Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Author: Andrew Kim

  • Jones, Elliott, Almirola cap off Pocono doubleheader with top-five runs

    Jones, Elliott, Almirola cap off Pocono doubleheader with top-five runs

    While Denny Hamlin celebrated another win in the NASCAR Cup Series’ second race of the weekend at Pocono Raceway, drivers that included Erik Jones, Chase Elliott and Aric Almirola trailed the race winner from a distance, but with strong top-five runs entering the second half of this year’s Cup regular season.

    For Erik Jones, a third-place result on Sunday marked a huge turnaround from 24 hours earlier. In the closing laps of the second stage on Saturday, Jones’ race came to a crashing halt when he checked up entering Turn 4, was sent into a spin with rookie Tyler Reddick and made head-on contact with the inside wall that left Jones’ No. 20 Craftsman/Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota destroyed and out of the race. On Sunday, racing in a backup car towards the rear of the field, the race started smoothly for the Michigan native as he was able to methodically carve his way through the field. Following the first stage, Jones finished 12 and in the second stage, he finished 13th. Throughout the final stage, which went green for the remainder of the race, Jones made his way into the top five in the closing laps. After making his final pit stop for fuel with 17 laps remaining, Jones was home free to make it to the end. With less than 10 laps remaining, Jones was back in the top five and he was able to gain two more spots to cross the line in third. The result marked Jones’ best finish along with his fourth top-five finish through 15 Cup races this season along with his fifth top-five result at the Tricky Triangle. The result was enough for Jones to move from 17th to 16th in the regular-season series standings as he is 14 points ahead of Austin Dillon for the final transfer spot to the 2020 Playoffs.

    “Yeah, today was a lot better than yesterday for sure,” Jones said. “It’s great to rebound like that. Unfortunately, I think we could have – definitely could have had two top-fives, and really, I think our primary car was quite a bit better than this car. I thought we could have probably contended both days a little more towards the win if we had our primary, but the Craftsman Camry was good. We made good changes overnight. We actually changed a lot of stuff and tried to kind of rebalance with what we had with this backup car. It’s nice to get a solid finish. I mean, we came off a good run at Talladega and went right back to a DNF and to come back here with a third. We just need to be consistent from here and keep it rolling.”

    Like Jones, a fourth-place result for Elliott was much needed coming off two consecutive disappointing weeks for the Georgia native and his No. 9 NAPA/Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team. Mired with a 25th-place result on Saturday and starting at the rear of the field due to a transmission change, Elliott was in 13th at the conclusion of the first stage. He then worked his way into the top 10 throughout the second stage before finishing 11th after being edged by Hamlin for the final stage point. With less than 50 laps remaining in the final stage, Elliott was among a handful of competitors who made a green-flag pit stop for fuel that would last to the finish. For the remainder of the race, Elliott paced himself around the Tricky Triangle and benefited when more competitors, including Brad Keselowski, pitted to move up the leaderboard and cross the line in fourth. At the end of the race, Elliott was the highest-running Hendrick Motorsports’ car as William Byron and Alex Bowman finished in the top 10 while Jimmie Johnson finished 16th in his final run at Pocono. With Elliott’s fourth-place run, it was his seventh top-five result through 14 Cup races of the 2020 season and his third at the Tricky Triangle. Elliott and his No. 9 team are already guaranteed a spot in the 2020 Playoffs based on Elliott’s win at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May.

    “It was good to have a solid run for our NAPA team after yesterday being so poor,” Elliott said. “Obviously, we would’ve liked to of been a little better, but after starting in the back, I was pleased how I was able to move forward and gain a lot of that track position back. It was a good rebound. Looking forward to getting back on track at Indy.”

    Lastly, Almirola had a memorable weekend as he finished fifth and capped off the Pocono doubleheader with two consecutive top-five results. A day earlier, Almirola led the field to the start, led a race-high 61 laps and came home in third. On Sunday, Almirola started 18th and after pitting in the closing laps of the first stage, he was scored in 31st. By the start of the second stage, the Florida native was able to work his way into the top 10 and in the closing laps, his No. 10 Smithfield/Stewart-Haas Racing Ford was ahead of the pack. He took the lead just before a late caution for a single-car spin and on the following restart, Almirola was overtaken by Brad Keselowski and settled in second while earning valuable stage points in the second stage. With 25 laps remaining in the final stage, Almirola was in second, but was needing to pit for a final time to make it to the end on fuel. Four laps later, he pitted for fuel to make it to the end. With 10 laps remaining, he worked his way back to sixth and then, he gained one more position in the remaining laps to finish fifth. The fifth-place result was Almirola’s fourth consecutive top-five result and his second straight at Pocono after recording zero top-five results in his previous 15 starts at the Tricky Triangle. Following two stellar runs at Pocono, Almirola moved from 12th to ninth in the regular-season standings as he is 104 above the top-16 cutline.

    “Another top five,” Almirola said. “I’m so proud of [crew chief Mike Bugarewicz] and al the guys on this 10 team. That’s four top fives in a row. What a weekend we had here in Pocono, got a lot of stage points and finished third yesterday and fifth today. We’re riding a wave of momentum … We’ll go to Indy, a place that’s very similar to the tunnel turn at Pocono and felt like we were really good there this weekend. I’m excited about Indy and another top five.”

    The three drivers along with their fellow competitors will return for the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series’ race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Brickyard 400. The race will air on July 5 at 4 p.m. on NBC.

  • Pit strategy nets Hamlin a win over Harvick at Pocono

    Pit strategy nets Hamlin a win over Harvick at Pocono

    It was a tale of two stories at the conclusion of the NASCAR Cup Series’ doubleheader at Pocono Raceway. A day after Kevin Harvick claimed his first Pocono triumph after holding off Denny Hamlin in the closing laps, it was Hamlin who played a strategic call in the late laps that got him ahead of Harvick and the redemption to victory after pulling away and winning the Pocono 350 at the Tricky Triangle, the second of a Cup doubleheader weekend in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. The win was Hamlin’s fourth of the season, third since May amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the 41st of his Cup Series career.

    The starting lineup was based on the results from Saturday’s 325-mile race at Pocono, where the top-20 finishers were inverted and the bottom 20 were left as finished. After finishing 20th on Saturday, Ryan Preece was awarded the pole position while Austin Dillon, who finished 19th, joined Preece on the front row.

    Multiple competitors dropped to the rear of the field. Rookie Quin Houff, rookie Tyler Reddick, Erik Jones, Joey Logano and Alex Bowman dropped to the rear after their respective teams opted to field a backup car for the second Pocono race. In addition, Chase Elliott and B.J. McLeod dropped to the rear of the field due to transmission changes along with William Byron and pole-sitter Preece, both due to engine changes.

    Following an early delay due to lightning strikes reported near the track, the race commenced with Austin Dillon and Kurt Busch on the front row. Busch jumped to an early lead followed by rookie Cole Custer. Ryan Blaney also moved into third while Dillon slipped back to fourth. Two laps later, Blaney moved into second as Chris Buescher overtook Austin Dillon for fourth. 

    Soon after, the first caution flew due to rain. Under the caution laps, rookie Tyler Reddick radioed power steering issues to his No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. After running the next few laps on the track under caution despite the rain, the pace truck led the field down to pit road, where the race was red flagged and the jet dryers went to work to dry the track. 

    Approximately 51 minutes later, the red flag was lifted and the caution flag was displayed as the field proceeded back on the track. Soon after, light sprinkles hovered around the track, but the cars proceeded in running on the track under the caution laps. Under caution, Reddick’s crew continued to address power steering issues to Reddick’s car. By the time he returned on the track, he was five laps behind the leaders and in 40th, last of the field. 

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 11, Kurt Busch retained the lead and was able to stabilize his advantage by a car length over Blaney the following lap. DiBenedetto moved into third followed by Buescher and rookie Christopher Bell, who went three-wide a lap earlier to gain a load of positions. 

    On Lap 15, as the racing intensified behind the leaders and towards the middle of the pack, the caution returned when Michael McDowell spun after he cut a right-rear tire and made hard contact with the outside wall on the driver’s side in Turn 2. The cut tire was a result of an earlier contact with Elliott in Turn 4. The damage was too severe for McDowell to continue as he took his No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford to the garage and retired a day after notching his best Cup result on a non-superspeedway track. Under caution, a number of competitors like Joey Logano, William Byron, Alex Bowman, Jimmie Johnson, Preece, Corey LaJoie, Daniel Suarez and rookie Quin Houff pitted while the rest remained on track.

    The race restarted on Lap 18, and Kurt Busch and Blaney battled dead even before Busch retained a small advantage in Turn 2. Behind the leaders, Buescher moved into third followed by rookies Custer and Bell. By Lap 20, Harvick, who started 20th and who was coming off his first Pocono triumph on Saturday, made his first appearance in the top five.

    With five laps remaining in the first stage, Kurt Busch was still ahead by two-tenths of a second over Blaney with third-place Buescher trailing by over a second. Bell was in fourth while Harvick was in fifth, two seconds behind the leaders. Two laps later, Blaney drew himself right to the rear bumper of Busch’s No. 1 Monster Energy/Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet in an attempt for the lead while Bell challenged Buescher for third. Behind, strategy started to play into factor of the race when several competitors like Johnson, Erik Jones, Bubba Wallace, Matt Kenseth, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Aric Almirola, Clint Bowyer and Hamlin made a green-flag pit stop. 

    At the front, Kurt Busch was able to hold off Blaney to win the first stage on Lap 30. Blaney finished second followed by Bell, Harvick and Brad Keselowski. DiBenedetto, Buescher, Truex, Kyle Busch and Custer rounded out the top 10. Johnson, who was lapped prior to the conclusion of the first stage, was the beneficiary of the free pass and return on the lead lap after being tabbed the first car a lap down when the caution flew. Under the stage break, Kurt Busch and Blaney remained on track along with others while a majority of the field behind the leaders, led by Bell and Harvick, pitted. DiBenedetto, Austin Dillon and Corey LaJoie pitted for two tires while Harvick was the first to exit on four fresh tires.

