Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Tag: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

  • Eight collected in first lap melee at Pocono

    Eight collected in first lap melee at Pocono

    Eight drivers were officially collected in the Lap 1 multi-car wreck in Turn 3 of the Overton’s 400 at Pocono Raceway.

    Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson were racing for position entering Turn 3 when Kenseth got loose and spun out in front of the field. This caused a stack-up behind him with Aric Almirola slamming into the back of Michael McDowell, sending him spinning through the grass. Same thing happened to Austin Dillon, being rammed from behind by teammate Paul Menard and sent spinning into the left-rear corner of Chris Buescher.

    Matt DiBenedetto swerved into the grass to avoid the mess, only to clip the front-end of Almirola, bounce up in the air and dig his splitter into the grass.

    Danica Patrick also got turned by the melee, but it’s not clear what caused her to spin.

    Unofficially, Almirola is credited with a last-place finish.

    And his response to what happened out there, “I have no idea.”

    “Our Smithfield Ford Fusion was really good to start off there. I had passed about seven cars the first two corners,” Almirola said. “I was making a lot of progress and then we got to Turn 3 and everybody just stacked up. I saw some smoke. I saw some cars stopped. I got piled in from behind and just drove into the accident. I haven’t seen a replay and have no idea what caused the wreck. Sort of a bummer not to even make a whole lap. Not our day.”

    Except for Almirola and DiBenedetto, everyone collected in the wreck continued on in the race. Kenseth was the highest finisher of the eight, which could do wonders to preserving his 17-point margin over Clint Bowyer for the final spot in the playoffs.

  • Kyle Busch puts chrome bumper to Harvick to win at Pocono

    Kyle Busch puts chrome bumper to Harvick to win at Pocono

    It appeared Kyle Busch was out of it when he pitted with 25 laps to go. With 16 to go, however, he put the chrome bumper to Kevin Harvick and set sail to victory in the Overton’s 400 at Pocono Raceway.

    Martin Truex Jr. commanded the race on the final restart on Lap 106. Cars started hitting pit road for the final time with 37 to go, and Truex followed suit three laps later. Busch assumed the race lead, having yet to pit. He did so with 25 to go.

    Brad Keselowski led the next five circuits before making his final stop, cycling the lead to Denny Hamlin.

    With 17 to go, Harvick got to Hamlin’s inside and made the pass for the lead rounding Turn 1, but he didn’t hold it to the start/finish line as Busch bumped him out of the racing groove rounding Turn 3 and took the lead with 16 to go.

    The gap from him to Harvick widened further as the laps closed and he drove across the line to claim his 39th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory in 447 career starts.

    “I never thought this day would happen. Such an awesome race car. Adam Stevens and all these guys on this No. 18 team, they never give up. They’ve been fighting all year long. We’ve all been fighting all year long. Just wasn’t sure why, you know, or what was next, but obviously this is a great day for us. Great day for all of our fans. Appreciate the fans here at Pocono. Thanks for coming out. This is something I’ve been waiting for for a long, long time.”

    Harvick finished second and Truex rounded out the podium.

    Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top-five.

    Clint Bowyer, Daniel Suarez, Erik Jones, Matt Kenseth and Chase Elliott rounded out the top-10.

    RACE SUMMARY

    Busch led the field to the green flag at 3:20 p.m. He lost the lead during a cycle of green flag stops on Lap 22, but powered by Matt Kenseth going into Turn 1 to take it back and win the first stage. During the aforementioned pit cycle, Truex, Jones, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kenseth all led.

    Kenseth regained the lead by opting not to pit under the stage break, only to lose it when Busch powered by him on the outside through Turn 3 on the Lap 56 restart. He held it until caution flew on Lap 70, debris from Kyle Larson’s car, saw him lose it to Hamlin exiting pit road. But because Hamlin didn’t maintain pace car speed, Race Director David Hoots bumped him from the lead and moved up Austin Dillon.

    His time up front didn’t last long, however, as Hamlin too it back on the restart, going into Turn 1.

    Truex returned to the lead on Lap 90, but opted to short-pit the second stage with three laps remaining in it. This handed the lead to Clint Bowyer, who won the stage and set up the run to the finish.

