NASCAR Cup Series: Kyle Busch wins 2018 Gander Outdoors 400
By Asher Fair
Kyle Busch won the 21st race of the 36-race 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season, the Gander Outdoors 400, at Pocono Raceway. The win is his sixth of the year.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch earned his sixth victory of the 36-race 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season in the Gander Outdoors 400, the 21st race of the season, at Pocono Raceway. The win is his sixth of the year so far.
Busch won the 164-lap race, which was scheduled to be a 160-lap race but went into overtime due to a late caution flag period, around the three-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Pocono Raceway triangle in Long Pond, Pennsylvania in his #18 Toyota by 1.788 seconds over teammate, second place finisher and race polesitter Daniel Suarez in his #19 Toyota.
Busch won the race after starting all the way back in 28th place. He qualified in second but failed post-qualifying inspection along with 12 other drivers.
Suarez’s second place finish is his new career-high finish. The race’s third place finisher was Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman, who was the highest finishing Chevrolet driver in the race in his #88 Chevrolet. Like Suarez’s second place finish, Bowman’s third place finish is his new career-high finish.
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Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick was the highest finishing Ford driver of the race. He finished in fourth place in his #4 Ford. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Erik Jones rounded out the top five in fifth in his #20 Toyota.
Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron also recorded a new career-high finish with his sixth place result in his #24 Chevrolet. Teammate Chase Elliott, Richard Childress Racing’s Ryan Newman, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kurt Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin rounded out the top 10 in seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th in their #9 Chevrolet, #31 Chevrolet, #41 Ford and #11 Toyota, respectively.
The race featured a total of 13 lead changes among 10 drivers. Aside of Busch, who led more laps than anybody else in the field with 52 laps led, nine other drivers led at least one lap of the race. Those drivers were Suarez, Harvick, Jones, Byron, Elliott, Kurt Busch, Hamlin, Jamie McMurray and Brad Keselowski.
The race also featured a total of seven caution flag periods for 29 laps. Five of those seven caution flag periods took place as a result of on-track incidents, while the other two took place as a result of the endings of stages one and two. Of the 40 drivers who started the race, 35 finished it, and of the 35 drivers who finished it, an impressive 28 managed to finish it on the lead lap.
Here are the full race results of the 2018 Gander Outdoors 400 at Pocono Raceway.
| Race Results |
| 1st – Kyle Busch |
| 2nd – Daniel Suarez |
| 3rd – Alex Bowman |
| 4th – Kevin Harvick |
| 5th – Erik Jones |
| 6th – William Byron |
| 7th – Chase Elliott |
| 8th – Ryan Newman |
| 9th – Kurt Busch |
| 10th – Denny Hamlin |
| 11th – Clint Bowyer |
| 12th – Ryan Blaney |
| 13th – Austin Dillon |
| 14th – A.J. Allmendinger |
| 15th – Martin Truex Jr. |
| 16th – Michael McDowell |
| 17th – Jimmie Johnson |
| 18th – Matt Kenseth |
| 19th – David Ragan |
| 20th – Jamie McMurray |
| 21st – Paul Menard |
| 22nd – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. |
| 23rd – Kyle Larson |
| 24th – Ty Dillon |
| 25th – Aric Almirola |
| 26th – Joey Logano |
| 27th – Matt DiBenedetto |
| 28th – J.J. Yeley |
| 29th – Jeffrey Earnhardt |
| 30th – Kasey Kahne |
| 31st – Kyle Weatherman |
| 32nd – Reed Sorenson |
| 33rd – Darrell Wallace Jr. |
| 34th – Landon Cassill |
| 35th – Ross Chastain |
| 36th – Timmy Hill |
| 37th – Chris Buescher |
| 38th – Brad Keselowski |
| 39th – Corey Lajoie |
| 40th – B.J. McLeod |
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The next race on the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Go Bowling at The Glen, which is scheduled to take place next Sunday, August 5 at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York. Be sure to tune in to NBC at 2:30 p.m. for the live broadcast of that race.