NASCAR at Pocono 2016 Results: Winner, Standings, Highlights and Reaction

Kurt Busch did a masterful job of conserving fuel and was rewarded for his risky style when he raced to Victory Lane in Monday's Axalta "We Paint Winners" 400 at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania.

Fox Sports: NASCAR had the highlight of Busch finishing out the long-awaited triumph, which marked his third career win at Pocono and snapped a 34-race winless streak:

Rain postponed the race from Sunday's scheduled start. Further delaying the action were numerous cautions, amounting to a grand total of 10 yellow flags. Per ESPN.com's Bob Pockrass, it was the most cautions at Pocono since 2008.

Below is a glimpse at the top finishers from Monday's race, along with an updated look at the Sprint Cup Series driver standings:

Place	Driver	Time Behind Leader (Seconds)	Laps Led
1	Kurt Busch	—	32
2	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	1.127	4
3	Brad Keselowski	1.402	1
4	Chase Elliott	2.727	51
5	Joey Logano	4.614	17
6	Kasey Kahne	5.593	0
7	Matt Kenseth	6.304	31
8	Carl Edwards	6.441	0
9	Kevin Harvick	6.981	9
10	Ryan Blaney	19.276	0

Pos.	Driver	Points
1	Kevin Harvick	490
2	Kurt Busch	465
3	Brad Keselowski	443
4	Carl Edwards	437
5	Kyle Busch	416
6	Jimmie Johnson	415
7	Chase Elliott	413
8	Joey Logano	410
9	Martin Truex Jr.	403
10	Matt Kenseth	382

ESPN's Mary Smith applauded the job Busch did to stay the course of his strategy:

Dustin Long of NBC Sports provided further context to add significance to Busch's breakthrough:

It was only a matter of time before Busch got off the skids given how well he's performed all year, per NASCAR researcher Matt Willis:

Pole-sitter Brad Keselowski had made good on his previous starts up front, recording seven top-four finishes in his prior nine races beginning in first. Unfortunately, he was penalized for an illegal body modification on a pit stop, which cost him critical positioning.

Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer noted how Team Penske had a tough go of it early on—which made Keselowski's and Joey Logano's rally to the top five all the more impressive:

Defending Sprint Cup champion Kyle Busch has won almost everywhere, except for Pocono. He was trying to make his way up in the field but collided with Ryan Newman with 43 laps remaining, via Fox Sports: NASCAR:

Kyle Busch still holds the Chase for the Sprint Cup lead on the strength of three victories, but he'll be disappointed to have his latest run at Pocono cut short, especially after recording the fastest lap in Saturday's final practice.

Chase Elliott, the successor to Jeff Gordon's No. 24 car for Hendrick Motorsports, managed to remain out in front more often than anyone else despite the stop-and-start action, topping all drivers with 51 laps led.

However, the 20-year-old prodigy will have to wait for his maiden Sprint Cup Series win.

Elliott fell out of the lead briefly, but before teammate Jimmie Johnson brought out the race's 10th caution with 38 laps to go, the youngster made a huge surge to get into prime position coming down the stretch.

Although Dale Earnhardt Jr. took the lead upon the resumption of the race with 33 laps left, there was still room for Elliott to open up and pass Junior if he could have another good restart.

But Kurt Busch capitalized on Elliott and Earnhardt riding side by side, surging past both of them. He remained out in front for the last 32 laps.

Thickening the plot toward the end was the fact Kurt Busch and Earnhardt needed victories to clinch a Chase berth, whereas Keselowski could go for the checkered flag with little to lose.

FS1 documented how Busch's crew was adamant about him being conservative with fuel amid the high-stakes situation:

It looked as though Keselowski had the advantage in fuel as the race wound down, yet Busch coasted along and kept enough separation between him and the rest of the field to claim first.

Mike Davis of JR Motorsports referenced the near misses Earnhardt has been a part of during the 2016 campaign:

Restarts were a big issue Monday, as cars were clustered in tight quarters and forced to go four or even as much as five wide into turns once the green flags waved. The last one saw Busch get the best of Elliott and Earnhardt.

Next week's Sprint Cup slate picks up at the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Kurt Busch is the defending champion, and he also entered Pocono with the most points among drivers who had yet to win this season.

Greg Biffle and Earnhardt comprise two of the four active multiple champions of the FireKeepers Casino 400, and both need a win to lock up an automatic Chase bid. That storyline alone should create drama in Brooklyn, Michigan, especially after Junior's close call in Pennsylvania.

NASCAR will return to Pocono next month on July 31 for the Pennsylvania 400, so fans of the "Tricky Triangle" won't have to wait long to see another race at the celebrated venue.

Post-Race Reaction

Dan Gelston of the Associated Press logged what Busch had to say regarding his win and the fuel tactics it took to get the job done:

"

The way the fuel mileage played out, I didn't know if we'd have enough. This is a wonderful win for us. We'd been so close all year. ... I was like, whoa, how many laps shy are we? They said two. These are really long straightaways at Pocono and you have to manage saving fuel as well as maintaining lap time. So many thoughts can go through your head, but I just stuck with the checklist.

"

Earnhardt lamented the missed opportunity but applauded his team for putting him in position to succeed:

Junior added, "[Busch] did a great job. Congrats to him and his crew. I've worked with several of his guys on the old DEI 8 car."

Elliott took pride in how good of shape his No. 24 car was in, saying, per Hendrick Motorsports on Twitter, "I feel like we had a car to do it. Really proud we had super fast car that could lead all day."

Asked about the rule infraction, Keselowski said, per Gelston, "We fought back really well. At the end, I think we were capable of winning the race with a really fast car, even with the right side door torn up."

Stats courtesy of NASCAR.com.