    The second stage commenced on Lap 36 and Blaney received a push from teammate Keselowski on the inside lane to challenge Kurt Busch on the outside lane for the lead. By Turn 3, Blaney took the lead and led the following lap while Kurt Busch battled Keselowski for second. Soon after, Truex and Erik Jones started challenging Kurt Busch for position as more jostling for positions ensued behind the leaders.

    On Lap 39, the caution returned when Bell spun entering Turn 2 and made heavy contact with the outside wall. The damage to the rear end of Bell’s No. 95 Rheem/Leavine Family Racing Toyota was too severe for the Oklahoma native to continue as he took his car to the garage and ended his race with a DNF, a day after notching his first top-five career finish in the Cup Series. Under caution, some that included Blaney, Truex, Logano, Kyle Busch and Harvick remained on track while others led by Keselowski pitted. Following the pit stops, Ty Dillon edged Keselowski to exit first after taking only fuel to his No. 13 GEICO/Germain Racing Chevrolet. Prior to the restart, drivers like Kurt Busch, Stenhouse, Byron and the Dillon brothers pitted again to top off with fuel.

    The race restarted on Lap 44, and Truex challenged Blaney for the lead through Turn 1 before Blaney rocketed on the outside lane through Turn 2. Two laps later, Buescher slipped in Turn 3 and made contact with the outside wall, thus drawing another caution. With Buescher coming back across the track and straightening his car with rear end damage, the field scattered to avoid making contact with Buescher’s No. 17 Fastenal/Roush Fenway Racing Ford. Under caution, a majority of the leaders remained on track while others like Almirola, Ryan Newman, Daniel Suarez, rookie John Hunter Nemechek and LaJoie pitted.

    When the race restarted on Lap 49, Truex made another attempt for the lead, but Blaney retained it through the Long Pond Straightaway. Behind, Kyle Busch was in third followed by Wallace and Hamlin with DiBenedetto falling back to sixth. Six laps later, Blaney was ahead by a second over teammates Truex, Kyle Busch and Hamlin. Harvick was in eighth while battling Elliott and Logano for position. Two laps later, Blaney surrendered the lead to make a scheduled green-flag pit stop. Blaney’s move allowed Kyle Busch to move into the lead followed by teammates Hamlin and Truex with Wallace, DiBenedetto, Harvick and Elliott trailing by more than four seconds. The following three laps, Truex, Kyle Busch and Wallace made a green-flag pit stop while Hamlin moved into the lead. Two laps later, Hamlin was leading by five seconds over Harvick while his fourth Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Erik Jones, was in sixth after passing Logano.

    Three laps later, Logano made a green-flag pit stop. By the time Logano returned, he was lapped by Hamlin. When the field reached its halfway mark of the 140-mile race and the sun was shining to its dwindling moments, Hamlin, who had just lapped Wallace, was leading by three seconds over Harvick, eight seconds over DiBenedetto and nearly nine seconds over Elliott. Meanwhile, drivers like Kyle Busch, Blaney and Truex were trapped outside the top 20.

    With 10 laps remaining in the second stage, the caution flew when Kyle Busch, who was battling Blaney, was bumped by Blaney entering Turn 2, spun and made hard contact with the inside wall as he crumbled the front nose of his No. 18 M&M’s/Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, thus ending his day on the wrecker and winless for another week to the 2020 season. 

    “I don’t know,” Busch said after exiting the infield care center. “The [pit] guys did an amazing job from yesterday to today. I guess it proves that you get a little bit of practice time in and we’re gonna be a force to be reckon with. So hopefully, life gets back to normal, eventually. We’re in [year] 2020, so it doesn’t surprise me to get crashed out of the lead. The M&M’s Camry was pretty fast there. [Crew chief] Adam [Stevens] and the guys did a great job. It’s just very frustrating, unfortunate. I know what happened, but it doesn’t make any sense to talk about it because it will come across as a bad way.”

    Under caution, a majority of the leaders, led by Hamlin, pitted and Harvick exited first. Under the pit stops, Bowman was penalized for equipment interference after interfering with Blaney’s pit stop. Keselowski, Almirola, Stenhouse, Newman, Austin Dillon and Truex remained on the track.

    With six laps remaining in the second stage, Almirola assumed the lead over Keselowski, but the caution quickly returned when Preece spun in the middle of Turn 2. No one else made contact with Preece as Wallace went all the way below the apron to dodge Preece. Preece was able to return to the pits for fresh tires. Under caution, drivers like Jones, Wallace, Logano and LaJoie pitted.

    The race restarted with two laps remaining in the second stage and Keselowski reassumed the lead from Almirola. Keselowski was able to claim the second stage on Lap 85 by more than a second over Almirola. Newman finished third followed by Truex and Stenhouse while Harvick, Austin Dillon, Kurt Busch, DiBenedetto and Hamlin rounded out the top 10.

    Under the stage break, a handful of competitors that included Truex, Austin Dillon, Almirola, Stenhouse, rookie Brennan Poole, Suarez and Preece pitted for four tires.

    When the final stage started with 51 laps remaining and the sun was slowly setting, Keselowski retained the lead as Kurt Busch charged into second. Four laps later, Harvick moved into second as Kurt Busch was left in a battle with Hamlin for position. Another three laps later, Keselowski surrendered the lead to pit for fuel, giving the lead to Harvick with Hamlin trailing by over a second and Elliott by six seconds.

    Soon after, Logano and Newman made a green-flag pit stop. Logano, however, was penalized for driving through too many pit stalls. During his green-flag stop to change only his right-side tires, Johnson clipped a tire from one of his crew members while exiting his pit stall. With the tire rolling out of his pit box, Johnson was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation. Other drivers that pitted under green included Blaney, Kenseth, DiBenedetto, Kurt Busch and Elliott.

    With 35 laps remaining, Harvick made a green-flag pit stop for two fresh tires and enough fuel to complete the race. Hamlin returned to the lead, still needing to make a final green-flag pit stop, as Bowyer also pitted while Jones moved into second. Soon after, Bowman pitted followed by Wallace. With 30 laps remaining, Hamlin, who was still attempting to stretch his fuel tank to its fullest, was still leading by nearly nine seconds over Jones and 17 seconds over Almirola while Harvick was in 13th and less than 30 seconds behind the leaders. Aside from the top three, other drivers still racing on the track on low fuel included Truex, Byron, Stenhouse, Wallace, Custer, Austin Dillon and Nemechek.

    With 26 to go, Jones made a green-flag pit stop as Almirola moved into second. The following lap, Custer also pitted. By then, Harvick had carved his way up to sixth and was more than 33 seconds behind Hamlin, who was still leading by nearly 17 seconds over Almirola.

    With 20 to go, Hamlin pulled into his pit stall and pitted for four seconds of fuel and a two-tire pit stop with the driver and crew chief Chris Gabehart banking on exiting pit road and getting up to speed in front of Harvick. By the time Hamlin exited pit road, he was able to fire off ahead of Harvick, who was still nearly three seconds behind and tucked behind Stenhouse. During Hamlin’s stop, Almirola also made a green-flag pit stop as Truex assumed command. With 15 to go, Truex pitted and Hamlin returned to the lead by more than two seconds over Harvick.

    With ten laps remaining, Hamlin stabilized his lead by three seconds over Harvick despite encountering lapped traffic. At that time, Keselowski was in third followed by Elliott and Jones while Almirola was in sixth, trailing by nearly 22 seconds. In addition, Austin Dillon and Stenhouse surrendered their runs in the top 10 to pit. As the laps and the sun continued to dwindle around the Tricky Triangle, Hamlin continued to lead while Harvick was unable to narrow his deficit to Hamlin and as Keselowski slowly started catching Harvick for second. Behind, Jones moved into fourth after passing Elliott.

    With four laps remaining, Keselowski made a green-flag pit stop after running out of fuel, which allowed Jones, Elliott and Almirola to move into the top five. It did not change anything at the front as Hamlin was able to start the final lap of the race. For one final lap, Hamlin was able to stabilize his gap from Harvick and cruise to the checkered flag for another win to this season.

    With his sixth win at Pocono, Hamlin, who won after starting 19th, tied Jeff Gordon for the most wins at the Tricky Triangle track. In addition, Hamlin recorded his 60th win across NASCAR’s three major division series and he recorded the 350th victory for Joe Gibbs Racing across the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series. The victory was Hamlin’s 10th with crew chief Chris Gabehart.

    “A lot of adversity early,” Hamlin said. “We got some nose damage, had to fix that. We just worked on the car and got it better and better. I mean, it finished the race there a lot better than what we finished yesterday, and I thought we had a race-winning car yesterday. We knew after yesterday’s race and showing the speed we had, just don’t mess it up and we got a good shot today, and that’s what we did. You got to work [the pit strategy], but ultimately, the two fastest cars finished one, two both days. I think that there’s no secret there and this team’s been strong every week. We were in contention to win every single week and that’s all you can ask for as a racecar driver, and we’re just on a roll right now. We’re gonna keep getting better, keep getting faster racecars and giving me a bigger box to work in. If we don’t have the exact race setup or the handling’s not perfect, we’re still going out there winning races because we got decent car speed. We’re just continuing to make our stuff a little bit better and it’s making that room for error just a little bit bigger.”

    Harvick finished second, trailing Hamlin by three seconds, as he came one position short in winning back-to-back races at Pocono in the same weekend.

    “Yeah, we just pitted too early today and gave up too much time in lapped traffic,” Harvick said. “Yesterday, we won the race pitting that way. Just really proud of everybody on our Head for the Mountains Busch Beer Ford Mustang. Great two races and we’ll go to the next one.”

    Jones finished third followed by Elliott and Almirola. DiBenedetto and Byron finished sixth and seventh while Bowyer rubbed and edged Bowman to finish eighth. Truex rounded out the top 10. Keselowski settled in 11th following his late pit stop while Johnson finished 16th in his 38th and final start at Pocono.

