In October 2015, Busch signed a multi-year extension with SHR. For the 2016 season, Monster Energy became co-primary sponsor of the team along with Haas Automation, after being a personal sponsor of Busch since 2012. Before the Cup series season, Busch and SHR was informed that because the No. 41 team was not formed until 2014, they were not eligible for one of the 36 charters NASCAR granted to teams who participated full-time in Cup. Stewart-Haas Racing managed to secure Busch a spot in every race of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup season by purchasing a charter from the defunct Michael Waltrip Racing. Busch's lone victory of the 2016 season came at Pocono Raceway on June 6 after preserving enough fuel to hold off Dale Earnhardt Jr., finishing seventh in the final standings.