Kyle Busch Looking To Keep Pocono Momentum Going This Week

Kyle Busch will be using a brand new chassis (No. 277) from the Joe Gibbs Racing stable this week. In the first go around at Pocono in June, Busch led 32 laps and was runner-up to teammate Denny Hamlin. It was Busch's best finish at Pocono and only the second top-five finish of his 11 career starts.

KYLE BUSCH Q & A

Does your approach change heading to Pocono for the second time this season?
“A little bit, not much. The biggest thing you change for Pocono, it’s just a little bit hotter. It gets a little bit slick. Your lap times will be a little bit slower, so you just have to drive it a little bit differently. Besides all that, really there’s not much change there. I hope we can take that same approach we did in June with our M&M’s Camry this weekend. You run the racetrack as similarly as you can. You still work on the same things. All the same things seem to be a little bit more escalated because the grip level isn’t as high.”

How did Eddie D’Hondt do as your spotter this past weekend?
“Things went well. Eddie was with me for all three races and he did a great job. We’re going to go have some lunch later this week and talk about a couple of things on how he did, how I liked it, and what maybe Dave (Rogers, crew chief) wants to hear differently. But, so far, so good.”

Do drivers have to be more aggressive to stay up front and win races today?
“Oh yeah, definitely. I mean, there was far more give-and-take back in the old days, when you had that old car. I mean, you could race a little bit more. You could pass a little bit more with the old car. Now, everybody is so similar. Everybody runs the same lap times, so it’s hard to find that little bit to be better than the next guy. You race for every position, every ounce of racetrack you can find, all the time.”

How proud were you of the second-place finish in Pocono in June, given your previous record there?
“Really proud. Dave (Rogers, crew chief) and my guys gave me a great racecar. Our M&M’s Camry was good. We kept messing with it all day, trying to make it a little bit better. I think it’s just the driver here who can make up so much with lap time. Denny (Hamlin) has this place figured out. I did the best I could. I went from about an F at knowing how to get around here to about an A, and an A didn’t get it done. But I was very satisfied with how we ran there, knowing how tough it’s been for me there in the past.”

Pocono is the most unique track on the circuit with three distinct corners. What’s the most difficult part of the track for you?
“The hardest part of the track, for me, is probably turn one, and then turn two is the second-hardest, and then turn three is the third-hardest. Turn three, last year, because of the patch they laid down. We couldn’t go down low and get underneath somebody and get a run on them because, when you come off the corner, you’re 8 to 10 mph slower than the guy on your outside, and they’re just going to blow right by you going down the straightaway.”

Since the track is unique, where is the best place to make a pass at Pocono?
“Most of your passing is going to be done probably through turn one and off of turn one and getting into turn two, if somebody can get a good run off of turn two, get back up high and get in line to get on that patch getting into turn three. Besides that, in turn one, we just can’t get the cars to turn down there because there’s so much load on the bump stops from going 210 mph down the front straightaway and then trying to slow it down to about a ‘buck-40’(140). Turn two is kind of bumpy and kind of rough. There are different areas where you’ve got to maneuver through the tunnel turn to get your car right. If you miss it just by a little bit, you tend to knock the wall down off the corner, so it’s tight.”

From Kyle Busch Press Release - True Speed Communications