    The race capped off an eventful day at Pocono, where all three of NASCAR’s major division series raced on the same day at the exact venue for the first time in the sport’s history. It also capped off a three-day race span at Pocono featuring five stock car division series races and five different winners.

    There were 12 lead changes for eight different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 32 laps.

    With his finishes of first and second this weekend, Harvick retains the lead in the Cup Series regular-season standings by 52 points over Blaney.

    Results.

    1. Denny Hamlin, 49 laps led

    2. Kevin Harvick, 11 laps led

    3. Erik Jones

    4. Chase Elliott

    5. Aric Almirola, four laps led

    6. Matt DiBenedetto

    7. William Byron

    8. Clint Bowyer

    9. Alex Bowman

    10. Martin Truex Jr., five laps led

    11. Brad Keselowski, 13 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    12. Matt Kenseth

    13. Kurt Busch, 35 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    14. Austin Dillon

    15. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    16. Jimmie Johnson

    17. Cole Custer

    18. Ryan Newman, one lap down

    19. John Hunter Nemechek, one lap down

    20. Bubba Wallace, one lap down

    21. Corey LaJoie, one lap down

    22. Ryan Blaney, one lap down, 21 laps led

    23. Ty Dillon, one lap down

    24. Joey Logano, one lap down

    25. Ryan Preece, one lap down

    26. Daniel Suarez, one lap down

    27. Brennan Poole, two laps down

    28. J.J. Yeley, two laps down

    29. Timmy Hill, three laps down

    30. James Davison, four laps down

    31. Quin Houff, four laps down

    32. Garrett Smithley, four laps down

    33. Joey Gase, four laps down

    34. Josh Bilicki, four laps down

    35. Tyler Reddick, five laps down

    36. Chris Buescher, five laps down

    37. B.J. McLeod, seven laps down

    38. Kyle Busch – OUT, Accident, two laps led

    39. Christopher Bell – OUT, Accident

    40. Michael McDowell – OUT, Accident

    The NASCAR Cup Series’ next destination is at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Brickyard 400. The race will air on July 5 at 4 p.m. on NBC.

  • Briscoe rallies from late spin to win at Pocono

    Briscoe rallies from late spin to win at Pocono

    From a late spin to the lead following a late restart, Chase Briscoe emerged victorious in the fifth annual Pocono Green 225 at Pocono Raceway for his fourth NASCAR Xfinity Series win of the season and the sixth of his career. In a race that felt like a war of attrition with multiple on-track incidents occurring, Briscoe was a victim of one of nine cautions when he spun with 22 laps remaining in Turn 1 after sustaining a flat left-rear tire. Briscoe was able to rally from the incident to battle Ross Chastain for the lead with less than 10 laps remaining and overtake Chastain for the lead on an overtime restart to win.

    The starting lineup was based on a random draw. Points leader Noah Gragson drew the pole position and started alongside Myatt Snider. Jeffrey Earnhardt and Cody Ware started at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Gragson launched ahead of the field on the outside lane and was pursued by teammate Justin Allgaier while Snider was being pressured by Chase Briscoe and Justin Haley for position. The caution flew when Brandon Jones, fresh off his first NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series career win at Pocono earlier in the day, was turned off the front nose of Austin Cindric and pounded the Turn 1 inside wall head-on. The damage was too severe for Jones to continue as he ended his race without completing a single lap. 

    “Ultimately, you make up spots on these restarts, so we were trying to go three-wide and get them early,” Jones said. “But, obviously, you have to have a little give and take. It’s just early. It doesn’t take much when you get three-wide to get pushed around. But from my vantage point, we got hit in the back…We had a really good positive. We won the truck race. I had high hopes for this race, too.”

    The race restarted on the fourth lap with Gragson retaining the lead. Entering Turn 1, Ross Chastain attempted to split the middle between Briscoe and Allgaier for the runner-up spot. Chastain and Briscoe made the slightest of contact entering the straightaway, but they all proceeded racing straight and still in a three-wide battle. The caution returned when contact from Daniel Hemric got Josh Williams sideways and into the outside wall on the Long Pond Straightaway, where he sustained heavy front nose damage. Also involved was Joe Graf Jr. as both competitors were knocked out of the race. Under the caution laps, Williams expressed his displeasure towards Hemric. Under caution and due to the extended caution laps, NASCAR cancelled the competition caution scheduled on the 10th lap.

    The race restarted on the eighth lap as Allgaier received a push from Chastain to challenge Gragson for the lead. Chastain attempted to move to the inside of Gragson and Allgaier for the lead, but he slipped, allowing Gragson to move into the lead. Then, in Turn 2, Cindric powered on the outside lane to take the lead, which he led the following lap. Gragson settled in second followed by Allgaier, Briscoe and Michael Annett while Chastain was back in sixth ahead of Snider and teammate Haley.

    On Lap 10, Allgaier slipped while battling teammate Gragson for second in Turn 1. Though he was able to straighten his car, the slip costed him five spots back in eighth. A lap later, Chastain moved into second after passing Gragson while Briscoe and Snider battled behind. By then, Cindric was leading by more than five seconds while Allgaier had rallied back to race in fifth.

    The caution flew on Lap 14, when rookie Harrison Burton, who had reported fluid on the track, got loose entering Turn 1 and made head-on contact into the inside wall, a wreck that was reminiscent to his teammate Jones. The front nose damage was enough to end Burton’s day on the wrecker as this marked his second consecutive DNF of the season and after starting this season with 10 consecutive top-10 finishes and two wins.

    “I was racing with [Michael Annett] and felt good, and it just instantly came around,” said Burton. “That’s a weird place to come around. That hit looked harder than it was, so I’m all right. Thankful that my team built safe racecars. I’ve unfortunately tested that out twice this year. Bummer, but we’ll be back and hopefully win some more.”

    The following lap, the race was red-flagged for nearly 21 minutes to allow the safety workers to clean the reported oil in Turn 1 and the Long Pond Straightaway that reportedly came from Brandon Brown’s car, which retired. Following an extensive cleanup, the field returned under caution. Once the field entered Turn 4, a majority of the competitors, including Haley, Allgaier, Hemric, Gragson, Riley Herbst and Alex Labbe, pitted. Those that remained on the track included Cindric, Chastain, Snider and Annett. The race restarted with three laps remaining in the stage. At the start behind the leaders, Chad Finchum pulled his No. 13 MBM Motorsports Toyota out of line after struggling on the restart, but the field scattered around him and the race proceeded under green. With the field jostling for positions, Cindric was able to pull away by six-tenths of a second over Chastain.  

    On the final lap of the first stage, Alex Labbe, one of the Dash 4 Cash contenders and who was in 11th, spun entering Turn 1 and tapped the inside wall, though he was able to drive his car back to his pit stall with damage to the front nose of his car. The stage concluded under caution with Cindric winning it. Chastain finished second followed by Allgaier, Snider, Annett. Briscoe, Gragson, Herbst, Haley and Hemric finished in the top 10. Under the stage break, Chastain remained on track to assume the lead while Cindric, Snider, Annett, Ryan Sieg and others pitted.

    Following another extensive clean-up for the spilled oil through Turn 1 and the Long Pond Straightaway, the second stage started on Lap 26. The field fanned out to three lanes before Chastain, racing on the outside lane, retained the lead followed by Allgaier with Gragson trailing by a second. Haley was in fourth followed by Herbst. On Lap 29, Cindric made the slightest contact with Herbst as Herbst slipped in Turn 3 and fell to ninth while Cindric advanced into eighth. By then, Chastain was leading by four-tenths of a second over Allgaier with Gragson trailing by two seconds. Trailing behind Gragson were Briscoe, Hemric and Cindric. 

    On Lap 35, Chastain and Allgaier were ahead of third-place Cindric by nearly five seconds. A lap later, Allgaier drew himself alongside Chastain to challenge for the lead, which he succeeded. Soon after, Chastain peeled off to pit road for a pit stop. Teammate Haley and Briscoe also pitted, but Briscoe was assessed a pass-through penalty for speeding on pit road. Back on the track, Allgaier was leading by three seconds over a hard-charging Cindric. Allgaier was able to stabilize his lead to win the second stage and earn his fifth stage win of the 2020 season. Cindric was second followed by Gragson, Hemric and Herbst. Snider, Annett, Sieg, Brett Moffitt and Jeremy Clements finished in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, a majority of the lead-lap competitors pitted and Cindric exited pit road first followed by Allgaier, Hemric, Gragson and Snider. Chastain, however, remained on track to inherit the lead after he pitted prior to the conclusion of the second stage. Teammate Haley also remained on track. Labbe pinned a lap behind under the hood.

    When the final stage commenced with 46 laps remaining, Chastain took off with the lead on the outside lane and was quickly pursued by Allgaier. Haley trailed the front runners by seven-tenths of a second followed by Cindric and Gragson. Two laps later, Herbst moved his way all the way up to fourth after passing Gragson, but he slipped entering the tunnel turn and fell all the way back to eighth. 

    A lap later, Haley, who slipped entering Turn 4 following contact with Herbst, veered dead left into the right rear of Herbst and sent Herbst around in Turn 4, where he made minimal contact with the wall. Herbst’s wreck capped off a disappointing day for Joe Gibbs Racing as all three of their Xfinity operations were involved in a wreck. Haley pitted with left-front damage while Herbst also pitted after sustaining front nose energy along with a flat left-front tire to his No. 18 Monster Energy/Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Soon after, NASCAR assessed Haley a two-lap penalty in his pit stall for rough driving and following his on-track contact with Herbst, which ended his hopes of winning the race and the final Dash 4 Cash bonus of the season. Haley and his crew chief Alex Yontz were also called for a post-race meeting with NASCAR officials in the Xfinity Series hauler.

    Under caution, some like Cindric, Allgaier and others pitted while others like Chastain, Gragson, Hemric, Snider, Clements, B.J. McLeod, Dexter Bean and Jesse Little remained on track.

