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Category: NASCAR Cup Series

NASCAR Cup Series

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.

June 28, 2020
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.

June 27, 2020
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.

June 26, 2020
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.

June 25, 2020
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.

June 25, 2020
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.

June 23, 2020
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Talladega

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Kevin Harvick: Harvick battled for the win late at Talladega before finishing 10th.

“What a wild finish,” Harvick said. “That last lap was unforgettable, even for Tyler Reddick.”

2. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin brushed the wall early but battled his way back to contention and finished 4th in the Geico 500.

“Hopefully,” Hamlin said, “my feud with Corey LaJoie is settled. You know, I was thinking. Corey’s last name has all of the vowels except ‘U.’ His last name also has only two consonants. ‘L’ is one of them, and ‘W’ is definitely not one of them.”

3. Joey Logano: Logano finished 16th in the Geico 500 and is second in the points standings, 23 behind Kevin Harvick.

“Penske Racing definitely had the best cars out there,” Logano said. “Especially Ryan Blaney’s. Ryan cut through the field like a knife through hot butter. And speaking of ‘hot butter,’ that’s a perfect nickname for Ryan, and goes hand in hand with ‘Sliced Bread.’ And when you put ‘Hot Butter’ on ‘Sliced Bread’, you get a sandwich we call a ‘Bread Keselowski.’”

4. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished 19th at Talladega.

“One of my sponsors was ‘Dent Wizard,” Keselwoski said. “No, that’s not Harry Potter’s mechanic, but is in fact the leader in paintless dent repair. Now, if you’re looking for ‘pantless‘ dent repair, it’s next door to the topless car wash.”

5. Chase Elliott: Elliott spun with 55 laps to go after getting caught between the cars of Penske Racing’s Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski. The resulting damage ended Elliott’s day and he finished 38th.

“Joey and I just can’t seem to stay out of each other’s way,” Elliott said. “Honestly, I don’t want to be around him, and I’m sure he doesn’t want to be around me. So, we should just let ‘Be gone’s’ be ‘Be gone’s.’”

6. Ryan Blaney: Blaney’s No. 12 Chevy was fast at Talladega, and a dynamic late charge gave him the win in the Geico 500, his second consecutive win at Talladega.

“I literally won by a nose,” Blaney said. “And speaking of ‘noses,’ it doesn’t take much of one to sense that something stinks to high heaven in the NASCAR garage.”

7. Alex Bowman: Bowman finished 7th at Talladega, posting his third top-10 result of the season.

“NASCAR no longer wants to see Confederate flags flying,” Bowman said. “And, by virtue of these new Talladega aero rules, they don’t want to see Ryan Newman flying either.”

8. Martin Truex, Jr.: Truex finished 23rd at Talladega.

“Five thousand fans were in attendance at Talladega,” Truex said. “At a track the size of Talladega, there was plenty of space between the fans. I’m not sure if you can get more ‘socially-distant’ than that, unless you’re Brian France after a DUI.”

9. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson spun with 3 laps to go after contact with Kevin Harvick but scrambled to salvage a 13th at Talladega.

“Thanks go to Geico for their continued sponsorship at Talladega,” Johnson said. “That Geico gecko is a really cool mascot. Here’s my favorite Geico joke: what’s it called when Geico’s online functionality suffers technical difficulties? ‘E-reptile dysfunction.’”

10. Kyle Busch: Busch suffered a flat tire with 39 laps to go, forcing a pit stop that ended his chances of a win. He finished 32nd and is now 9th in the points standings.

“You probably saw the plane pulling the banner that had a Confederate flag and the words ‘Defund NASCAR,’” Busch said. “Maybe that banner should have been the Confederate flag followed by the words ‘Defunct.’”

June 23, 2020
#IStandWithBubba

When the news flashed before me today I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I thought it was a mistake at first, but then it came on my local news and I knew it was true. Someone had put a noose in Bubba Wallace’s garage stall. At first,I felt sick and then outrage. Who would do something so heinous “good ole boys” sport. Most of them had fast cars because they were running moonshine. It a Southern sport for the most part then.

