Hendrick no go at Pocono
Busch stops streak
Kyle Busch came through in the clutch. Even when he raced without one.
Busch busted Hendrick Motorsports’ winning streak and denied the organization a shot at NASCAR history when he raced to his second victory of the season Sunday at Pocono Raceway.
AUTO RACING
Busch took a broken Toyota to victory lane.
Busch, runner-up in Saturday’s opening Pocono race, ran into trouble early when a leak in the transmission left the car stuck in fourth gear. He needed an assist from a Joe Gibbs Racing crew member who slid in the passenger’s side window on one pit stop and tried to pry the stick back into gear.
“I’m going to need a push truck to get to Victory Lane because I have no clutch,” Busch said on the radio.
Busch was loose early and sang a few bars of “Fly Like An Eagle” over the radio. His 59th career Cup victory will go down as one of Busch’s greatest hits. NASCAR’s career wins leader in all series has 100 in Xfinity and 61 in Trucks.
The 2 K-mile tri-oval wreaked havoc on fuel and William Byron and Denny Hamlin all saw their shot at the checkered flag disappear over the final five laps when they ran out of gas.
“Sometimes these races aren’t always won by the fastest car,” Busch said. Hamlin faded to 14th. “Fuel mileage got us the last two weeks,” Hamlin said. “We can’t see the checkered right now.”
Kyle Larson, whose blown tire on the last lap cost him a win Saturday, was second for Hendrick Motorsports. Hendrick had won six straight Cup races, including Alex Bowman’s victory Saturday in the first race of Pocono’s doubleheader.
Hendrick was trying to become the first team since NASCAR’s modern era began in 1972 to win seven straight races.
Verstappen wins GP
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has won half of the races this Formula One season. And if that wasn’t worrying enough for his rivals, his car keeps getting faster and faster.
The championship leader dominated the Styrian Grand Prix on Sunday to win back-to-back races for the first time in his career.
Leading from start to finish, it was “super nice to drive,” the Dutchman said. “I could keep my pace consistent to the end. The balance of the car was the best so far this season.”
Verstappen has won three of the last four races.