    When the race restarted with 38 laps remaining, Chastain retained the lead but behind, contact from Snider got Gragson loose in Turn 1, where he came back across the track and ignited a multi-car wreck that included teammates Allgaier and Hemric, along with Cindric and Sieg. The wreck ended Cindric’s chances of winning the race and the final Dash 4 Cash bonus after having a strong racecar. Hemric also retired while Gragson, Allgaier and Sieg continued. Under caution, a majority of the leaders, led by Chastain, pitted while few like Briscoe, Moffitt and McLeod remained on track.

    The race restarted with 33 laps remaining, and Briscoe was able to clear the field through Turn 1. Moffitt settled in second as Snider and Chastain moved into third and fourth. Behind, Annett, the lone JR Motorsports’ competitor without damage, challenged Clements for fifth. Two laps later, Briscoe was ahead by a second over Snider and Chastain, both of whom remained within sight of another for the runner-up spot. Behind, names like Moffitt, Clements, Jesse Little, Ryan Vargas, Dexter Bean and Stefan Parsons were racing inside the top 10 with McLeod battling Parsons for position.

    With 22 to go, Briscoe fell off the pace after sustaining a flat left-rear tire and he spun in Turn 1, though he continued without sustaining any damage. Briscoe’s misfortune allowed Snider to move into the lead followed by Chastain. Under caution, Snider remained on track along with four others while Chastain pitted for four fresh tires and fuel with hopes of gaining more speed to take the lead.

    Four laps later, the race restarted and Snider took off with the lead while Chastain, racing on fresh tires, boosted his way into second on fresh tires. Behind, Briscoe, rallying from his late spin, moved into third after passing Annett and Moffitt. With 15 to go, Snider was leading by four-tenths of a second over Chastain with Briscoe trailing by two seconds as the top three started to gap fourth-place Annett by nearly five seconds. Three laps later, Chastain passed Snider for the lead in Turn 1 and three turns later, Briscoe moved into second with the top-three competitors separated by less than six-tenths of a second.

    With 10 laps remaining, the battle for the lead ignited between Briscoe and Chastain with Chastain maintaining a small advantage over Briscoe. After making several attempts to pass Chastain, Briscoe succeeded with seven laps remaining in Turn 2. The following lap, Briscoe was starting to extend his lead by four-tenths of a second with Snider trailing by nearly three seconds. The caution returned when Finchum wrecked in Turn 2 and came to rest across the outside wall. Under caution, Snider and Annett led a handful of cars to pit road for service, including Allgaier, while Briscoe and Chastain remained on track. When the pit stops concluded, Snider was all the way back to 15th.

    The race restarted in overtime and Chastain received a push from Allgaier on the inside lane to retain the lead. Soon after, Briscoe gained a huge run in the Tunnel Turn and bumped into the rear bumper of Chastain to retain the lead and start the final lap. Briscoe was able to maintain a steady gap over Chastain for one final lap to claim another checkered flag of the season. With the win, Briscoe became the fifth different winner in five NASCAR Xfinity Series races at the Tricky Triangle and he recorded the second victory of the weekend for Stewart-Haas Racing, a day after Kevin Harvick won the first of two Cup Pocono races of the weekend. The victory was also Briscoe’s second with interim crew chief/veteran Greg Zipadelli.

    “Yeah, a ton of concern [when Chastain passed me in overtime],” Briscoe said on FS1. “I felt like if I’d picked the bottom [lane], I could’ve, maybe, slid him, but I was really tight and was worried if I went to the bottom, I’d get too tight on exit. When I was catching Ross, I knew his trouble end was the Tunnel Turn. He was just so loose, so I just tried to use that to my advantage. I knew that was the one spot where I could, probably, make the pass. It was fun. He’s one of the hardest guys to race against and pass. We raced clean the whole time. We were really not that good at the beginning. We, kind of, struggled and didn’t have the speed I really anticipated to have here. It’s always fun when you can do that. We’re halfway to eight [wins], so hopefully, we can keep going.” 

    Chastain finished second for his fourth top-five result of the season. Despite the disappointment of finishing second and falling short of claiming his first win of the season, Chastain secured the fourth and final Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus of the season, second for the Kaulig Racing driver.

    “We did everything right,” Chastain said on FS1. “We got the good push that we needed and cleared [Briscoe] into [Turn] 1. It’s tough to be upset with second, but I am. I’m so proud of Kaulig Racing, [Richard Childress Racing], everybody that brings these racecars and we’re unloading and we are in the top two to three every week. I know how lucky I am, but man, it’s the memories we take with us, not the money.”

    Clements rallied from a pit road speeding penalty to finish third for his first top-five result of this season while Snider made a late charge in two laps to notch a career-best fourth in his 12th series start, his sixth driving the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.

    “I knew that I was getting a big push from behind,” Snider said. “I had a run coming on [Gragson], but I knew we were going to fall off real fast, so I started lifting up, but the guy behind me didn’t. So you can kind of see me squirreling around the whole time, and I’m trying slow down, but I just couldn’t stop. I hate that it got so many involved with it, but it ended up being a great day for us. We’re up front leading laps, and we had a chance to win there. It came down to experience for me. I’ve only had a few races with this RCR car. It’s got speed. I’ve just got to get myself a little more consistent, but kudos to the RCR guys for bringing such a fast TaxSlayer Camaro. I had a blast today. Just got to get a little more experience and I think that we’ll be able to win some races.”

    Annett finished fifth for his first top-five result of the season followed by teammate Allgaier, who rallied from the late multi-car wreck that also collected his two JRM teammates. Moffitt, Timmy Hill, Herbst and Jesse Little finished in the top 10. Ryan Vargas, who was running in the top 10 until he got into the outside wall in Turn 1 on the final lap, settled in 13th.

    There were 12 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured nine cautions for 31 laps. Only 21 of the 36-car field finished on the lead lap.

    With the win, Briscoe emerged with the points lead by three points over Gragson and 33 over Chastain.

    Results:

    1. Chase Briscoe, 24 laps led

    2. Ross Chastain, 31 laps led

    3. Jeremy Clements

    4. Myatt Snider, eight laps led

    5. Michael Annett

    6. Justin Allgaier, nine laps led, Stage 2 winner

    7. Brett Moffitt

    8. Timmy Hill

    9. Riley Herbst

    10. Jesse Little

    11. Dexter Bean

    12. Ryan Sieg

    13. Ryan Vargas

    14. B.J. McLeod

    15. Kyle Weatherman

    16. Jeffrey Earnhardt

    17. Alex Labbe

    18. Vinnie Miller

    19. Kody Vanderwal

    20. Carson Ware

    21. Stefan Parsons

    22. Noah Gragson, one lap down, eight laps led

    23. Justin Haley, two laps down

    24. Bayley Currey, three laps down

    25. Matt Mills – OUT, Transmission

    26. Chad Finchum – OUT, Accident

    27. Stephen Leicht – OUT, Electrical

    28. Daniel Hemric – OUT, Accident

    29. Austin Cindric – OUT, Accident, 11 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    30. Tommy Joe Martins – OUT, Oil leak

    31. Jeff Green – OUT, Power steering

    32. Harrison Burton – OUT, Accident

    33. Brandon Brown – OUT, Engine

    34. Josh Williams – OUT, Accident

    35. Joe Graf Jr. – OUT, Accident

    36. Brandon Jones – OUT, Accident

    The NASCAR Xfinity Series will travel to the midwest and compete in the first oval-road course race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 4, where the race will air at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • First Cup Pocono race features unique top-15 notables

    First Cup Pocono race features unique top-15 notables

    While Kevin Harvick walked away with his first NASCAR Cup Series win at Pocono Raceway following a 19-year dry spell, there were other competitors who left the first Pocono race of the weekend satisfied with their runs involving late-race strategy and finishes inside the top 15.

    The first was Clint Bowyer. Starting 18th, Bowyer remained in 18th through the competition caution on Lap 13. Surrendering his track position to pit for early adjustments, Bowyer fell back to 24th. Through two restarts, he settled in 25th when the first stage concluded. He spent the majority of the following stage racing within the 20s, but when some competitors opted to pit under green, Bowyer was back up in 11th. Following a late debris caution, he pitted. Through two restarts, he was able to carve his way to 13th following the second stage. In the final stage, under 40 laps remaining, Bowyer made a green-flag pit stop along with a bevy of lead-lap cars that would get him the fuel he needed to make it to the end. Fifteen laps later, Bowyer was running in 14th and delivering strong lap times. For the remainder of the race, Bowyer and his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang was able to work his way into the top 10 as he settled in seventh when the race concluded. Coming off four disappointing races, where he finished no higher than 11th at Homestead, the seventh-place result was Bowyer’s fourth top-10 result of this season and his best finish since finishing second at Bristol on May 31. It was also a result that kept Bowyer inside the top-16 in the Cup regular-season standings.

    “We were really loose and in traffic, we were terrible,” Bowyer said. “But, I think we found our direction in the last part of the race. We had a vibration late or I think we could have gotten more spots. What a swing! [Crew chief] Johnny Klausmeier and my guys did a good job calling the race.”

    Next was Michael McDowell. Starting 26th McDowell was able to work his way up to 19th following the first stage and in 16th following the second stage. Restarting 14th under 50 laps remaining for the final stage, McDowell shined as he worked his way into the top 10. As the green-flag run stretch, a multitude of competitors, even for those running towards the front, pitted while McDowell was among a handful who remained on track. Once most of the pit stops cycled through, McDowell and his No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford Mustang team was running inside the top five and was one of seven cars yet to pit. With 20 laps remaining, McDowell passed Ryan Newman to lead a lap before he surrendered his track position to pit under green. Once he exited pit road, McDowell was still in contention for a top-10 result, which he was able to move into eighth in the final laps. When the checkered flag flew, McDowell crossed the line in eighth for his first top-10 result of this season, the ninth of his career and his first since finishing fifth last October at Talladega Superspeedway. The result was also McDowell’s best in a non-superspeedway event in the Cup Series. With teammate John Hunter Nemechek finishing eighth the previous race at Talladega and McDowell earning his eighth-place result in the first Pocono race, this marked the first time where Front Row Motorsports’ entries earned top-10 results in consecutive weeks.

