Kurt Busch led 23 laps on Sunday at his home track of Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but it was the fashion in which he accomplished the fete that drew the most attention.
The 2004 champion and new crew chief Matt McCall opted to stay out on older tires at the end of Stage 2 and held the lead for 23 laps, despite a charge from those who took four tires.
It was the most radical aspect of the new Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series rules package, that tire fall-off was minimal enough for a team to lose virtually nothing by staying out on 20-lap old tires. Clean air was that important.
But even when Busch lost the lead, he was still able to remain inside the top-five, finishing fifth by the end of the race.
"We made one adjustment and I got really tight in traffic, and then our pit strategist was saying if we stay long on the second stage, then we can stay out," Busch said. "So, we worked that.
"It played out where we got clean air and it completely changed the complexion of the car. And that’s what we have to do. When we’re in clean air, the car is like this (pointing downward) and When we’re in dirty air, the car is like that (pointing upward).
"I’ve got to get it to where its balanced evenly. But it gave us a lot to learn from today and I’m really proud of everybody to get a top five."
Busch has enjoyed a productive start to his first season with Chip Ganassi Racing in the No. 1 Chevrolet. He finished 25th in the Daytona 500 but followed it up with consecutive top-fives.
Busch leaves his hometown eight in the championship standings.
"I’m really happy with two top fives to start the year," Busch said. "We are playing it smart. We haven’t had any penalties, and we will just keep chipping away at it. So, good day for our Chevy, I think we might be top Chevy again."
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