The winner of Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono had just enough left in the tank to capture the checkered flag.
Kyle Busch risked running out of fuel in the closing laps to come home first in the Explore the Pocono Mountains 350, the nightcap of a weekend doubleheader at the track. William Byron and Denny Hamlin were ahead of Busch with three laps remaining but had to pit for fuel after running out.
Busch added the win to his second-place finish in Saturday's weekend-opening race at Pocono.
Below is more about Busch's win Sunday, plus the complete results of the race.
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Who won the NASCAR race yesterday?
Kyle Busch's team gambled that the 18 car would have just enough fuel left in it after pitting with 46 laps to go, one lap later than Byron and Hamlin did. It turned out to be a winning call, but there was major concern right up until the final turn.
RETWEET TO CONGRATULATE @KyleBusch on his WIN at @PoconoRaceway!@JoeGibbsRacing // #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/zp54txZYtO
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) June 27, 2021
The team was also nervous about Busch's car not being able to get out of fourth gear because of a broken shifter.
"Yeah, stuck in fourth gear, about out of gas, just saving, just riding, playing the strategy the best we could with what was given to us," Busch said after the race, per NASCAR.com.
Denny Hamlin remains without a win this season despite leading the point standings.
"I mean, you're trying to win or you’re trying to get the best finish that you can," said Hamlin, who finished 14th. "But ultimately, we just didn’t save enough. The 18 I think came in and got topped off because he had transmission issues. That was essentially the race."
NASCAR results from Pocono
Kyle Busch earned his second win of the season by prevailing in a fuel-mileage duel. Kyle Larson came home second after starting the race at the rear of the field. The rest of the top five: Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick and Bubba Wallace, who earned his first top-five of the season.
Larson was starting at the back because he wrecked on the final lap of Saturday's race and had to go to a backup car Sunday. He was leading on the final turn Saturday when the left front tire on his No. 5 car went flat. His Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman zoomed past for the win.
Next up for the Cup Series is a trip to Road America in Plymouth, Wis., for the Jockey Made in America 250 on Sunday, July 4 (2:30 p.m. ET; NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The road course will be hosting a Cup race for the first time since 1956, per NASCAR.com.
Finish | Driver | Car No. | Team |
1 | Kyle Busch | 18 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
2 | Kyle Larson | 5 | Hendrick Motorsports |
3 | Brad Keselowski | 2 | Team Penske |
4 | Kevin Harvick | 4 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
5 | Bubba Wallace | 23 | 23XI Racing |
6 | Ryan Blaney | 12 | Team Penske |
7 | Alex Bowman | 48 | Hendrick Motorsports |
8 | Ryan Preece | 37 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
9 | Tyler Reddick | 8 | Richard Childress Racing |
10 | Joey Logano | 22 | Team Penske |
11 | Martin Truex Jr. | 19 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
12 | William Byron | 24 | Hendrick Motorsports |
13 | Austin Dillon | 3 | Richard Childress Racing |
14 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
15 | Daniel Suarez | 99 | Trackhouse Racing Team |
16 | Aric Almirola | 10 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
17 | Michael McDowell | 34 | Front Row Motorsports |
18 | Matt DiBenedetto | 21 | Wood Brothers Racing |
19 | Chris Buescher | 17 | Roush Fenway Racing |
20 | Kurt Busch | 1 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
21 | Chase Briscoe | 14 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
22 | Ryan Newman | 6 | Roush Fenway Racing |
23 | Corey LaJoie | 7 | Spire Motorsports |
24 | Cole Custer | 41 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
25 | Justin Allgaier | 77 | Spire Motorsports |
26 | Ross Chastain | 42 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
27 | Chase Elliott | 9 | Hendrick Motorsports |
28 | Cody Ware | 51 | Petty Ware Racing |
29 | BJ McLeod | 78 | Live Fast Motorsports |
30 | James Davison | 15 | Rick Ware Racing |
31 | Erik Jones | 43 | Richard Petty Motorsports |
32 | Christopher Bell | 20 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
33 | Quin Houff | 00 | StarCom Racing |
34 | Anthony Alfredo | 38 | Front Row Motorsports |
35 | Josh Bilicki | 52 | Rick Ware Racing |
36 | Garrett Smithley | 53 | Rick Ware Racing |
37 | Timmy Hill | 66 | Motorsports Business Management |
38 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | JTG Daugherty Racing |