    “Well, that was an exciting run,” McDowell said. “[Crew chief] Drew [Blickensderfer] made a great call. Strategy was the big part of it today. Our car was really fast on the long run, which let us stay out long and make good lap times, and end up taking only two tires at the end to get some track position. Luckily, it stayed green and everything went our way. Really proud of everybody at Front Row [Motorsports]. Fast race car all day long and I’m just glad we got a top 10 here, kept the momentum rolling. We get to do all again tomorrow. We’ll reload and get to do it again.”

    Another competitor who gambled late on fuel to post a decent result was Chris Buescher. Starting 24th, Buescher was able to carve his way to 17th through the competition caution on Lap 13. He went on to finish 19th in the first stage and 20th in the second stage, though his No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Mustang was fifth at one moment in the second stage. Restarting 18th for the final stage, Buescher was one of seven competitors who decided to stretch his fuel cell as far as possible while the green-flag run progressed and as most of the lead-lap cars pitted. With teammate Ryan Newman leading in the late stages, Buescher was running in third. Under 20 laps remaining, Buescher inherited the lead and led three laps before making a green-flag pit stop. Once Buescher returned on track, he spent the next 17 laps working his way back to the front. On the final lap, Buescher was able to pass Matt Kenseth to finish 10th and secure his fourth top-10 result of this season in his 14th Cup race with Roush Fenway Racing.

    “Well, another top 10 for our Fastenal Mustang,” Buescher said. “First Pocono is in the books, a little bit delayed, but we had a really good run. Had some good strategy, we had good speed. [I] Was happy with our racecar. We get to work on it a little bit for tomorrow, kind of fine tuned and be able to hit the ground running. We’re excited to get going and try to build off of this, and try to do a little better yet.”

    Finishing right behind Buescher was Matt Kenseth. Starting 22nd, Kenseth was scored in 23rd and he went on to finish 23rd and 14th in the following two stages. With 37 laps remaining, Kenseth was among many competitors who made a green-flag pit stop with enough fuel to complete the remainder of the race. From there, Kenseth awaited as a handful of competitors peeled off the track to pit road. Under 15 laps remaining, the 2003 Cup champion was scored in 10th and was appeared to finish in the top 10 despite enduring late handling issues. On the final lap, he was overtaken for position and settled in 11th, seven spots ahead of teammate Kurt Busch. While he came one spot short of earning his second top-10 result of this season, the 11th-place result marked Kenseth’s third top-15 result of the 2020 season in his 10th race driving the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE and his best result since finishing 15th at Atlanta on June 7. In the previous three Cup races prior to Saturday’s race at Pocono, Kenseth had finished no higher than 23rd and was coming off a 40th-place finish, last, at Talladega due to mechanical issues. By finishing 11th, Kenseth was also the highest-finishing Chevrolet competitor of the Cup race.

    After running inside the top five midway in the race, Matt DiBenedetto settled for a top-15 result following a late cycle of green-flag pit stops. Starting 21st, DiBenedetto had a strong No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford Mustang to start the race as he gained 10 spots and was scored in 11th through the first 13 laps. Through the remainder of the first stage, DiBenedetto was able to work his way into the top 10 and finish seventh while earning crucial stage points for the Playoffs. Continuing to battle his way towards the front with a strong car, DiBenedetto was able to finish fifth in the second stage and earn more valuable stage points. Following a final green-flag pit stop under 40 laps remaining in the final stage, DiBenedetto crossed the line in 13th for his ninth top-15 finish in his 14th race with the Wood Brothers.

    Finally, Ryan Newman concluded his day with a top-15 run after leading in the late laps on a dry tank of fuel. Starting 13th, Newman had fallen back to 20th through the competition caution, but he progressively worked his way back to finish 14th and 12th in the first two stages. The final stage was where Newman rose to the occasion as he inherited the lead with 33 laps remaining. With Newman in the lead, this marked the third race where he led a lap since returning from his injuries in the season-opening Daytona 500. On this occasion, Newman led 13 laps. A lap after losing the lead to Michael McDowell, Newman made a green-flag pit stop. Once he returned on the track, he was still in the top 15, running near his teammate Chris Buescher. While Buescher marched on into the top 10, Newman settled in 15th for his sixth top-15 result since returning at Darlington Raceway in May.

    The NASCAR Cup Series will return for a second race at Pocono as part of the doubleheader feature on June 28 at 4 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Banner run for four Toyota competitors at Pocono

    Banner run for four Toyota competitors at Pocono

    It was a banner day for Kevin Harvick as he notched his first NASCAR Cup Series win at Pocono Raceway in his 39th attempt. It was also a banner run for the Toyota nameplate as four Toyota drivers earned top-10 results, three of which were top-five results, at the Tricky Triangle.

    The first was Denny Hamlin. Starting third based on a random draw, Hamlin fell back to fifth through the first 13 laps. Under the competition caution, he remained on track and was shuffled back to ninth on the following restart. Under three laps remaining in the first stage, the driver of the No. 11 FedEx/Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota surrendered his track position to make a green-flag pit stop to set himself up for track position in the following stage. When the first stage concluded, Hamlin was in 36th. Under the stage break, Hamlin remained on track and gained a multitude of positions while his three JGR teammates pitted. Restarting 10th in the second stage, Hamlin slowly made his way towards the front as strategy became the theme throughout the stage and a multitude of competitors made green-flag pit stops. On Lap 60, Hamlin led his first lap of the day after passing teammate Martin Truex Jr., who peeled off to pit road. Hamlin would lead seven laps before pitting. With eight laps remaining in the second stage, Hamlin was in 10th when the caution flew. Through two late-stage restarts, Hamlin would settle in seventh in the second stage. Restarting seventh in the final stage with 48 laps remaining, Hamlin returned to the lead 11 laps later. Needing to pit to complete the race, Hamlin pitted five laps later for service. For the duration of the closing laps, Hamlin would carve his way back into second with Harvick ahead of him. Then, Hamlin started to report a bad vibration to his car. Despite the issue, Hamlin continued to narrow his deficit to Harvick with less than 10 laps remaining. With four laps remaining, Hamlin narrowed his deficit to less than half a second and was close to Harvick’s rear bumper. He was, however, unable to gain a draft to draw alongside Harvick and challenge for the win as he settled in second. With his runner-up result, Hamlin earned his eighth top-five result of this season and his 12th at Pocono to go along with his three regular-season victories this season and after leading 10 of the event’s 130-scheduled laps.

    “[The vibration]’s bad,” Hamlin said. “It was like someone loosened all the [lug] nuts on the car. It’s unfortunate. We got there and we came there from a long way back. Had a strong FedEx Camry. With about 15, 20 to go, the vibration just got really, really bad. Still, it would’ve been tough to pass. Even though we got there, it was gonna be tough to get around [Harvick]. Man, our car was extremely, extremely fast. [I’m] Optimistic for tomorrow’s race, for sure.”

    Next was rookie Christopher Bell, who shined the brightest of this year’s Rookie-of-the-Year Cup field at a track where he won at in the 2017 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series season with Kyle Busch Motorsports. Starting 36th, Bell gained 10 spots to move into 26th through the competition caution on Lap 13. Through the following two restarts, Bell kept his No. 95 Rheem/Leavine Family Racing Toyota intact. With three laps remaining in the first stage, Bell, like Hamlin, made a green-flag pit stop for early adjustments to his car for the next stage, thus finishing 35th at the conclusion of the first stage. Throughout the second stage, Bell worked his way into the top 10 and was running inside the top five when the caution flew for debris with 13 laps remaining in the stage. Through another caution and two late restarts, Bell concluded the stage in 11th, one spot shy of earning a stage point. At the start of the final stage, Bell remained in contention for a top-10 spot when he made a green-flag pit stop with 39 laps remaining to have enough fuel to make it to the end. From there, Bell was able to work his way up to fourth when the checkered flag flew. The fourth-place result marked Bell’s first top-five career finish in his 14th NASCAR Cup Series start and his fourth top-10 result of this season and in the last eight races. The top-five result was a satisfactory run for Bell, who had finished no higher than 21st in the first six races of the 2020 season.

    “Whenever I started working with [crew chief] Jason [Ratcliff] two years ago in the Xfinity Series, well even before that, I started following him and I knew he was really aggressive on strategy to get his driver up front,” Bell said. “[It] Seems like the majority of the race tracks that we’ve been to the last couple weeks have just been, put four tires on and go, but Pocono is definitely a place where you can mix up strategy, pit early, pit before the stages and so forth. Obviously, Jason did a great job and got us up front and we had the car speed to stay up there.”

    In addition, Kyle Busch rallied from his recent strings of frustration to leave the first Pocono event with a strong top-five run. Starting fourth, Busch was the highest-running Toyota driver in fourth through the first competition caution on Lap 13. Restarting in fourth, Busch outlasted through two additional restarts to finish fourth and gain valuable stage points towards the Playoffs. Under the stage break, Busch pitted with two of his JGR teammates and restarted 23rd for the following stage. In the early portions of the stage, Busch was running towards the top 15, but once a wave of competitors pitted on Lap 46, Busch was in third behind teammates Truex and Hamlin. Busch kept his No. 18 M&M’s Mini’s/Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota towards the front when a late caution in the second stage came out due to debris. Opting to pit, Busch was in 11th when the racing resumed with eight laps remaining in the second stage. Through another late-stage restart, Busch finished 10th. He restarted in eighth in the final stage and made his final pit stop under green with 40 laps remaining. As the race dwindled to its final laps, Busch was able to work his way up to fifth, where he finished after taking the checkered flag. Despite remaining winless to the 2020 season, the top-five result was Busch’s first since finishing second at Atlanta Motor Speedway on June 7 and his eighth top-10 result of the season.