However, along came Jeff Gordon. He dressed nice, looked nice, and had crazy talent which started a shift in the sport. Other drivers were starting to take notice of him and suddenly NASCAR blew up with fans. The rivalry between Jeff and Dale Earnhardt made it exciting.

It’s not a ‘good ole boys’ sport dominated by young white moonshiners anymore and it hasn’t been for a long time now. Times have changed since then, but not enough when it comes to racism. I have even heard people say he probably did it for attention. Yes, he was behind the Confederate Flag being banned from NASCAR, but change is needed. There was never a time for it, no longer will it be tolerated. Whoever did this is just sick and I truly hope they are caught.

We need to be the leaders to eradicate racism in NASCAR. We need to change how we treat each other regardless of skin color.

I was so proud to see the support he had from his fellow drivers before the race. Watching them roll his car to the front of the field then surround him in solidarity brought tears to my eyes. I know not everyone will feel like I do. Hatred is a hard thing to overcome. I just ask you to put yourself in his shoes or anyone else’s for that matter. Maybe then you can see that change can be a good thing.

NASCAR is fully behind Wallace and investigating this incident. “There is no room for this,” they said and added, “We are angry and outraged and cannot state strongly enough how seriously we take this heinous act. There is no place for racism in NASCAR.”

As Wallace said,” This will not break me.” He went on to say, “Sorry, I’m not wearing a mask because I want everyone to see that I am still smiling.”

Keep on smiling Bubba you have a lot of people standing with you.

June 23, 2020
Talladega Cup summer race features unique top-10 notables

While Ryan Blaney celebrated his first triumph of this year’s NASCAR Cup Series season at Talladega Superspeedway, there were a number of competitors who left one of the world’s fastest superspeedway venues with strong results within the top 10.

The first was Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Starting 20th, Stenhouse was competitive at the drop of the green flag as he carved his way towards the front. After finishing in 12th the first stage, Stenhouse started to flex his muscles as he and teammate Ryan Preece battled inside the top 10 throughout the second stage. On Lap 106, Stenhouse led his first lap of the day and led again six laps later. In a two-lap dash to the conclusion of the second stage, he returned to the lead and a lap later, he received a draft from Kyle Busch on the frontstretch to edge Ryan Blaney and win the stage, thus earning valuable stage points in his quest to make this year’s postseason. For the final stage, Stenhouse restarted 24th, but he made his way towards the front in the closing laps. Following a late caution and an overtime restart, Stenhouse was behind Blaney for the win entering the frontstretch. He made contact with Aric Almirola and battled dead even at the finish line with Blaney. When the dust settled, Stenhouse fell short of the win by 0.007 seconds and at a track where he scored his first Cup win in 2017. Nonetheless, the runner-up result was Stenhouse’s best in his first 13 races with JTG-Daugherty Racing and his third top-five result of the 2020 season. The result moved Stenhouse from 21st to 20th in the regular-season series standings, where he trails points leader Kevin Harvick by 227 points.

“Yeah, I felt like I was a sitting duck there by myself,” Stenhouse said on MRN Radio. “Just trying to pick up different people to draft with all day. The Fords really stuck together, [Kyle Busch] and I pushed really good [at] each other and then, I don’t know what issue he had. So, I lost that guy, which I worked well with all day. All in all, our NOS Energy Drink car was really fast. Glad that a few fans got to stay here and watch a great race. I felt like we battled hard all day and put on a great show. It was fun.”

Sliding across the finish line in third was Aric Almirola. A week after notching his first top-five result of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Almirola started 15th and settled at the rear of the field in the early laps of the race. Throughout the first stage, Almirola slowly moved his way towards the front, but settled in 20th following the first stage. Following the second stage, Almirola was in 25th. Prior to the overtime restart, Almirola was in seventh and a lap later, he was in eighth. Entering the frontstretch, he gained a huge run and had appeared to establish a race-winning move beneath Blaney before he made contact with Stenhouse inches from the finish line. Sliding backwards across the line, he was able to finish third and keep his car intact. With his second consecutive top-five result of the season, his best result in 13 Cup races this season and his sixth consecutive top-10 result at Talladega, Almirola moved from 13th to 12th in the standings, where he trails teammate Harvick by 153 points.

