darrell Waltrip has the most Bristol wins with 12.

Bristol Motor Speedway lived up to its reputation Sunday, with the sport's toughest half mile creating a bumper-to-bumper environment that undid more than half of the field. Only 16 cars finished on the lead lap, and the race had 11 cautions.

Kyle Busch nearly had his own afternoon end early when he spun around on Lap 2 and had rear-end damage after being hit by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. That accident was caused by the field checking up because of the caution flag flying after Aric Almirola was sent into the wall by William Byron. Almirola could not survive the crash and finished 37th.

"Honestly, I think some of it his inexperience on William's part," Almirola said, per Motorsport's Tim Southers. "I think he started to panic because he started to lose spots on the start because he spun his tires on the start and probably a little bit over his head with the tire pressures not coming up and he just lost it."

Almirola had entered the weekend with six straight top-10s.

Busch, meanwhile, is the first driver since 1992 to begin a season with eight straight top-10s. He's opened up an eight-point lead over Denny Hamlin in the points standings. While his other two victories were because of a dominant car, Busch this time took advantage of smart pit strategy by staying out when the caution hit with 22 laps remaining and holding onto his lead.

"We're crazy. We just do what we to do to try to win," Busch said. "It was pretty awesome to be able to snooker those guys to get our win today at Bristol. I love this place. It was fun to battle it out with my brother there at the end.

"This Camry wasn't the best today, but we made the most out of not having the best and got what we needed to at the end."

Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top five. Logano and Blaney spent most of the afternoon with the two best cars. Blaney led a race-high 158 laps. 

Brad Keselowski led for 446 of 500 laps en route to winning the STP 500 on Sunday at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia.

Keselowski held off Chase Elliott, who led 49 laps and finished second, for the win.

Kyle Busch took third on the .526-mile track, which is the shortest on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series circuit.

Here's a look at the top-10 results as well as highlights and reaction.

     

Top 10 Results

1. Brad Keselowski

2. Chase Elliott

3. Kyle Busch

4. Ryan Blaney

5. Denny Hamlin

6. Kevin Harvick

7. Clint Bowyer

8. Martin Truex Jr.

9. Aric Almirola

10. Daniel Suarez

Full results can be found on NASCAR.com.

       

Keselowski Dominates Martinsville

Keselowski earned his second win of the season in dominant fashion.

He passed pole-winner Joey Logano after six laps and was in first for 89 percent of the race. Dustin Long of NBC Sports put Keselowski's day in an historical perspective:

#NASCAR ... @Brad @keselowski led 446 laps in his win today at @MartinsvilleSwy

That's the most laps led in a Cup race since @NASCARonNBC's @kylepetty led 484 at Rockingham in his win there in October 1992.

— Dustin Long (@dustinlong) March 24, 2019

Keselowski also set a record for the most laps led at Martinsville in the NASCAR modern era, per NASCAR Alerts:

.@keselowski's 446 laps led is also the most laps led for a @MartinsvilleSwy race win in NASCAR's modern era.#STP500 | #NASCAR

— NASCAR Classics (@NASCARClassics) March 24, 2019

His crew deserves much credit as well, a point noted by NASCAR Twitter:

How about some 👏 for @keselowski's crew, getting the No. 2 car out first once again.

Leaderboard: https://t.co/E31gmPYmyd pic.twitter.com/rF9GxceF1h

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) March 24, 2019

Naturally, a celebration needed to ensue, and Keselowski performed one with an epic blowout:

THAT. BURNOUT. 🇺🇸@keselowski | @DrawTiteHitches pic.twitter.com/dTwCuYTcwe

— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) March 24, 2019

Racing writer Jeff Gluck put a bow on the winner's afternoon:

That’s Brad Keselowski’s second win of the season, second career at Martinsville, 29th of his Cup Series career. What an ass-kicking today.

— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) March 24, 2019

        

Chase Elliott Holds Off Kyle Busch for 2nd, But Busch Still No. 1 in Standings

The 23-year-old Elliott has racked up three top-10 finishes in the Monster Energy Cup standings over the past three years, and he's going to make it four-for-four if he continues to drive like he did on Sunday.

Elliott proved to be Keselowski's biggest threat, even taking the lead at one point. While he didn't end up winning, Elliott did hold off the early Monster Cup Series champion favorite in Busch for second.

He almost didn't even make it that far, however, as Elliott nearly got into a wreck with Jeb Burton in the No. 52 car in Stage 1:

A close call for the second-place car, @chaseelliott!

📺: @FS1 | @MartinsvilleSwy pic.twitter.com/A9NDtnkXcK

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) March 24, 2019

Per Kelly Crandall of RACER, Elliott assumed Burton would let him through:

There are 36 cars here at Martinsville, no big surprises. Jeb Burton in the 52 for rick Ware. DJ Kennington in the 77 for Spire #NASCAR

— Kelly Crandall (@KellyCrandall) March 23, 2019

There was no harm, though, and Elliott eventually took a brief lead from Keselowski following a restart:

Take a look at the pass on @keselowski by @chaseelliott following the restart.

📺: @FS1 | @MartinsvilleSwy pic.twitter.com/YRYwXLd4Cs

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) March 24, 2019

He did fall back to second and did an excellent job holding off Busch to stay there:

.@chaseelliott and @KyleBusch battle briefly, but the No. 9 car clears him.

Now he's tracking down @keselowski out front with 114 laps to go on @FS1. pic.twitter.com/9BHzUytC0F

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) March 24, 2019

However, Busch eventually took second, forcing Elliott to make a move to regain a top-two position. After a late-stage restart, Elliott did so:

The time to wait is over.@chaseelliott goes around @KyleBusch. Don't miss this finish on @FS1! pic.twitter.com/QrHzvECV3f

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) March 24, 2019

The race marks Elliott's first top-five finish of the year.

Busch may have not won, but he registered another excellent 2019 performance. He entered Sunday first in the Monster Cup standings, and he'll stay there after finishing third at Martinsville.

He's already earned two wins, five top-five finishes and six top-10 results in six races. Busch is also No. 1 in stage wins with four. 

Matt Weaver of Autoweek captured a post-race interview Busch held with reporters, and he gave heavy credit to his crew chief Adam Stevens and his team for the performance:

Kyle Busch says it was a better day than it should have been.

Rowdy says if you don't make a pass in the first five laps of a run, you have to wait until 65 laps into a run for tire degradation to kick in for passes to take place. pic.twitter.com/q7S19TcOgI

— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) March 24, 2019

At this rate, Busch will be named NASCAR's champion for the second time in five years.

              

What's Next?

The O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 is next on the schedule at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. Start time is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET on Sunday.