    “We had some speed and there were laps that I could run with [Hamlin], but he could just do it lap after lap after lap where I was pushing everything I had to keep up with him there,” Busch said. “I just couldn’t do it. I would make the tires mad and would start to fall back. We were just a little tight all day. We really fought tight early on, but we made some really good adjustments and got it a lot closer and got it a lot better. Our strategy there worked out to get us in the top-five – that was about all we could ask for out of today. We got some really good ideas for tomorrow hopefully that will help us out and hopefully get us some speed so we can keep up with those front guys.”

    Finally, Martin Truex Jr. rallied from a disappointing ending last weekend at Talladega Superspeedway to add another top-10 result to this season. Starting 11th, Truex was in 14th through the competition caution, 13 laps, when he opted to make his first pit stop of the day for four fresh tires, fuel and adjustments. The pit stop dropped him back to 21st, and through two restarts, Truex could finish as high as 13th following the first stage. Restarting in 10th for the start of the second stage, Truex emerged with the lead on Lap 45. He led the next 14 laps before surrendering the lead to teammate Hamlin while making a green-flag pit stop. In the closing laps of the second stage, Truex was running inside the top five. Through two late restarts, Truex settled in third in the second stage. Restarting in third in the final stage, Truex was battling within the top five when he made a green-flag pit stop, a stop to get him to the finish. In the final laps, while battling teammate Kyle Busch for a top-five spot, Truex reported a vibration to his No. 19 SiriusXM/Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Despite the late concerns, Truex was able to cross the finish line in sixth for his seventh top-10 result of this season after leading 14 laps.

    “We started in a decent spot and lost some spots early,” Truex said. “I thought we had a pretty decent SiriusXM Toyota early on and kind of had to do a little different strategy there. Stage one didn’t look too good, but I felt like we were pretty close with the car. We made some adjustments and got some track position through stage two, so we were able to get some decent stage points there. We were in a decent spot again towards the end and got a really bad vibration, so I was a little concerned that we were going to have a tire issue or something. Luckily, it held on and it wasn’t a great finish by any means, but a solid finish for sure and something we can work on for tomorrow.”

    For the remaining Toyota competitors, Daniel Suarez and Timmy Hill finished 28th and 35th while Erik Jones ended his race in 38th following a late accident in the second stage, a wreck that left Jones trailing the top-16 in the regular-season series standings by six points and moving into a backup car for the second Cup Pocono race on Sunday, June 28.

    The NASCAR Cup Series will return for a second race at Pocono as part of the doubleheader feature on June 28 at 4 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Harvick benefits on strategy, outduels Hamlin for first Pocono triumph

    Harvick benefits on strategy, outduels Hamlin for first Pocono triumph

    In his 39th attempt at a track dubbed the Tricky Triangle, Kevin Harvick scratched Pocono Raceway off of his bucket list. Harvick exited ahead of teammate Aric Almirola with 37 laps remaining following a two-tire pit stop, inherited the lead twenty laps later and held off a late challenge from Denny Hamlin to win the Pocono Organics 325, the first of two Pocono Raceway events this weekend, for his third NASCAR Cup Series win of the season and the 52nd of his career.

    The starting lineup was based on a random draw. Almirola, coming off his third-place result at Talladega Superspeedway backwards, drew the pole position and was joined on the front row with Ryan Blaney, who won at Talladega. Rookie Brennan Poole started at the rear of the field after his car failed pre-race inspection twice along with Josh Bilicki due to unapproved adjustments.

    Delayed by scattered rain, the field ran extra pace laps under caution. When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Blaney made an attempt for the lead on the inside lane, but he got loose entering Turn 1, which allowed Almirola to clear with the lead through the Long Pond Straightaway as Kyle Busch moved into second. On the fifth lap, Blaney retook second and was followed by teammate Joey Logano while Kyle Busch slipped back to fourth. 

    At the front, Almirola was able to maintain his advantage by a second over Logano and above two seconds over Blaney through the competition caution on Lap 13. By then, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Matt DiBenedetto, both of whom started 14th and 21st, moved up to 10th and 11th while Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick, both of whom started fifth and ninth, had fallen back to 12th and 15th. Under caution, the top-eight competitors remained on track while a majority led by Jimmie Johnson pitted for early adjustments. When the pit stops cycled through, 14 competitors remained on track while Johnson was in 15th, the first car on fresh tires.

    When the green flag flew and the race resumed on Lap 17, a handful of competitors running in the middle of the pack fanned out in racing five- to six-wide past the start/finish line before settling into side-by-side racing through Turn 1. Meanwhile, Almirola retained the lead followed by Logano while Blaney and Kyle Busch battled for third. The caution returned when rookie Quin Houff spun in Turn 2 and made contact with the inside wall.

    The following restart, on Lap 21, Logano, who was lined up with teammates Blaney and Brad Keselowski, was able to race alongside Almirola entering Turn 1 before he took the lead through the Long Pond Straight. By then, Chase Elliott, who was racing on fresh tires, moved into the top five after passing Kurt Busch. Two laps later, drivers like Denny Hamlin, Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and rookie Christopher Bell pitted under green as part of a strategic move for the following stage. While most of the battling for track position occurred just outside the top 10, Logano was able to cruise to the first stage win. Almirola finished second followed by Blaney while Kyle Busch and Elliott finished in the top five. Kurt Busch, DiBenedetto, Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman and Erik Jones finished in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, some led by Logano remained on track while others like Kyle Busch, Keselowski, Johnson, Clint Bowyer, rookie Tyler Reddick, Ryan Newman, Jones, Bubba Wallace, rookie Cole Custer, Ryan Preece, Michael McDowell and Daniel Suarez pitted. Following the pit stops, Reddick was assessed a pass-through penalty for speeding on pit road.

    The second stage started on Lap 31, where Almirola was able to return to the lead after restarting on the bottom lane. Logano dropped to second while Elliott moved into third after passing Blaney. By then, DiBenedetto moved into the top five while Bowman, Austin Dillon and William Byron were running seventh through ninth. 

    By Lap 35, Hamlin was in 13th followed by Harvick and Kyle Busch while Johnson was in 20th. Over the next 10 laps, Blaney, Kurt Busch, Logano, DiBenedetto and Bowman made a green-flag pit stop. A lap later, on Lap 46, Almirola pitted under green along with Elliott. Their pit stops allowed Truex, who last pitted on Lap 14, to take the lead followed by his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Hamlin and Kyle Busch, all of whom were running with distinct pit strategies. Byron was in fourth followed by Austin Dillon, Chris Buescher and Jones.

    By Lap 55, Truex was ahead by three-tenths of a second over Hamlin with Kyle Busch trailing by nearly two seconds. Behind, Harvick was in seventh, Matt Kenseth was in ninth and Bell was the highest-running rookie in 10th with Nemechek and Reddick in 12th and 13th. Johnson was in 14th followed by Wallace while Bowyer was in 20th. Almirola was in 24th followed by Logano, Blaney, Elliott, Kurt Busch and DiBenedetto, all of whom trailed the leaders by 28 seconds.

    Over the next five laps, Nemechek, Buescher and Austin Dillon made a green-flag pit stop. On Lap 60, Hamlin passed teammate Truex to inherit the lead. At the same time, Byron made a green-flag pit stop. Shortly after, Truex pitted along with Kenseth as his two teammates, Kyle Busch and Jones, moved into second and third. By then, Harvick and Bell were in the top five while Almirola was in 14th. A lap later, Johnson made a pit stop, but nearly made contact with the lapped car of Bilicki while trying to enter his pit box.

    With 13 laps remaining in the second stage, J.J. Yeley blew a left-front tire following contact with Nemechek the previous lap entering Turn 4 and drew a caution when the tire shredded and debris scattered from Yeley’s car. Under caution, nearly the entire field led by Hamlin and Kyle Busch pitted with Hamlin exiting first on four fresh tires. Following the pit stops, Ty Dillon was assessed a pass-through penalty for speeding on pit road. When the field cycled through, Almirola remained on track and returned the lead followed by Logano, Blaney, Elliott, Truex, Kurt Busch, Bowman, DiBenedetto and Byron.

    The green flag returned with eight laps remaining in the second stage and Almirola was able to fend off teammates Logano and Blaney to retain the lead through Turn 1. By then, Hamlin wasted no time carving his way to seventh. Two laps later, Jones lifted off the throttle entering Turn 4 and Reddick made contact with Jones’ No. 20 Toyota as both slid towards the inside wall with Jones pounding the wall head-on and Reddick sustaining heavy damage to the right side of his No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. The caution fell following the wreck. Jones retired, moving him into a backup car for Sunday’s second Cup Pocono race, while Reddick continued. Under caution, a handful of competitors, including Kurt Busch, Byron, Austin Dillon, Johnson and Custer, pitted. On the track, Stenhouse stalled his car due to low fuel pressure and pitted to address the issue.

    With two laps remaining in the second stage, Almirola and Logano raced dead even through Turn 1 before Almirola cleared Logano on the outside lane through the first turn. With a majority of competitors jostling for positions in the two-lap dash, Almirola was able to win the second stage by three-tenths of a second over Logano for his first stage win of the 2020 season and gain crucial points towards the Playoffs. Truex settled in third followed by Blaney and DiBenedetto while Bowman, Harvick, Kyle Busch, Hamlin and Elliott finished in the top 10. 

    Under the stage break, only a handful of competitors that included Blaney, Elliott, Ty Dillon and Byron pitted while the rest remained on track. Elliott spent extra time in his pit box to have his right rear fender repaired. In addition, he turned down a bungee chord to hold his car in fourth gear, which popped out, as he will manage the gear himself for the remainder of the race. To make matters worse, he was penalized due to an uncontrolled tire violation and restarted towards the tail end of the lead lap car.

    The final stage commenced with 48 laps remaining as Almirola received a push from DiBenedetto to retain the lead. On the Long Pond Straight, Harvick went three wide with Logano and DiBenedetto to move into second. Logano fell back to sixth as DiBenedetto, Truex and Hamlin passed him.

