Kurt Busch wins Axalta 400 2016: Five takeaways from Pocono

Here are the top five takeaways from the 2016 Axalta 400 at Pocono Raceway on Monday.

After rain washed out any chance of the 2016 Axalta 400 being ran on Sunday, Monday provided sunny skies and the best drivers in NASCAR were able to hit the track and race each other for a ninth spot in the Chase.

After Joe Gibbs Racing dominated eight of the first 13 races on the season, Pocono was a day for other teams to flex their muscles and get back into the groove.

The drivers of Team Penske, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano started on the pole on Monday. While Keselowski would get black flagged and would have to come down pit road, both he and Logano would compete near the front.

While the Penske guys gave way on the track, it was Hendrick Motorsports that flexed their muscles the most on the track. Rookie Chase Elliott led the most laps on the day, while he had Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. right behind him.

With 50 laps to go, it was setting up to be a battle between Elliott, Kurt Busch, Johnson and Earnhardt Jr. Off of a restart with less than 40 to go, Johnson would get down on the apron and would hit the inside wall.

The battle would then come down to Busch, Elliott and Earnhardt Jr. for the win. Fuel would play a strategy, as each drive did their best to conserve fuel.

The pole-sitter, Keselowski, would slowly creep his way back into the race. Busch would hold on with his fuel and would pick up his first win of the season at Pocono. He is on his way to the Chase.

1. Jimmie Johnson’s day started off strong, but ended with a wreck

The drivers of Hendrick Motorsports had a great day on the track, led by Chase Elliott, who led the most laps on the day. Right behind him for most of the race was Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson.

Johnson was having a strong run on the track, until late in the race when he ran out of room on the track. Johnson got too low on the apron and ended up hitting the inside wall.

What was a great run for Johsnon, ended on an unfortunate wreck.

2. Kurt Busch proved that he’s a contender

When everyone talks about the top drivers on the year, Kurt Busch gets glossed over because of the lack of wins coming into Pocono. However, just as he always does, Kurt Busch proved that he’s going to be a factor in more races than not.

While he sometimes lays low and waits to make his move, Busch battled hard for the win against the drivers of Hendrick Motorsports. With his win on the day, Busch will now be going to the Chase.

3. Chase Elliott continues to make huge strides

It’s incredible to see the things that Chase Elliott is doing on the track this year. After some rough patches to start the year, Elliott is proving to be a championship contender in just his rookie year.

Pocono isn’t an easy track for rookies, but Elliott had no issues on the triangle, as he led the most laps on the day.

Elliott continues to get better each and every race, which bodes well for his future.

4. Stewart-Haas Racing couldn’t get out of their own way

While Kurt Busch had a huge day for Stewart-Haas Racing, some of his teammates didn’t quite have the same luck as Busch. In the middle of the race, Tony Stewart and Danica Patrick crashed not long after a restart after things got wide on the track.

While Stewart has only raced a handful of races this season in his final year, it’s been a season of struggles for both drivers this year. Even worse is when teammates are involved in a wreck with each other.

5. Joe Gibbs Racing isn’t going away anytime soon

After winning 8 of 13 races to start the season, Joe Gibbs Racing seemingly had the leg up on every other team. The Toyota’s just had something going for them that the other teams did not. It wasn’t just this season either, as they dominated the latter half of last season as well.

While Pocono wasn’t the day that they were hoping for, there isn’t a team that is better at bouncing back from adversity than the drivers of Joe Gibbs Racing.

With Michigan on tap next week, expected a resurgent effort from all involved. That’s not to say they all had bad days, but it wasn’t that day of dominance that everyone comes to expect from them.

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