    CAUTION SUMMARY

    Caution flew for the first time on the first lap for a multi-car wreck in Turn 3. Jimmie Johnson brought out the third caution on Lap 57 when he made contact with teammate Kasey Kahne and spun out in Turn 3.

    NUTS & BOLTS

    The race lasted two hours, 50 minutes and seven seconds at an average speed of 141.080 mph. There were six lead changes among nine different drivers and five cautions for 21 laps.

    Truex leaves with an 85-point lead over Larson.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/C1721_UNOFFRES.pdf”]

  • Kyle Busch takes pole position at Pocono

    Kyle Busch takes pole position at Pocono

    Kyle Busch conserved his tires through the first round of qualifying and it paid off in the final round with pole position for today’s Overton’s 400 at Pocono Raceway.

    The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota won the pole with a time of 50.175 and a speed of 179.372 mph.

    “I felt like I hit it pretty good. Gave up a couple things in a couple of spots, but overall, felt like it was a really good lap. [I] was gonna come over the radio and say, ‘Man, that’s close. You know, I think that’s right on target.’ But obviously it was way better. Just proud of these guys. The adjustments really worked us there through rounds and got us to where we needed to be in order to continually get faster each time out. You never really see that happen on re-run tires, cycled scuffs. Obviously, our M&M’s Caramel Camry is pretty fast. Looking forward to today’s race. It’s a great opportunity for us, starting up front, being able to be in clean air like we were last time. So hopefully, we can just do the right things and put ourselves in a better spot in the end.”

    It’s his 24th pole in 447 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts.

    Martin Truex Jr. will start second after posting a time of 50.317 and a speed of 178.866 mph. Jamie McMurray will start third with a time of 50.552 and a speed of 178.034 mph. Denny Hamlin will start fourth with a time of 50.635 and a speed of 177.743 mph. Ryan Blaney will round out the top-five with a time of 50.682 and a speed of 177.578 mph.

    Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Daniel Suarez, Erik Jones and Joey Logano round out the top-10.

    Brad Keselowski and Kasey Kahne round out the 12 drivers that made the final round.

    No drivers failed to make the 38-car field.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/C1721_STARTROW.pdf”]

  • Kyle Busch fastest in final practice

    Kyle Busch fastest in final practice

    Kyle Busch topped the chart in final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Pocono Raceway.

    The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was the fastest with a time of 50.898 and a speed of 176.824 mph. Kyle Larson was second in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet with a time of 51.163 and a speed of 175.908 mph. Jamie McMurray was third in his No. 1 Ganassi Chevrolet with a time of 51.239 and a speed of 175.647 mph. Denny Hamlin was fourth in his No. 11 Gibbs Toyota with a time of 51.307 and a speed of 175.415 mph. Chase Elliott rounded out the top-five in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 51.352 and a speed of 175.261 mph.

    Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr., Clint Bowyer, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top-10.

    Busch posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 173.058 mph.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/C1721_PRACFINAL.pdf”]

  • Kenseth fastest in first practice

    Kenseth fastest in first practice

    Matt Kenseth topped the chart in first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Pocono Raceway.

    The driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was the fastest with a time of 51.114 and a speed of 176.077 mph. Kyle Larson was second in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet with a time of 51.149 and a speed of 175.957 mph. Erik Jones was third in his No. 77 Furniture Row Racing Toyota with a time of 51.307 and a speed of 175.415 mph. Kyle Busch was fourth in his No. 18 Gibbs Toyota with a time of 51.323 and a speed of 175.360 mph. Chris Buescher rounded out the top-five in his No. 37 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet with a time of 51.495 and a speed of 174.774 mph.

    Daniel Suarez, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Blaney, Ryan Newman and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. rounded out the top-10.

    Jamie McMurray, who clocked in the 14th fastest single-lap, posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 172.280 mph.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/C1721_PRAC1.pdf”]

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Indianapolis

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Indianapolis

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex and Kyle Busch wrecked as they battled for the lead on a restart with 50 laps remaining at Indianapolis. Both cars were unable to continue, and Truex’s No. 78 became engulfed in flames. Truex finished 33rd.

