As NASCAR heads to Pocono, we want to highlight the most iconic Kyle Busch moments from his time racing at the Tricky Triangle. It was the site of several milestone wins for KB, and a track he seemed to enjoy quite a bit with a total of eight wins.
Busch is the winningest driver in NASCAR history with 234 victories across the top three series, and he died unexpectedly on May 21st, at the age of 41.
In recent weeks, we highlighted some of Busch’s wildest Nashville moments, and then again at Michigan International Speedway last weekend.
In remembrance of Rowdy, we turn our attention to Pocono to remember some of his greatest moments there. The track itself is finding several different ways to pay tribute to Busch this weekend as well.
Pocono 2011 — Trying to pass an agitated Kevin Harvick
While battling back in the mid-20s for position, KB was putting on a show, but this time, he was on the receiving end of another frustrated driver.
Busch and Harvick had several run-ins during the 2011 season, but at Pocono, Busch was just trying to make a normal pass deep in the pack, and very early in the 500-mile race.
However, Harvick decided to run Busch down the track at every opportunity, harassing the surprisingly patient driver of the M&M’s No. 18 for several laps before NASCAR warned ‘both’ drivers to settle down. Busch got a kick out of that warning, saying over the radio: “Nice of them to try and warn both of us. There’s only one guy that you gotta warn.”
In fairness to NASCAR, it wasn’t often during that era when Busch was the calmer of two feuding drivers.
Pocono 2017 — Epic battle for the win with then-rookie Ryan Blaney
To win his first-ever Cup race, Blaney had to first overtake Busch for the top spot. Despite being at a tire disadvantage, Busch did not go down without a fight. They battled hard, with Busch blocking him across the entire track and eventually running Blaney down onto the apron on the backstretch, aggressively side-drafting off the Wood Brothers No. 21 Ford. After a heart-stopping lap of action, Blaney slid up in front of Busch, making some more contact as he barely cleared KB.
Pocono 2018 — Weekend sweep and making history in the Trucks
In 2018, Busch managed to win the Truck race on Saturday and the Cup race on Sunday, which is impressive enough, but he also made a bit of history that weekend. On Sunday, he held strong in an overtime restart, battling his teammates three-wide into Turn 1 and still holding the lead.
A day before, Busch earned his 51st Truck Series win, matching Ron Hornaday for the most wins all-time. Of course, he would later demolish that record, earning his 69th and final Truck win just days before his untimely passing — a record that is likely to stand for a very long time.
Pocono 2021 — Securing the win with only one gear
This might be Busch’s most impressive Pocono win, and it was his fourth and final in the Cup Series. Driving with a fried clutch, Busch lost the use of first, second, and third gear. But ‘Rowdy’ only needed one to win it all. He took the lead from teammate Denny Hamlin just before the white flag as Hamlin had to pit for fuel, winning by over eight seconds while stuck in fourth gear, and running on fumes.
Pocono 2023 — The final checkered flag for Kyle Busch Motorsports
In the modern day, Corey Heim is one of the most feared driver in the Truck Series, and last year, he broke countless records en route to a historic Truck Series title. But in 2023, Busch stormed past him on the final lap to win at Pocono. This ended up being a very special win, as it was the 100th for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the Truck Series. It was also the last, as Busch sold KBM to Spire Motorsports at the end of the year.
“It’s pretty cool,” said Busch after taking his signature victory bow. “We’ve been around for a long time, not as long as others obviously … but it’s been fun … Couldn’t find a way to make a clean move, so I had to make a little bit of a dicey one getting into (Turn) 2. We needed this 100th win, to get it over with … Really proud of the guys … it’s a monumental day. It’s the century mark of being able to win 100 Truck races. We’re a small team and just one that performs in the Truck Series.”
Kyle Busch at Pocono NASCAR Stats
NASCAR CUP: 38 starts / 4 wins / 4 poles / 11 top fives / 18 top ten / 585 laps led
NASCAR O’REILLY: 2 starts / 1 wins / 0 poles / 2 top fives / 2 top tens / 153 laps led
NASCAR TRUCKS: 6 starts / 3 wins / 1 poles / 5 top fives / 6 top tens / 155 laps led
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