LONG POND, pa. — Joey Logano was the first leader to fade, his tank empty with three laps left.
Martin Truex Jr. struck E with two laps to go.
Kyle Busch knew his Toyota was about out too, his shot at a fourth consecutive win tapped out on the last lap.
One by one, fuel woes cost the contenders. But the pain at the pump for drivers pushing toward the finish line was the break Matt Kenseth needed to coast past them all in the final thrilling laps Sunday to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Pocono Raceway.
The 400-mile race came down to fuel and which cars had it — and which ones didn’t.
“I couldn’t catch them anyway, but I just wanted to get as close as I could in case they ran out,” Kenseth said.
Once they ran out, Kenseth not only had enough left in the tank to win, he pulled off a celebratory burnout.
Kenseth’s win continued the sensational summer run for Joe Gibbs Racing, making it five wins in the last six races. Busch, who had the other victories, failed in his bid to become the ninth driver since 1972 and the first since Jimmie Johnson in 2007 to win four consecutive Cup races.
Busch had won three straight Cup races and four of five, swept the Xfinity and Cup races the previous weekend at Indian- apolis and won the Truck Series event Saturday at Pocono.
Results 7B
How truex fared sunday
• Driving for Denver-based Furniture Row Racing, Martin Truex Jr. finished 19th on Sunday after qualifying 13th. He was forced to refuel with two laps to go in Long Pond, Pa., exiting the track while in second place.
• Truex was initially given a 10th-place finish but was penalized after the race for speeding on pit road for his final fuel stop.
• “It seems that I never come out ahead on these fuel mileage races,” Truex said.