“I thought we had a shot to get our Smithfield Ford Mustang in Victory Lane,” Almirola said on MRN. “We had a really good car and our strategy was to stay out of trouble all day and be there at the end. We were there at the end, it was close. We just couldn’t get it done. Proud of all of my guys on this team. We had a great week last week at Miami with a top five, and leave here at Talladega with another top five. So, we’ll keep building on that and looks like the ball’s going in the right direction for us.”

Next was Erik Jones, who was inches from establishing a race-winning move on Blaney before he settled for a top-five finish. Starting 18th, Jones spent the majority of the race running at the back of the pack along with teammate Martin Truex Jr. while his other teammates, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch, battled at the front. Following the first stage’s completion under caution, Jones was in 23rd and was also the second-highest Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with Truex behind him and Hamlin scored a lap down. Jones continued running towards the rear of the field throughout the second stage, where he finished 29th. With 42 laps remaining, Jones restarted second, but was forced off the track and below the double yellow lines (out of bounds) by Christopher Bell, which resulted in a penalty for Bell. He was running within the top 20 in the closing laps, but following a late caution and prior to an overtime restart, Jones moved up to 13th. On the final lap, he drafted Stenhouse towards the front and on the frontstretch, he was behind Blaney and was prepared to mount a last-lap pass for the win. After feigning a move on the outside, he moved to the inside, but was blocked by Blaney. He moved up the outside lane again with rookie John Hunter Nemechek behind him. Blaney moved up the track and made contact with Jones, which sent Jones into the wall. Despite sustaining significant damage to the front of his No. 20 Toyota Camry, Jones limped across the line in fifth following a three-race slump, where he finished no higher than 20th. With his third top-five result of the season and first at Talladega, Jones moved from 18th to 17th in the standings, where he trails Harvick by 185 points.

Making his way to a sixth-place result was Chris Buescher. Starting 21st, Buescher finished 15th in the first stage and ninth in the second stage while spending the majority of the race inside the top 10 with a strong racecar. Following a series of late cautions and an overtime restart, Buescher was in third as he drafted Harvick to the front. He moved into second on the final lap, but did not receive any drafting help on the frontstretch as a handful of competitors overtook him for position. When the checkered flag waved, Buescher crossed the line in sixth for his third top-10 result of the season, his first at Talladega and his best result since finishing third in the Daytona 500 in February. With his result, Buescher, who also led four laps, remained in 19th in the standings and is 224 points behind Harvick.

“Not a bad run for our Fastenal Ford Mustang and our team,” Buescher said in a post-race interview on social media. “Lots of excitement throughout the race at different areas and I obviously wanted to replay the end to do a little bit better. At the end of the day, it was a good run for us. We’ll go on to Pocono and go get a doubleheader.”

Next was Alex Bowman. Coming into the weekend, Bowman had recorded two top-10 results in the previous eight races, one in the last seven. Starting eighth, Bowman remained towards the front in the early stages of the race. He led his first lap of the day on Lap 46 and again on Lap 50. He concluded the first stage in second under caution and emerged with the lead to start the second stage. By then, Bowman led a total of five laps before he was overtaken for the lead. When the second stage concluded, Bowman had fallen back to 16th. With three laps remaining, Bowman was in sixth when he dodged a late spin involving his teammate, Jimmie Johnson. With the race set into overtime, Bowman restarted within the top 15 and was able to battle his way to a seventh-place finish in two laps. With his fourth top-10 result of the season and third at Talladega, Bowman is eighth in the standings, trailing Harvick by 71 points. He is, nonetheless, guaranteed a spot in the postseason after winning earlier this season at Auto Club Speedway.

