LONG POND, Pa. – Kyle Busch had a Joe Gibbs Racing team member slide into his race car through the window Sunday afternoon to try to figure out how to mend a fried stick shifter welded in fourth gear.
It’s rare for a NASCAR driver to have a passenger, so Busch made small talk with car chief Nate Bellows during the pit stop.
“Wait,” Busch joked, “you don’t want to go with me?”
The No. 18 Toyota Camry never really did get fixed. There were 115 miles to the finish of the 350-mile Cup Series event at Pocono Raceway, Busch had a fried clutch, only one gear and he had to rush his car chief out of the car. But he had a full tank of gas, so he hit the pedal.
Busch came through in the clutch – even when he drove without one – and busted Hendrick Motorsports’ winning streak to deny the organization a shot at NASCAR history when he raced to his second victory of the season.