    “Oddly enough,” Truex said, “Kyle was ‘on fire’ before that. He won the first two stages and was well on his way to winning the race.

    “The wreck was my fault; I won’t lie and say it wasn’t. And given my penchant for collecting extra points for stage wins and whatnot, I have to ask, do I get bonus points for honesty?”

    2. Kyle Larson: Larson finished 28th at Indianapolis after a late crash that sent the No. 42 Target Chevrolet into the wall and into flames.

    “Thankfully,” Larson said, “I was able to escape the flames. In most cases, I only get burned by NASCAR inspectors.

    “The race was quite boring until about 20 laps remaining. Much like my cars, the Brickyard 400 is famous for its lack of ‘passing.’”

    3. Kevin Harvick: Harvick started on the front row alongside pole sitter Kyle Busch and finished sixth, posting his 13th top 10 of the year.

    “My spotter had his credential revoked after he tossed a sandwich and it fell off the top of Indy’s Pagoda,” Harvick said. “Joey Logano’s family had quite a scare when reports stated ‘Sliced Bread Thrown From Indianapolis Motor Speedway Pagoda.”

    4. Kyle Busch: Busch’s quest for a third-straight Brickyard 400 victory ended when he crashed with Martin Truex Jr. on a restart with 50 laps to go.

    “Before that fateful restart,” Busch said, “Truex and I played a game of ‘Deal Or No Deal.’ However, instead of finding out what was behind the door, we both found out what was behind the wall.”

    5. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson started at the rear of the field after a transmission change and was battling for the lead late when he crashed as his engine smoked after the restart following the races 11th caution. Johnson finished 27th.

    “I went three-wide with Kasey Kahne and Brad Keselowski late in the race at Indianapolis,” Johnson said. “It was basically a game of chicken. I guess I lost, but that’s okay because my seven Cup titles make this chicken the most likely to get ‘roasted’ at the NASCAR awards banquet.”

    6. Brad Keselowski: Kasey Kahne beat Keselowski into Turn 1 on the final restart and won the Brickyard 400 under caution. Keselowski finished second.

    “When all was said and done,” Keselowski said, “most drivers had spent over six hours in their cars. That’s way longer than most fans spent in their seats.”

    7. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished 17th at Indianapolis, one lap down to the leaders.

    “My Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch said he had a ride lined up for the Indianapolis 500 back on Memorial Day weekend,” Hamlin said. “But Joe Gibbs refused to let Kyle run. I think if you asked Joe, he would tell you that Kyle may be a gigantic ass, but he’s an even more gigantic asset.”

    8. Jamie McMurray: McMurray came home 15th in the hot and grueling Brickyard 400.

    “The race was a marathon,” McMurray said. “By that, I mean the final 26 miles lasted over two hours.”

    9. Chase Elliott: Elliott finished 39th in the Brantley Gilbert Big Machine 400 at Indianapolis after blowing an engine just 18 laps into the race.

    “Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be joining the NBC booth next year as a race analyst,” Elliott said. “To the legions of Earnhardt Jr. fans out there, NBC will heretofore be known as ‘Junior Station.’”

    10. Kasey Kahne: Kahne outlasted the weather, late crashes, and several restarts to win the Brickyard 400, ending a 102-race winless streak.

    “After a long hot day at Indianapolis,” Kahne said, “I stole a win and got to kiss the bricks. You could say I made out like a bandit.”

  • Carnage envelops closing laps at Indianapolis

    Carnage envelops closing laps at Indianapolis

    One multi-car wreck after another sent the Indianapolis Motor Speedway into overtime and ended the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400 under caution.

    The first one started with 11 laps to go. Clint Bowyer got loose exiting Turn 4, came down across the nose of Erik Jones, slammed head-on into the inside wall, pounded it again with the passenger side of his car. The recoil from the second hit bounced him back onto the racing groove and into the path of teammate Kurt Busch, who slammed into the left-rear corner of his car. His car went spinning around uncontrollably three and a half times before coming to a halt on the front stretch.