Last but not least, John Hunter Nemechek rallied from an early incident to post a career-best run for him in the Cup Series and in his first tango at Talladega. Starting 22nd, Nemechek was inside the top 10 when the competition caution flew on Lap 25, but he settled in 16th following the first stage’s conclusion. While battling inside the top 10 at the race’s halfway point, Lap 94, Nemechek reported a possible cut tire to his No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford entering the frontstretch. He then got loose and spun near the pit road entrance, but he kept his car spinning in the tri-oval grass without damaging his car. Nemechek was able to rally from the spin to finish 14th in the second stage, two spots behind his teammate, Michael McDowell. Battling within the top 10 and 15 throughout the remainder of the race, Nemechek was in 13th when the caution flew with three laps remaining for a single-car incident and sent the race into overtime. Restarting 13th, Nemechek was just outside the top 10 to start the final lap. Then, with a multi-car wreck behind him, he made a charge into the top five in Turn 3. Entering the frontstretch, Nemechek tried to draft Jones to the win, but made contact with Jones and Jones slapped the wall but continued straight. At the finish line, Nemechek was able to cross the line in eighth for his second top-10 finish of his early Cup career and of the season, and to also emerge as the highest-running rookie of the race. With his best result in his 16th Cup Series start, Nemechek is 22nd in the standings, 252 points behind Harvick.

“We had a really great run in our No. 38 Death Wish Coffee Ford Mustang today,” Nemechek said. “I really thought we had a shot at it at the end there, but I’m still proud of our entire team’s efforts. When we fired off, we were kind of tight, and then we had that tire go down in the second stage, but we managed to come back from it and battled into the top 10 by the end. I wish we would have won that thing, but a P8 finish at Talladega is still good for us and I want to thank everyone on the team for their support. I’m looking forward to giving Death Wish Coffee another chance at the checkered flag at Pocono.”

The NASCAR Cup Series will return on June 27-28 for a special doubleheader weekend at Pocono Raceway. The first Pocono event will run on Saturday, June 27, at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX and the second Pocono event will run on Sunday, June 28, at 4 p.m. ET on FS1.

June 23, 2020
Blaney records first win of 2020 at Talladega

In an overtime shootout on a cloudy afternoon, Ryan Blaney outlasted a last-lap challenge from Erik Jones and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to win the rain-postponed GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway for his first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the 2020 season. The win was Blaney’s fourth of his career in his 175th series start and his second straight victory at Talladega.

The race was postponed from Sunday, June 21, to Monday, June 22, due to inclement weather washing away chances for the race to start as scheduled on Sunday. The starting lineup was based on a random draw. Martin Truex Jr. started on pole position and started on the front row alongside teammate Denny Hamlin. William Byron and Garrett Smithley started at the rear of the field for failing pre-race inspection twice along with Brendan Gaughan, B.J. McLeod and Daniel Suarez, all of whom due to unapproved adjustments. Joey Gase also failed pre-race inspection three times and started at the rear of the field. In addition, he was assessed a pass-through penalty when the race started.

Prior to the opening ceremonies, the competitors and crew members pushed Bubba Wallace’s No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE to the front of the grid and stood in full solidarity behind Wallace amid Sunday’s controversy, where a noose was found hanging in Wallace’s garage stall. In an ongoing investigation with the FBI, NASCAR has yet to identify the person(s) involved with the racial inequality treatment towards Wallace. Once the opening ceremonies concluded, everyone, including team owner and NASCAR legend Richard Petty, embraced the sport’s lone African-American competitor in support before making their way to their respective cars and pit stalls for the race.

When the green flag waved, Truex jumped to an early lead on the inside lane with his teammates Hamlin and Kyle Busch trailing behind him. Following the first two laps, the first four cars led by Truex followed by Hamlin and the Busch brothers were racing in a single-file line on the bottom while Kevin Harvick was the first car leading the outside lane. On the fifth lap, when Truex went high to block Harvick, Hamlin made his move on the bottom lane to move into the lead. He then led a five-car breakaway from the pack. Two laps later, however, Hamlin went high on the frontstretch to block a run from Logano, but Logano was able to prevail the following lap to take the lead. On the 10th lap, Truex was shoved out of the draft as he drifted behind the lead pack. Shorty after, Hamlin was able to retake the lead and was followed by Stenhouse and rookie Christopher Bell while Logano fell back to fifth, battling against Kyle Busch. By then, Harvick also dropped out of the lead group and settled near the top 20.