    Eight laps later, Almirola was still ahead by six-tenths of a second over Harvick with DiBenedetto trailing by nearly four seconds. Truex, Logano and Hamlin were running fourth through sixth while Bowman, Newman, Kyle Busch and Bell were running inside the top 10. Shortly after, the following competitors of Blaney, Logano, Keselowski, Truex, Kyle Busch, Byron and Johnson made a green-flag pit stop. Over the next two laps, Bowman pitted along with teammate Elliott, Wallace, Bowyer and DiBenedetto.

    With 37 laps remaining, teammates Almirola and Harvick made their green-flag pit stops, but Harvick exited ahead of Almirola following a two-tire stop. Their services gave the lead to Hamlin followed by Newman, Michael McDowell, Buescher and Preece. Others competitors that pitted during this time included Nemechek, Kurt Busch, Bell, Austin Dillon and Kenseth. Five laps later, Hamlin surrendered the lead to pit for two fresh tires as Newman moved into the lead. By then, the top-seven competitors were still racing out on old tires and low fuel while Harvick, the first with fresh tires and a full tank of gas, was in eighth.

    With 23 laps remaining, Ty Dillon pitted for fuel while the top-six cars led by Newman continued running on the track as the leaders on low fuel and worn tires. Three laps later, McDowell passed Newman to move into the lead. Buescher was in third behind McDowell and Newman followed by Preece and Stenhouse. Shortly after, McDowell, Newman and Stenhouse pitted, giving the lead to Buescher. Another lap later, Preece pitted as Harvick moved into second, trailing Buescher by more than 11 seconds.

    Six laps later, Buescher pitted and Harvick assumed the lead with Hamlin, Almirola, Truex, Bell and Kyle Busch trailing. Another two laps later, Bowman made an unscheduled pit stop to address a flat right-rear tire and minimal damage to the right side of his No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. The race remained under green-flag conditions with no debris reported on the track from Bowman’s car.

    With the laps dwindling, Hamlin, who reported vibrating issues to his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, started to narrow his deficit from Harvick, who was approaching lapped traffic. With 10 laps remaining, Harvick was ahead by less than a second over Hamlin with Almirola trailing by nearly 13 seconds, Bell by nearly 16 seconds and teammates Kyle Busch and Truex by approximately 18 seconds. 

    Three laps later, with seven to go, Logano made an unscheduled pit stop after blowing a left-front tire, but the race remained under green. By then, Elliott was lapped by Harvick, who was still a second ahead over Hamlin and more than 12 seconds ahead of Almirola. Another three laps later, Harvick, who had lapped Wallace, stabilized his lead to more than a second over Hamlin, who continued reporting vibrating concerns to his car. The following lap, Hamlin decreased his deficit to less than half a second to Harvick as the battle between the two veterans ignited. Though Hamlin nearly drew himself to the rear bumper of Harvick in the Long Pond Straightaway, Harvick gained a huge run entering Turn 4, which stalled Hamlin’s progress.

    When the final lap started, Harvick was ahead by three-tenths of a second over Hamlin. In the Long Pond Straight, Harvick was able to increase his lead by another three-tenths of a second after he broke Hamlin’s draft towards Harvick, which gave the driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford the advantage and the gap he needed to claim his first elusive checkered flag at Pocono.

    Coming into this weekend’s doubleheader, Harvick’s previous best result at Pocono was second four times. With his first win at the Tricky Triangle, Kentucky Speedway and the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval remain the only active Cup tracks where Harvick has yet to fill in a win column. In addition, Harvick joined Hamlin as the only three-time winners of this year’s Cup season with 14 races completed as he also recorded the third Cup victory of 2020 for Stewart-Haas Racing and the eighth for the Ford nameplate.

    “[I] Just gotta thank everybody on our Head for the Mountains Busch Beer Ford Mustang,” Harvick said on FOX. “We weren’t where we needed to be to start the start. Lost a bunch of track position. Came back, made some great strategy calls and we were able to get out front and make some good laps. It’s great to, finally, check Pocono off the list. Everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing has done such a great job with all of our cars every time we’ve come here over the last seven years. I guess we just need special paint schemes to get to Victory Lane. Just glad it didn’t rain all day. I think in the end, it’s gonna come down to strategy and what you need to do [on Sunday].”

    Hamlin finished second, more than seven-tenths of a second behind Harvick, for his eighth top-five result of this season followed by Almirola, who led a race-high 61 of the event’s 130-scheduled laps and earned his third consecutive top-five result this season. 

    “[The vibration]’s bad,” Hamlin said. “It was like someone loosened all the [lug] nuts on the car. It’s unfortunate. We got there and we came there from a long way back. Had a strong FedEx Camry. With about 15, 20 to go, the vibration just got really, really bad. Still, it would’ve been tough to pass. Even though we got there, it was gonna be tough to get around [Harvick]. Man, our car was extremely, extremely fast. [I’m] Optimistic for tomorrow’s race, for sure.”

    “We opted to score a lot of points [in the stages], and that probably hurt us on strategy a little bit, but I’m really proud of [crew chief Mike] Buga [Bugarewicz] and these [No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford] guys,” Almirola said. “They’ve been bringing some awesome race cars. I felt like we were tit-for-tat there with [Harvick] when we were on older tires and in clean air. We’re trying to keep the momentum going. Three top fives in a row. I’m really proud of my race team.”

    Bell and Kyle Busch finished in the top five. Truex, Bowyer, McDowell and Keselowski finished sixth through ninth while Buescher passed Kenseth with two laps remaining to finish 10th. Ryan Preece finished 20th and will start on the pole position for the second Pocono race on Sunday, where he will share the front row with 19th-place finisher Austin Dillon. Melbourne, Australia’s James Davison finished 34th, five laps behind the leaders, in his Cup debut.

    There were 10 lead changes for eight different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 21 laps. Only 21 of the 40-car field finished on the lead lap.

    With his victory, Harvick stabilized his lead in the Cup Series regular-season standings by 29 points over Blaney and 47 over Logano.

    Results:

    1. Kevin Harvick, 17 laps led

    2. Denny Hamlin, 10 laps led

    3. Aric Almirola, 61 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    4. Christopher Bell

    5. Kyle Busch

    6. Martin Truex Jr., 14 laps led

    7. Clint Bowyer

    8. Michael McDowell, one lap led

    9. Brad Keselowski

    10. Chris Buescher, three laps led

    11. Matt Kenseth

    12. Ryan Blaney

    13. Matt DiBenedetto

    14. William Byron

    15. Ryan Newman, 13 laps led

    16. Cole Custer

    17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    18. Kurt Busch

    19. Austin Dillon

    20. Ryan Preece

    21. Jimmie Johnson

    22. Bubba Wallace, one lap down

    23. Corey LaJoie, one lap down

    24. John Hunter Nemechek, one lap down

    25. Chase Elliott, one lap down

    26. Ty Dillon, one lap down

    27. Alex Bowman, one lap down

    28. Daniel Suarez, two laps down

    29. Brennan Poole, three laps down

    30. Tyler Reddick, four laps down

    31. J.J. Yeley, five laps down

    32. Josh Bilicki, five laps down

    33. Garrett Smithley, five laps down

    34. James Davison, five laps down

    35. Timmy Hill, five laps down

    36. Joey Logano, six laps down

    37. Joey Gase, nine laps down

    38. Erik Jones – OUT, Accident

    39. BJ McLeod – OUT, Transmission

    40. Quin Houff – OUT, Accident

    The Cup Series’ second Pocono race as part of the doubleheader feature will air the following day, June 28, at 4 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Pocono doubleheader to commence second half of NASCAR Cup regular season

    Pocono doubleheader to commence second half of NASCAR Cup regular season

    The first half of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series regular season has been like none other in recent years.

    It all started with a harrowing last lap accident in this year’s Daytona 500 that left Ryan Newman injured, but still standing on his feet. Not long after came the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that paused the on-track racing for nearly three months and shifted the racing attention from the track to online/virtual reality. Then came the suspension of prominent star Kyle Larson for his live use of a racial slur followed by his replacement, the return of former Cup champion Matt Kenseth. A month later, the racing resumed and expanded into midweek racing and quadruple-header weekends to make up for the loss time. Most recently, the sport paused for a moment of solidarity with Bubba Wallace, NASCAR’s lone full-time African-American competitor, in the wake of a racist incident at Talladega and took a stance against racial inequality and anything representing it.

    Through all of the listed events above, there were also some thrilling moments that have occurred on the track. From the veterans dominating in recent weeks to the youngsters flexing their muscles and intimidating the sport’s elite to the drop of the checkered flag with tempers flaring and the competition brewing into late chaos. 

    Thus far, eight competitors have guaranteed themselves a spot in the Playoffs with a win. That leaves eight more positions in the standings vacant for more competitors to win or point their way into the top 16 in the regular-season standings through Daytona International Speedway on August 29, which will determine the 2020 Cup Playoff field.

    With 13 of the 26 regular-season scheduled races in the record books, the NASCAR Cup Series competitors set their sights towards the remaining 13 races of the 2020 season while continuing to push towards making the Playoffs and gain as much valuable points possible to elevate their stats and chances of contending for the title. If there is a race weekend for any competitor to gain a pair of advantages towards the Playoffs and desire a will to take risks against all odds, it is this weekend for the Pocono Raceway doubleheader that will commence the second half of the Cup’s regular season.

    For the second time in NASCAR’s modern era, one of NASCAR’s three major division series will compete in back-to-back races at the exact venue on the same weekend. This will, however, mark the first time where the Cup Series will compete in two consecutive races at the same track, this weekend being at Pocono dubbed the Tricky Triangle in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, a track that has hosted NASCAR since 1971.