    After hitting his teammate, Busch’s car turned up and slammed the outside wall. It came to a halt down the front stretch.

    Jones overcorrected from turning down track and spun towards the wall briefly, before being clipped in the rear by the right-front of Jamie McMurray, sending him into the wall.

    “They (Paul Menard and another car) got together in front of us and parked and just kind of forced all of us to make an evasive move and I was already hung out a little bit loose, and I knew the 77 had a run, but I was gonna smoke the back of them or try to hope that something happened and something happened alright,” Bowyer said.

    “Cars were spinning in front of me,” Busch said. “Bowyer went left, the 77 (Jones) was going right. I tried to shoot the middle and Bowyer ricocheted back up onto the track. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

    Wrecks from Kyle Larson and Jimmie Johnson sent the race into overtime.

    On the first overtime attempt, Trevor Bayne was getting a shove from Michael McDowell when he got turned up into the drivers-side of Denny Hamlin, turned back down and rammed McDowell into the wall, triggering another multi-car wreck.

    Austin Dillon swerved to avoid Bayne, but put himself into the inside wall, and was further pinned by the wrecked car of Bayne. Ryan Blaney got turned up into the wall by Gray Gaulding.

    “On the restart it stacked up and my wheels were in the air,” Bayne said. “I really had no control in either direction and I finally got turned. I’ve never been so disappointed in my entire racing career. Every week we give it our all and do everything we can through God’s Glory and trust him with the results, whether it’s good or bad. Sometimes you don’t really understand and it hurts because you want to win races and want to run good and make the most of every opportunity for everybody – for AdvoCare and all the people who work hard. It’s really disappointing.”

    “Everybody got bunched up there,” Dillon said. “The No. 6 car got hooked to us and that got me a little bit frustrated because I was forced to get out of the car and I thought it was still able to at least roll. We could have finished the race. But, it’s over. I saw a lot of blocking and drivers trying to win one of the biggest races. It’s the Brickyard 400. Everybody wants it. Hopefully it’s good for the fans to see the aggression out of all of the drivers. We all want it really bad. I wanted it really bad for everyone at Dow and for Molykote.”

    The final multi-car wreck came on what wound up being the final overtime attempt of the race. Heading down the backstretch, Hamlin suffered a left-front tire failure and turned up towards the outside wall. He veered into the path of Paul Menard, who t-boned his right-rear corner. Ty Dillon got hooked by Menard and hit the outside wall.

    Hamlin leaves fifth in points, McMurray leaves seventh, Bowyer leaves 11th, Blaney leaves 12th, Busch leaves 14th, Jones leaves 17th, Bayne leaves 19th, Austin Dillon leaves 21st, Menard leaves 23rd and Ty Dillon leaves 24th.

  • The White Zone: Overtime in NASCAR is a joke

    The White Zone: Overtime in NASCAR is a joke

    All NASCAR had to do was follow their own rule on the overtime line as was written during the Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Daytona International Speedway earlier this month and again during yesterday’s Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and all of this would’ve been avoided.

    But instead, their inconsistent officiating on this matter resulted in two fustercluck finishes in the span of a month!

    This has to end NASCAR.

    If you missed the end of yesterday’s race, what happened was Denny Hamlin spun out and turned into the wall past the exit of Turn 2, probably a result of his left-rear tire rub from contact on the restart. It triggered a three-car wreck that also collected Paul Menard and Ty Dillon.

    Now here’s where the controversy comes into play. When the calamity ensued, Kahne was still a good distance away from the overtime line. As you can see from this screenshot.

     

    Even though this shot is a few seconds after the initial wreck, it’s still obvious that Kahne was a decent distance away from the overtime line when it occurred.

    But rather than throw the caution, cleanup and try again, or more like end the race via darkness (which I’ll touch on in a few minutes), NASCAR held the caution until Kahne crossed the line.

    Unlike the XFINITY race at Daytona earlier this month, where you could argue they didn’t throw the yellow flag in time (although I find that hard to believe), there was no attempt to mask the blatant disregard for their own overtime rule.

