#5-Kyle Busch may not have won the Pocono 500, but he passed more cars during the 200 lap race than any other driver in the forty-three car field. The rookie sensation suffered two setbacks over the course of the event that would have ruined most team’s weekend, but with leadership from crew chief Alan Gustafson, Busch rebounded from both incidents and finished his day in the fourth position. For his comeback, Gustafson was elected the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race. Kyle Busch tagged the outside retaining wall during his qualifying lap, forcing his team to make repairs to the #5 Kellogg’s Chevrolet. His team’s post-impound work moved Busch to the tail-end of the field for the start of the race. Busch moved up to the third position, but that wouldn’t be his only charge through the field. Later in the race, Busch overshot his pit stall. The extra-long stop put Busch in ninth place when he returned to the track. The team made up for their miscue on their final green flag stop. With several teams experiencing tire failures during the race, Gustafson made the gutsy call to change only two tires before sending Busch back out. With the time the team saved by changing only two tires, Busch shot into fourth place.
The panel of voters; including Chuck Givler of the Easton Express Times, a Wypall Wipers representative and Robbie Reiser; collectively agreed that Gustafson deserved Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race honors. With four wins, Doug Richert is in first place of the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Year standings. Alan Gustafson and Robbie Loomis are tied for second place with two wins. Tommy Baldwin, Scott Miller, Bob Osborne and Pete Rondeau are in a tie for third place. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000. Fans can also vote for their choice at wypall.com.(SMC 500)(6-13-2005)