On Lap 15, Logano reassumed the lead on the outside lane on the frontstretch after receiving a boost from teammate Keselowski. Logano settled on the outside lane with his teammates, Keselowski and Ryan Blaney, behind him while Hamlin continued challenging Logano for the lead on the inside lane. After battling Logano side by side for the next three laps, Hamlin rocketed back to the lead on the 18th lap followed by Stenhouse and Kyle Busch while Logano fell back to fourth, battling Kurt Busch. On Lap 22, Blaney and Keselowski drafted Logano back to the lead. For the next three laps, Logano was able to maintain the lead over his teammates when the competition caution flew on Lap 25. By then, names like Chris Buescher, rookie Cole Custer, Stenhouse and John Hunter Nemechek were running inside the top 10. Johnson was in 11th followed by Bell and teammate Alex Bowman, Elliott was in 15th, Byron was in 17th, Harvick was in 20th, Newman was in 23rd behind Reddick, Wallace was in 25th and Truex was in 27th.

Under the competition caution, six of the lead-lap cars remained on track while the rest made an early pit stop. For those who pitted, Logano exited first after taking two tires followed by Blaney, Hamlin, Keselowski and Custer. When the field cycled through, Matt DiBenedetto, who remained on track, emerged with the lead followed by Harvick, Newman, Ryan Preece and Kenseth. The following lap, the top five competitors along with B.J. McLeod pitted, giving the lead back to Logano.

When the race restarted on Lap 30, Hamlin mounted a challenge for the lead on the inside lane before Logano pulled away and cleared the field in Turn 2 followed by Blaney and Keselowski. The following lap, Stenhouse made a move on the inside lane after being drafted by Custer. In Turn 3, Stenhouse attempted to move in front of Logano on the outside lane, but Logano crossed over beneath Stenhouse as Stenhouse was trapped on the outside lane and drifted out of the lead pack.

With potential weather threats and dark clouds approaching the track, the action of the field started to intensify as more competitors started making moves towards the front. By Lap 35, the top-21 cars were running within one second of the lead as Logano continued to lead on the bottom lane while Kyle Busch issued a challenge for it on the outside lane. The following lap, Kyle Busch managed to lead a lap after receiving drafting help from Byron and Austin Dillon. On Lap 40, three laps after Logano was back in front, Byron emerged with the lead after receiving a draft from Hamlin on the outside lane while Kyle Busch drifted back to 17th. The following lap, Hamlin moved on the outside lane and returned to the lead with Bell drafting behind him. As the race progressed, the racing at the front continued to intensify with the field expanding to three-wide racing and drafting one another to draw close to the front. All of this occurred as the winds intensified and the skies darkened into fogginess.

By Lap 50, Bowman emerged with the lead by a nose over Logano. With five laps remaining in the first stage, Hamlin made an unexpected pit stop as a result of making contact with the wall and cutting a right-front tire. The incident costed Hamlin a lap behind the leaders. Soon after, the caution flew due to sprinkles occurring in Turns 1 and 2. At the time of caution, rookie Tyler Reddick emerged with the lead followed by Bowman, Logano, Johnson and Kyle Busch. Shortly after, the field made their way to pit road and the race was red-flagged as the cars were covered and the competitors and crew members went to seek shelter.

Following a delay of more than 57 minutes, the competitors returned to their cars and the race resumed under caution as the jet dryers continued drying the track in preparation for the next green-flag run. The first stage concluded under caution and Reddick emerged with his first Cup stage win followed by Bowman, Logano, Johnson and Kyle Busch. Blaney, Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Elliott and Byron were running in the top 10. By then, there were 21 lead changes and eight competitors who led a lap. Under caution, a majority of the leaders pitted and Bowman exited first followed by Johnson, Logano, Blaney and Keselowski as Reddick fell back to eighth. Drivers like Newman, Harvick, Kenseth, rookie Brennan Poole and McLeod remained on track, but shortly after, they pitted and gave the lead to Bowman. During this time, Hamlin, who lost a lap following his unscheduled pit stop due to a flat tire and had sustained minimal damage, was able to take the wave around to return on the lead lap as he restarted in 34th.

When the second stage and the race resumed on Lap 65, Bowman jumped with the lead, but Blaney made a move on the inside lane to lead the following lap. Then, Kyle Busch formed a third lane on the outside lane and started to march to the front. The following lap, Johnson led a lap before Kyle Busch received a draft from DiBenedetto to move into the front. By Lap 70, as the field expanded to three lanes and the competitors started making efforts to move to the front, the Busch brothers were at the front with Kyle leading Kurt. Blaney was in fourth and challenging on the outside lane with his two Penske teammates behind him.