    And when I say NASCAR purposefully held the caution, that’s not me looking too deeply at something that isn’t there. That’s practically what NASCAR Executive Vice-President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell said to Motorsport.com after yesterday’s race, when asked if having a quick caution trigger before the leader reaches the overtime line would make more sense, especially if the goal is to end the race under green.

    “No, it wouldn’t, because again, like we’ve said, we want to make the attempt. But we want to do that under the regular regulations of how we call (the race),” O’Donnell said. “So, we look at that as our last attempt. We look at each (overtime) as our last attempt. If it can play out, it can play out.”

    He basically just admitted that NASCAR decided against throwing the caution immediately, even though Kahne was a ways away from reaching the line the moment it happened.

    There’s a problem with this line of thinking, as Jim Utter of Motorsport.com best puts it.

    “If the object is to allow the race to play out to its natural conclusion, then why have the OT rule (or any other similar scheme) in the first place?”

    I’ll also expand on his point. If NASCAR wants run overtime under “regular regulations,” why would you hold the yellow at this point when you wouldn’t do that at any other point in the race?

    And why did they holster the yellow? Because the sunlight was running out, and they believed they wouldn’t have gotten the track cleaned up in time.

    “It would have been (too dark),’’ O’Donnell said. “If we would have red-flagged the race, we would have never got it back in. There was clearly oil on the race track.’’

    Disregarding the fact that NASCAR essentially shortened the race because of darkness anyway, why does that matter? The fact that there was waning sunlight shouldn’t factor into this at all. The race leader hadn’t reached the overtime line when the wreck happened! The caution should’ve flown before then.

    NASCAR, either run the race to its scheduled conclusion, and no further, or go the ARCA route and do as many restarts attempts as needed to ensure a green flag finish. This overtime line approach of doing restarts is causing more trouble than it’s worth.

    That’s my view, for what it’s worth.

  • Kahne Survives Multiple Late Restarts to Win at Indianapolis

    Kahne Survives Multiple Late Restarts to Win at Indianapolis

    Kasey Kahne made a late green flag stop at the right time and survived a myriad of restarts as the sunlight waned to end a long winless drought with victory at The Brickyard.

    He pitted from third with 11 laps to go just as a multi-car wreck involving Clint Bowyer, Erik Jones and Kurt Busch occurred on the front stretch. This timely stop proved vital as he opted to stay out when Brad Keselowski and the others elected to pit and assumed the race lead.

    He held off Keselowski’s charge into Turn 1 before the caution flew for Kyle Larson bouncing into the outside wall on the front stretch.

    On the following restart with two to go in regulation time, Kahne and Keselowski were side-by-side all the way from the start/finish line through Turn 3. This time, Jimmie Johnson threw his hat into the mix, making the two-wide battle three-wide entering Turn 3. This, predictably, caused him on the inside to spin out and slam the wall, sending the race into overtime.

    The first overtime attempt didn’t make it to the start/finish line before calamity erupted into another multi-car wreck on the front stretch. Keselowski was declared the race leader.

    The field was lined up and sent racing again. This time, Kahne shot ahead of Keselowski going into Turn 1. Exiting Turn 2, another multi-car wreck broke out well prior to the overtime line, but NASCAR chose to hold it, ending the race under caution and ending Kahne’s 102-race winless streak.

    “The career is big, for sure; but the win and the history here. To win at this track is unreal,” Kahne said in victory lane. “We used to always be really close. We lost to Jeff (Gordon) and we lost to Tony (Stewart); just some fast cars back then. Today’s strategy got us here. This Farmers Insurance Chevrolet was great once I got out front. I just had to get there. I’m exhausted. But, an unbelievable win. The team just kept working. We had great pit stops. Farmers Insurance, Great Clips, and Chevrolet have been huge to us. To win at Indy is unbelievable. I wish my son, Tanner, was here.”

    It’s his 18th victory in 448 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts.

    Keselowski came home second and Ryan Newman rounded out the podium.

    “We had a good, solid day,” Keselowski said. “Anytime that you’re that close (to winning) you can certainly taste it. I had a taste of it in my mouth, I didn’t get to eat it.”