    The first race of the weekend at Pocono will occur on Saturday, June 27, for the Pocono Organics 325 spanning 130 laps. Based on a random draw, Aric Almirola will lead the field for the start on pole position. Once the race and the post-race inspection are complete, the competitors and the teams will duke it out in the second Pocono event on Sunday, June 28, spanning 140 laps, (350 miles). Sunday’s lineup will be based on the results from Saturday, where the top-20 finishers will be inverted and the remaining 20 will remain as finished for the start. All told, 40 competitors will run a combined 270 laps, (675 miles), with the exact car and engine.

    The two Cup races are part of an eventful race weekend at the Tricky Triangle, which starts with the ARCA Menards Series racing on Friday, the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series returning for a 150-mile event on Saturday and the NASCAR Xfinity Series to race for 225 miles on Sunday. The Truck and Xfinity races will each occur prior to the Cup Series events on their respective dates.

    Heading into the Pocono doubleheader weekend, drivers that have won this season, (Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. and Alex Bowman), will utilize this weekend to earn more victories or bonus points and pad themselves with momentum for the Playoffs. This weekend presents a striking opportunity for drivers like Hamlin, Truex, Blaney, Keselowski and Logano to extend the recent dominance of Joe Gibbs Racing and Team Penske this season at a track where both teams have delivered success in past/recent years. For those like Harvick and Elliott, both of whom have never won at Pocono before, this weekend comes with a pair of opportunities to check off another track with a win column.

    For drivers like Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer, William Byron and rookie Tyler Reddick, this weekend presents a pair of opportunities for them to break through their winless start to this season and receive an early ticket to the Playoffs with a win. For others like Erik Jones, Austin Dillon, Chris Buescher, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Bubba Wallace, rookie John Hunter Nemechek, Ryan Newman and Matt Kenseth, this weekend presents a pair of opportunities for them to gain ground on their deficits and spoil the competition by winning and leapfrogging their way to contend for this year’s title.

    For seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, this weekend presents a pair of opportunities for him, crew chief Cliff Daniels and the No. 48 Ally/Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team to release the floodgates by returning to Victory Lane for the first time in over 100 races and gaining momentum towards making the Playoffs in Johnson’s swan song season as a full-time competitor.

    This weekend’s doubleheader at Pocono, aside from the battle to the Playoffs, also initiates NASCAR’s third installment of the 2020 race schedule announced on June 4 and spanning through August 2 amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as the sport proceeds to salvage and complete the season as scheduled through November while ensuring the safety measures for all competitors and team members on the track. An announcement regarding the remainder of this year’s schedule is yet to be determined.

    The first NASCAR Cup Series Pocono race will run on June 27 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX while the second will run on June 28 at 4 p.m. ET on FS1. The Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will also cover the scheduled events at the scheduled times.

  • Almirola to lead the field in first Cup Pocono race

    Almirola to lead the field in first Cup Pocono race

    For the fourth time in the last six NASCAR Cup Series races, Aric Almirola will start on the front row. Only this time, he will do so in the top-starting position and pace the field for the start on Saturday, June 27, at Pocono Raceway and as part of the first doubleheader weekend for the Cup Series at the same track.

    Following a random draw, Almirola and his No. 10 Smithfield/Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang team were awarded the pole position for Saturday’s Pocono Organics 325 at the track dubbed the Tricky Triangle. This will mark the first time since February 2019 at Atlanta Motor Speedway where Almirola will lead the field to the start of a Cup race in first. In addition, Almirola became the fifth Cup driver this season to start on the pole based on a random draw and since NASCAR’s return in May amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. His previous best starting position was second for three consecutive races, (Bristol Motor Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway and at Martinsville Speedway).

    The lineup for Saturday’s Cup race will mark the only time where a random draw will determine the starting lineup this weekend. Following Saturday’s race, the starting lineup on Sunday for the second Cup Pocono race of the weekend, the Pocono 350, will be based off of the results from Saturday. The top-20 finishing positions will be inverted for Sunday while the bottom 20 positions will start as finished on Saturday. The race winner on Saturday will receive the first pit stall selection for Sunday. Sunday’s lineup at Pocono will mark the third time this season in the Cup Series where the starting lineup was based on inverting the top-20 competitors and leaving the bottom 20 as positioned from a previous race at the same track, (Darlington Raceway and Charlotte Motor Speedway). The NASCAR Xfinity Series also did the same thing between June 13-14 at Homestead-Miami Speedway during the series doubleheader weekend.

    Ryan Blaney, coming off his thrilling win last weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, will start on the front row alongside Almirola followed by Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch, and Chase Elliott. Joey Logano, Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick and Alex Bowman will start in the top 10 followed by Martin Truex Jr. and Jimmie Johnson, a three-time Pocono winner who will make his final two starts this weekend at the Tricky Triangle.

    Starting in positions 13-26 are Ryan Newman, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., rookie Tyler Reddick, William Byron, Austin Dillon, Clint Bowyer, Erik Jones, rookie John Hunter Nemechek, Matt DiBenedetto, Matt Kenseth, Bubba Wallace, Chris Buescher, rookie Cole Custer and Michael McDowell.

    Starting in positions 27-40 are rookie Brennan Poole, Joey Gase, Corey LaJoie, Ryan Preece, Garrett Smithley, rookie Quin Houff, JJ Yeley, Ty Dillon, James Davison, rookie Christopher Bell, Daniel Suarez, Timmy Hill, BJ McLeod and Josh Bilicki.

    The Pocono Organics 325 will air on June 27 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX while the Pocono 350 will air on June 28 at 4 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • New Hampshire to welcome fans for NASCAR race in August

    New Hampshire to welcome fans for NASCAR race in August

    New Hampshire Motor Speedway will allow fans to attend the NASCAR Cup Series race, the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301, at the track dubbed, “The Magic Mile”, on Sunday, August 2.

    In an announcement of the track’s opening for the fans from New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, the fans will be subjected to social distancing protocols along with additional health and safety protocols. The social distancing protocols will be enforced throughout the grandstands, suites and concession lines. Hand-sanitizer stations will be added throughout the track and enhanced cleaning and sanitations will be enforced in high-touch, crowded, public areas. Race team members and operational personnel will be the only ones allowed in the infield. Fans are allowed to bring beverage and food items in soft-sided clear bags no larger than 14x14x14 inches while prohibiting standard coolers to limit interpersonal contact at security checkpoints. Credit, debit and Apply Pay will be the only accepted forms of payment at concessions and souvenir locations, not cash.

    “Holding New England’s premier NASCAR race this summer here in New Hampshire has always been a priority,” said Gov. Sununu. “The state worked closely with the folks at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and the New Hampshire Division of Public Health to put forward comprehensive, operational guidance. While the stands will not be as full as they usually are, we are proud to be able to hold an in-person viewing experience for NASCAR fans.”

    The Cup race at New Hampshire is scheduled to be the largest fan event in New England in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. New Hampshire is also scheduled to become the fifth track this season to allow fans to attend a NASCAR scheduled race. On June 14, NASCAR allowed up to 1,000 Florida service members from the Homestead Air Reserve Base and the U.S. Southern Command in Doral, Florida, to attend and watch the Cup race at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the grandstands. On June 22 at Talladega Superspeedway, NASCAR allowed up to 5,000 fans to watch the Cup race from the frontstretch grandstand areas. In addition, the upcoming NASCAR All-Star Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on July 15 will allow up to 30,000 fans to attend and watch the annual event from the grandstands. The following weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, fans will be allowed to watch the race from the stands only for the Cup Series race on Sunday, July 19.

    The upcoming Cup Series races at Pocono Raceway (doubleheader), Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Kentucky Speedway and Kansas Speedway will proceed as scheduled without fans in attendance. The NASCAR Xfinity Series and Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, currently, have no plans to allow fans in attendance for the upcoming scheduled races.

    NASCAR was originally scheduled to race at New Hampshire on July 19, but in the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the track was rescheduled to run in the beginning of August, where it will become the 20th race of the 2020 Cup season. It is the only NASCAR scheduled race of the season, thus far, at the Magic Mile.

    The NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire will air on August 2 at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Haley to compete in All-Star Race for Spire Motorsports

    Haley to compete in All-Star Race for Spire Motorsports

    Justin Haley, coming off his first NASCAR Xfinity Series career win at Talladega Superspeedway, will compete in this year’s NASCAR Cup All-Star Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Wednesday, July 15. 

    The Winamac, Indiana, native became eligible for the annual All-Star event when he scored his first Cup career victory at Daytona International Speedway in July 2019 in a rain-shortened race, though he is not a full-time Cup competitor. The win came in Haley’s third Cup career start, which was the earliest a Cup driver scored a first career win since Trevor Bayne won the 2011 Daytona 500 in his second series start. 

    Haley will be driving the No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Spire Motorsports, the same organization he drove to his first Cup win, while sponsored by the Fraternal Order of Eagles. In addition, Haley, who became the 32nd driver to win across NASCAR’s three major division series, will also become the ninth NASCAR Next alumnus to compete in the annual exhibition race.

    Haley is in his second full-time season in the Xfinity Series with Kaulig Racing, where he has won once and notched seven top-10 results through 11 races. His lone Cup start this season came in February in the 62nd running of the Daytona 500, where he drove the No. 16 Fraternal Order of Eagles Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Kaulig Racing and finished 13th.

    With Haley’s entrance, 15 Cup competitors have secured their spots for the first All-Star Race to run at Bristol, including Matt Kenseth. The remaining competitors have until the event to either win any of the four regular-season series races prior to the All-Star Race (Pocono doubleheader, Indianapolis and Kentucky), transfer via the NASCAR All-Star Open that will occur prior to the All-Star Race on July 15 or as a final measure, be eligible for the Fan Vote win.

    This year’s All-Star Race at Bristol will mark the first time the annual event will occur outside of Charlotte Motor Speedway as Charlotte, North Carolina, continues to deal with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This will also be the first and only time in 2020 where the Cup cars will sport number logos towards the rear wheel instead of the car’s doors, a move that will provide more space for sponsor logos to appear on the car’s side and which serves as a test for NASCAR for possible, future uses.

    Further announcements regarding the format of the All-Star Race will be announced at a later date.