Ten laps and three lead changes later, the Penske trio were leading the field with Blaney ahead of Logano and Keselowski followed by DiBenedetto, their Penske-alliance teammate, and Kyle Busch. In addition, of the 40-car, the top-30 competitors were separated by less than two seconds with 35 on the lead lap. On Lap 83, Matt Kenseth made a charge on the outside lane towards the Penske cars, but he was nearly turned by Stenhouse in Turn 2, which caused both competitors to loose their momentum from the outside pack and drift outside the top 20. By Lap 90, Wallace, the first car on the outside lane, was battling Custer for a top-five spot and more while being drafted by Kyle Busch.

The race reached its halfway mark on Lap 94 with Blaney still leading his teammates and the field, and with 34 of the 40-car field running on the lead lap. Shortly after, the caution flew when Nemechek got loose entering Turn 4 after reporting a cut right-front tire and spun near the pit road entrance, where he slid his car across the tri-oval grass. He kept his car intact as the field doged him. Under caution, a majority of the leaders pitted and Blaney retained the lead followed by teammates Keselowski and Logano. Drivers like Poole, Corey LaJoie, Preece and Newman remained on track, but once they pitted, Blaney returned to the lead.

The race restarted on Lap 99, and the top-nine competitor on the bottom lane separated themselves from the pack in a single-file line before Kyle Busch started his charge back to the front on the high lane. On Lap 106, Stenhouse led a lap over Blaney as Wallace started to charge towards the front in a third lane on the outside with drafting help from Harvick. Blaney continued flexing his muscles at the front, leading the next five laps, before Stenhouse returned to the lead. Two laps later, Blaney made a bold move on the outside lane entering the frontstretch and nearly slipped sideways in front of Keselowski and the field, but was able to straighten his No. 12 Penske Ford and return to the lead. Not long after, the caution returned due to debris reported on the track, a debris that was hit by Preece. Under caution, the front half of the field remained on track while the second half, which included Preece, Bowman, Ty Dillon, Kenseth, Jones, Harvick, Elliott, Aric Almirola and Daniel Suarez pitted.

The race returned to green in a two-lap dash to conclude the second stage. At the start, Stenhouse challenged Blaney for the lead on the outside lane with drafting help from Kyle Busch. Stenhouse emerged with a nose the following lap with drafting help from Byron. Byron made a move for the lead in Turn 2 before Blaney fought back the following turn. Entering the frontstretch, Stenhouse was nearly turned by Kyle Busch, but he was able to win the second stage. Blaney finished second followed by Kyle Busch, Keselowski and Bell while Logano, Wallace, Custer, Buescher and Byron were scored in the top 10. By then, there were 39 lead changes with 13 different leaders.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Bowman exited first followed by Elliott, Bowyer, Preece and Almirola, all of whom pitted for only fuel, while Blaney, the first car on fresh tires, exited sixth in front of teammates Keselowski and Logano. A handful of competitors, led by Buescher, remained on track. Following the pit stops, Kyle Busch made another pit stop to have a quarter panel brace repaired.

With 63 laps remaining, the final stage commenced led by Buescher, but Harvick and Elliott split Buescher in the frontstretch with Harvick leading the following lap. During this time, Kenseth, who was running inside the top 10, pulled his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet below the apron and made an unscheduled pit stop to address a flat tire and a mechanical issue to his car. Kenseth would eventually take his car to the garage for further repairs. Soon after, Preece edged Elliott by a nose to lead a lap before Elliott received a draft from Harvick and Hamlin to lead. Meanwhile, Blaney regrouped with Keselowski and started challenging for the lead on the outside lane.

The caution returned with 55 laps remaining when Elliott, who was running fourth, was blocked by Logano and was bumped by Keselowski from behind, which turned Elliott into the wall, where he made contact and slid sideways with damage to the front nose and rear end of his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Amazingly, the field scattered and dodged him, though Austin Dillon sustained right-front damage after making contact with Elliott’s wrecked Camaro. Under caution, a handful of competitors led by the Penske trio remained on track while others pitted. When the pit stops concluded, Harvick exited first after a fuel-only stop.