    “Just a lot of adrenaline going through the gearbox I guess. Just guys running over each other,” Newman said. “Good run for the Velveeta Chevrolet. I’ve got to thank them for jumping on board. We were close. We didn’t have the best race car, we had a good long run car, but we were horrible on restarts and that is what we needed there at the end.”

    Joey Logano and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top-five.

    Kevin Harvick, Daniel Suarez, Matt DiBenedetto, Chris Buescher and AJ Allmendinger rounded out the top-10.

    “A top 10 in the Daytona 500 and a top 10 in the Brickyard 400 finishing eighth today. It’s crazy. It was a crazy day,” DiBenedetto said after an eighth-place finish. “It’s pretty unreal what we’ve been able to accomplish this year. I’m so proud. It’s not all me. My team are the ones that deserve the credit and I’m more happy for them than myself. I’ve worked so dang hard the old-school way to get here, countless late nights for these guys working, many sleepless nights in my career thinking it was over about 30 to 40 times and that’s not even an exaggeration, and to have these kinds of races this year is just unbelievable. It’s been fun.”

    RACE SUMMARY

    Kyle Busch led the field to the green flag at 2:46 p.m. He led every lap of the first stage on his way to winning it.

    The lead first changed under the fifth caution of the day, related to debris from JJ Yeley’s car, after Jones opted not to pit. He held it until the Lap 81 restart when Ryan Blaney took it going into Turn 1. Busch returned to the front on Lap 87 and won the second stage. Martin Truex Jr. exited pit road ahead of Busch under the stage break.

    Restarting on the inside and Busch on the outside on Lap 111, after another restart that ended in a wreck in Turn 2 two laps later, Truex got loose in Turn 1, then shot up and sent Busch into the outside wall. The side-force from Busch passing him on the outside spun him out, into the wall.

    Matt Kenseth inherited the race lead as it went back green with 40 laps to go. He pitted from the lead with 28 to go, as did Jones a lap later, handing it to Keselowski.

    In the closing laps, he, Johnson and Kahne didn’t have the fuel to stretch it to the end, while Trevor Bayne in fourth probably did.

    That strategy went out the window, however, with the multi-car wreck on the front stretch with 11 to go, setting up the run to the finish.

    CAUTION SUMMARY

    The caution flew for the first time on Lap 10 for Corey LaJoie spinning out in Turn 3. A caution flew for the second time on Lap 31 for a scheduled competition caution. The fourth caution flew on Lap 58 when JJ Yeley spun exiting Turn 1, triggering a three-car wreck in Turn 1. Another caution flew for the sixth time on Lap 76 when Dale Earnhardt Jr. blew up exiting Turn 2. Caution eight flew on Lap 108 when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. got loose exiting Turn 2, spun down the track and slammed the inside wall head-on.

    NUTS & BOLTS

    The race lasted three hours and 39 minutes at an average speed of 114.384 mph. There were 10 lead changes among seven different drivers and 14 cautions for 55 laps.

    Truex leaves with a 48-point lead over Larson.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/C1720_UNOFFRES.pdf”]

  • Kyle Busch Takes Pole Position at the Brickyard

    Kyle Busch Takes Pole Position at the Brickyard

    Kyle Busch will lead the field to the green flag tomorrow afternoon after winning the pole for the Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota will start first after posting a pole lap of 48.051 and a speed of 187.301 mph, half a second faster than Kevin Harvick at a speed of 186.332 mph.

    Jamie McMurray will start third with a time of 48.316 and a speed of 186.274 mph. Jimmie Johnson will start fourth with a time of 48.426 and a speed of 185.851 mph. Denny Hamlin will round out the top-five with a time of 48.434 and a speed of 185.820 mph.

    Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano, Ryan Newman, Erik Jones and Ryan Blaney will round out the top-10.

    Brad Keselowski and Kurt Busch will round out the 12 drivers that made the final round.

    BJ McLeod’s time was disallowed because, per Dustin Long of NBCSports.com, the driver/cooling naca duct was shut. He goes from 35th to 40th.

    The 40-car field is composed of 20 Chevrolet’s, 13 Ford’s and seven Toyota’s.

    No car failed to make the race.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/C1720_STARTROW.pdf”]