Five laps later, the race restarted and Blaney moved from the outside to the inside lane in front of teammates Logano and Keselowski to stabilize his lead. Two laps after the restart, Kyle Busch mounted a challenge on the outside lane. By then, Elliott, who attempted to continue the race with a wrecked racecar, retired with a missed opportunity of winning at Talladega for the second time. After sustaining damage from making with Elliott, Austin Dillon also retired. With 46 laps remaining, Poole and Joey Gase wrecked in Turns 3 and 4, thus drawing another caution. A majority of leaders pitted under caution, mainly for fuel, and Stenhouse led the field off pit road followed by Harvick, Bowman, Bowyer and Hamlin while Blaney exited seventh. The top-eight competitors led by Bell and Jones remained on track. Prior to the restart, a majority of the field returned to pit road for fuel to make it the rest of the way while Bell, Jones, Stenhouse, Harvick, Bowyer, Hamlin and Kurt Busch remained on track.

With 42 to go, the race restarted and Bell made contact with Jones while trying to move to the inside lane in front of Jones’ No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, which caused Jones to slip below the double yellow lines (out of bounds). Their contact allowed Harvick to move into the lead followed by teammates Custer and Almirola while Hamlin charged on the outside lane. A lap later, Logano, who restarted 12th, moved back into the lead. Shortly after, Bell was assessed a pass-through penalty down pit road for forcing Jones below the yellow lines on the restart. In addition, Kyle Busch fell off the pace after sustaining a flat right-rear tire. By the time Busch returned on track, he was two laps behind the leaders.

With 34 to go, the field settled in running single file on the bottom lane with Byron leading Logano, Hamlin, Harvick, Johnson and Wallace. The top-20 competitors were separated just above a second while another group of competitors behind, led by 21st-place DiBenedetto, trailed by around two seconds. Six laps later, Wallace emerged with the lead as Byron slipped and fell out of the draft. Shortly after, Logano returned to the lead followed by Harvick while Preece made a move on the outside lane in an attempt to move to the front. He did so the next lap and Bowman made his move to the outside of Preece in an attempt to take the lead. Preece, however, was able to emerge ahead of Bowman the next time the field circled back to the start/finish line as the front pack started racing two by two.

With 20 to go, Bowman was the leader followed by Reddick, Logano, Hamlin and Preece as fuel mileage slowly became the concerning topic for a number of competitors at the front. Five laps later, Reddick was back ahead of the pack followed by Hamlin and Wallace. During this time, Bell, who was running with the lead pack while a lap behind, was forced off the track in Turn 2, but he continued driving straight.

With 10 to go, Reddick was still in the lead ahead of Hamlin and Logano as the field made their way past a five-car pack led by Brendan Gaughan, which the lead pack lapped. With five to go, Reddick continued to lead followed by Hamlin, Wallace and Blaney, who had marched back towards the front. Two laps later, after Hamlin had fallen off the pace due to running out of fuel, Blaney returned to the lead. Just pass the start/finish line, Johnson, who was behind Blaney, was clipped by Harvick and spun below the infield entering Turn 1, which drew the caution and sent the race into overtime. By then, Wallace was also out of fuel. Under caution, a majority of competitors at the front pitted, mainly for fuel. Others like Blaney, Harvick, Stenhouse, Buescher and Custer remained on track while on low tanks of fuel.

Prior to the overtime, Custer and Newman peeled off the track to pit for fuel, which jumbled up the field for the restart. In overtime, Harvick received a draft from Buescher to jump to the lead while Blaney came charging back with drafting help from Stenhouse. Harvick started the final lap and led through Turn 3 before Blaney raced back to the lead. By then, a multi-car wreck ensued that involved Truex, DiBenedetto, Bell, LaJoie and Clint Bowyer. Entering the frontstretch, Stenhouse and Jones made a final-corner charge for Blaney. Jones went high and tried to cross back to the bottom, but was blocked by Blaney. He then went high again followed by Nemechek and Blaney moved up and made contact with Jones, turning Jones into the outside wall. At the finish line, Blaney edged Stenhouse by 0.007 seconds to win at Talladega for his first elusive Cup win of the season and second in a row at Talladega.

With Blaney’s win, all three Team Penske competitors have recorded at least one win this season as Blaney also became the eighth winner of this season. Blaney also accomplished his first win with his new crew chief Todd Gordon as he has now won 15 races across NASCAR’s top three national division series.

“Just another exciting one here,” Blaney said on MRN Radio. “I was wanting to take the bottom [lane]. I thought [Stenhouse] was a really good pusher all day and I thought the bottom lane, just kind of get out there was gonna be good. I don’t know if he spun his tires or what, but [I] didn’t get the help at all, but was able to pick and choose lanes there and wanted to wait for a while till later on that last lap. You don’t want to wait too long because the caution might come out. I was surprised the caution didn’t come out in [Turns] three and four, and I was lucky we were ahead. Then, they got a big run again. I was kind of out too far down the frontstretch. I really couldn’t see who was outside. I knew there were some people, I just tried to go up to slow’em down. We, kind of, hit, beat and banged. I don’t know where [Stenhouse] came from. He came with a big run there. Me and [Jones], kind of, got beatin’ and bangin’. I was trying to slow him down. He almost got us, I guess. ”

Stenhouse settled in second followed by Almirola, who spun backwards across the finish line. Hamlin settled in fourth while Jones was able to limp his car across the line in fifth. Buescher, Bowman, Nemechek, Kurt Busch and Harvick rounded out the top 10. Jimmie Johnson rallied from his late spin to finish 13th in his penultimate run at Talladega

After the race, while Blaney celebrated his race win, Wallace, who rallied to finish 14th for his sixth top-15 finish of the season, went up to salute, greet and celebrate his strong run amid his tough week with the limited amount of fans allowed to enter and watch the race at the grandstands.

“Just a stout day,” Wallace said on MRN. “I didn’t know how our Victory Junction Chevrolet was gonna be. We weren’t very good following. We jumped up to the top just to make something work and man, we were a good lead car. We got the lead there for a short stint, but it was still good to come out with a solid day. Maybe one or two scratches [on the car], which is pretty good for us. All in all, it’s just gonna be a long week, but it’s good to come out with a good finish. [The fans], They’re family, we’re all family out here. I appreciate every fan coming out today, enjoying the day and glad we got it in. That was pretty cool right there.”

The race featured 57 lead changes with 19 different leaders. There were eight cautions for 33 laps.

With his top-10 run, Harvick continues to lead the regular-season series standings by 23 points over Logano and 25 over Blaney.

Results:

1. Ryan Blaney, 63 laps led

2. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., five laps led, Stage 2 winner

3. Aric Almirola

4. Denny Hamlin, 18 laps led

5. Erik Jones

6. Chris Buescher, four laps led

7. Alex Bowman, 12 laps led

8. John Hunter Nemechek

9. Kurt Busch

10. Kevin Harvick, two laps led

11. William Byron, 11 laps led

12. Ty Dillon

13. Jimmie Johnson, one lap led

14. Bubba Wallace, one lap led

15. Ryan Preece, three laps led

16. Corey LaJoie

17. Joey Logano, 33 laps led

18. Michael McDowell

19. Brad Keselowski

20. Tyler Reddick, 19 laps led, Stage 1 winner

21. Brendan Gaughan

22. Cole Custer

23. Ryan Newman, one lap led

24. Martin Truex Jr., one lap led

25. Clint Bowyer, one lap down

26. Matt DiBenedetto, one lap down

27. Quin Houff, one lap down

28. Daniel Suarez, one lap down

29. Christopher Bell, one lap down, four laps led

30. Gray Gaulding, one lap down

31. B.J. McLeod, one lap down

32. Kyle Busch, two laps down, five laps led

33. Timmy Hill, six laps down

34. Garrett Smithley, six laps down

35. Brennan Poole – OUT, Accident, one lap led

36. J.J. Yeley, 13 laps down

37. Joey Gase – OUT, Accident

38. Chase Elliott – OUT, Accident, three laps led

39. Austin Dillon – OUT, Accident

40. Matt Kenseth – OUT, Rear hub

The following weekend will feature the first NASCAR Cup Series’ weekend doubleheader at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. The first Pocono race will air on June 27 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX while the second race will air on June 28 at 4 p.m. ET on FS1.

June 22, 2020